Horsted Place Hotel

We enjoyed another enjoyable stay at Horsted Place and its become one of our favourite places to visit. The refurbishment of Horsted is outstanding and recognises the need to return the hotel to its original decor and that's been successful in all respects. We were warmly welcomed on arrival and were allocated the Westmorland suite. It was sumptuous and offered a great views of the grounds. We enjoyed our evening dinner and were looked after by Bruno who is a credit to the Hotel ensuring we enjoyed a relaxed and enjoyable meals. Credit must go to the chef and his team who produced our meals of chicken and pork that were outstanding in quality,presentation and quantity. We enjoyed our breakfast and waiting staff were really helpful and the choices were excellent. We are amazed at some negative comments about Horsted as our stays have been really enjoyable and staff have been helpful polite and engaging. We will be visiting again in the near future.

Every 5 years I organise a weekend college reunion for a class of 14 plus partners who have remained close friends since graduating. October 2024 was our 50th anniversary & we held this event at Horsted Place. I can best describe the success of this weekend by stealing the words spoken to me by one of my friends & colleagues: "Al, it was a triumph!" The reason for this unmitigated success was because, under the leadership of the Deputy General Manager, the event ran like clockwork, with every single staff member 'onside' to make the weekend special. The hotel & grounds are magnificent & having taken 14 of the 17 rooms, I can safely say that there is no wrong or bad choice, with every room immaculate. The staff were, without exception, friendly, helpful, professional & attentive & their politeness & courtesy came naturally. The menus created for us by the chef were imaginative & befitted the occasion & the food itself did justice to the menus by being of very high quality. It is time we reduced the time interval between our reunions, the choice of venue is now a 'gimme'!

For 25 plus years we have been going to Horsted Place for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, private family parties etc. I have not until today read reviews as it had always been one of the few local 'go to' places for a fine meal. Yesterday was our 40th anniversary. Horsted is a beautiful fine building that until this years facelift had a real air of quality. Not everyones tastes are the same but to me internally the new decorations and furnishings have lost some of its classical charm and charisma. Some may like it more, but not to my taste. We got the feeling as the evening went on that the style of staffing was a bit ad lib and not coordinated. For instance, nobody asks to take your coat when you arrive or even considers you might have had one when you leave. You have to ask for a wine list, and they then forget to take your wine order before trying to usher you to your table. It no longer has the decorum that it had. As for the meal, it was a disappointment. I know that on visits in previous years it has often been quiet, but you always got exceptional food. Last night was not by any means busy, so no excuses from the kitchen. The menu now is simple. As is the wine list. No problem with that. It is perhaps that they are now trying to welcome a different clientele. I would far prefer simple food beautifully prepared than a more complex dish beyond the skills of the kitchen. Sadly however there was nothing 'wrong' with our meal. It was just distinctively average, and on par with that produced by many of the lesser pubs in the area. They also skimp on some things. Looking at a previous review they still have not got to grips with their butcher, as the beef was tougher than you would expect of a quality establishment. With a butcher you get what you pay for. 250ml of wine should in effect be a third of a bottle, not just a slightly more full small wine glass. The problem here is that you are not paying average pub prices. Two average pre dinner drinks, one 2 course and one 3 course meal with 2 glasses of wine and a coffee was over £130. To me, comparing that with other local establishments serving similar quality it seems to be way over the top. Sorry if this upsets anyone, but that is just how we now find it.

We came here for Sunday lunch and it was really disappointing. The hotel is an impressive building and restaurant has lovely views over the gardens. However, the food was awful. My roast beef was a large chunk of inedible meat so tough it was impossible to cut. A few slices of beef instead would have been much better. Treacle tart for desert wasn’t a tart, instead it was served as a pudding and didn’t taste of treacle. It was just dreadful food and well below the standard you would expect at this beautiful property. The people on the table next to us also ordered beef and had the same issue, I felt sorry for the waitress who knew it was a disaster and couldn’t have been more apologetic. This is a lovely hotel and restaurant and should be a great location for Sunday lunch but don’t bother to come until they get a new chef.

When families are scattered far and wide, you need a place perfect for those meaningful gatherings. Horsted Place is a hidden gem near Lewes in East Sussex that provides a wonderful, quiet place to dine for special occasions. We had a table of 10 and we could all hear each other speak, the staff were friendly and took care with service. The food was light and delicious, not a heavy 3 course lunch at all. I am sugar free and although not on the menu, the kitchen were happy to prepare a small Sussex cheese board as an alternative to desert. The location is spectacular, gathering with drinks outside on warm days is delightful and the food was really nice. We will definitely make this our regular meet up spot as a family.

This was the fourth time we have stayed in this beautiful hotel and it never fails to impress. First of all I would like to stress that I totally disagree with a recent review that criticised the decor as they thought it was not in keeping with the building. My wife and I both thought that the recent refurbishment is absolutely in keeping with this building. The decor is stunning; it is extremely well thought out; it flows really well from room to room and the choice of fabrics and colours is perfect. The new decor actually enhances the building’s original features. It is a true marriage of styles. Our room was a junior suite. Very comfortable and again very well appointed. The staff, as we have found previously, are all very friendly and helpful. The food was fantastic. We had dinner there on the two nights we stayed and the menu was varied and interesting, as well as being well presented. Most importantly of course, it tasted great. One small (hopefully constructive ) criticism I would make is that we were disappointed they have stopped doing the pre dinner canapés, which were always a great start to the evening meal. This may have been a cost saving measure ( as they previously came as a “complimentary” extra) but we would be happy enough to pay for these as an optional extra. Overall , this was another very enjoyable stay and we will certainly return.

Let's do this chronologically. The starter...roasted cauliflower, humour etc. The cauliflower was ridiculousy small, and may have been roasted the day before but the whole thing was fairly tasteless and fridge cold. The main...fish was OK but you have to order sides on top. So ordered chips and broccoli. The chips were very poor, a handful of frozen mc cain chips for £6.... very lazy. The desert...sticky toffe pudding was served cold! Once again probably straight from the fridge. Sent it back and it came with no sauce at all...sent it back and had it taken off the menu. We refused to pay for service charge. Very disappointed with a below average night and would not recommend eating here, poor value and a lazy chef.

We stayed with friends for 1 night and went to Glyndebourne for dinner and the Opera A fantastic experience and both before and after Glyndebourne this Hotel was a great compliment to the wonderful Glyndebourne experience. A charming building, excellent garden and grounds and very friendly and efficient staff. Our room had been recently renovated and was very comfortable. Hi highly recommend Horsted

We had a great evening out with friends and had a wonderful evening out. The food was perfect, the meat on the point. The red wine we choose fits perfectly with it. The service is, like always, exceptional, you feel welcome at any time. For sure I will come again and again and again..:.