Woolley Grange - A Luxury Family Hotel

The hotel is an island of tranquility. The hosts are extremely friendly and attentive. The house, built in 1706, has an extraordinary atmosphere. The sights of the area are easily accessible and there are a few great country restaurants nearby. I can only recommend it.

I don't usually write reviews but this hotel/resort was exemplary. It's an old establishment but the on site facilities, services and the professionalism of the staff was absolutely second to none. They always went above and beyond the expectations of their duties (I think) and special thanks in particular to Daniel, Emma and Ben, you three stood out as we had the most interaction with you. Hospitality is a very difficult sector to work in not just because of it's up's and down's and the people you are dealing with but also for the long hours. More often than not the people (me and my son Arthur) we saw before we headed off to bed were the people we saw at breakfast. Keep going and commend these staff. The facilities that the hotel/resort offers are also fantastic. Whether you are there to stay or flit in and out on trips, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Wonderfully friendly staff!

Firstly a cautionary note, this hotel is very family friendly which may not be what you want so check school holiday dates whilst the sound of children enjoying themselves adds to the experience for me/us I understand this isn't for everyone, you have been warned, We booked a "cosy" room expecting a broom cupboard but no, the room was big enough and light, nicely furnished however the ensuite was tiny There were surprisingly few maintenance/cleaning issues which for an old building is a great achievement for the team who deliver these activities! We didn't use the spa much, but the pool and sauna was nice the changing facilities were limited two showers and two cubicles. We didn't take any of the treatments offered,. Breakfast was lovely the families in the orangery couples next door. A good variety of continental buffet juices, breads, cereal etc and the option for something cooked which came quickly and on a warm plate. Oddly we took an evening meal at the hotel and it was very poor. The location is easy to find and has parking which given that it's not far from town is surprising.

My husband and I spent a night at Woolley Grange in September. We paid £320 for a superior room which I really feel was only worth £150. We weren’t in the main house but in a room outside which was one of four. Our room was tired, faded carpets, mismatched furniture, a very old noisy fridge in the room and our bathroom was down 6 steps. I feel the steps should have been pointed out to us but there was no mention. The fan in the bathroom was so noisy we had to turn it off and the bathroom had a glass door with a thin curtain over it so when you put the bathroom light on at night (which you needed to because of the stairs) you woke the other person up in the middle of the night. The walkways back to our room were poorly light. We thought the majority of the food was lovely, although pricy, £17 for a glass of wine and a sourdough starter was terrible, so bad it couldn’t really be eaten, obviously stale bread toasted and rock hard butter. We had two service charges added, not 100% sure what for but to be honest I just wanted to get out of reception which had lots of screaming kids running around without any supervision. We appreciate it is a family friendly hotel but being a parent myself I would have expected the children to be more supervised. Very very disappointed with our stay, wouldn’t return and certainly wouldn’t recommend.

We stayed at Woolley Grange twice in the 90's and have fond memories of it. It is a lovely building set in very pretty grounds. I should say it rained most of the time we were there which obviously didn't help. Overall I think the experience was disappointing and, having read some of the other reviews with similar complaints, I hope the owners take note. On the plus side it is very child-friendly and the staff, who are generally lovely, seem to enjoy looking after families. On the negative side, and these outweigh the positives, the hotel looks very tired and could do with some renovation and redecorating. There doesn't seem to be anyone in charge and keeping an overall eye on the guest experience. So, for example, the reception is potentially very pretty but it has so many laminated notices up it looks more like a dentist waiting room. It was raining as I said so we wanted to take our grandchild to the Woolley Bears Play Area. We went there at 12noon on a Sunday and it was open and empty of children. The staff member, who was eating her lunch in a side-room, told us it was closed. Surely it would be a good idea to open it as people couldn't go outside? Finally, the food and service in the restaurant is poor and expensive. On the Friday night we had to wait over an hour for our food and it was pretty horrible when it arrived. Our very young and sweet waiter didn't tell us of the extra cooking time for the Cote De Boeuf. If you are paying £89 for Cote de Boeuf (sharing for two) and £36 for a rib-eye it needs to be done well. Full English breakfast at £20 was poor too - cheap ingredients throughout. If you are going to charge Soho Farmhouse prices then you need Soho Farmhouse quality. So overall, unless you have young children and don't care about the price and quality of what you get then don't go.