Dowdeswell Holidays

Don’t be fooled by the name !! This hotel might have been boutique back in the 80’s. My room (7), was decorated by my gran with an eclectic miss match of furniture. The bed was terrible and hardly slept all week, sofas were non usable as sooo uncomfortable, the phone reception was non existent and the WiFi was really as bad. Considering i work away, wifi is pretty critical for my needs and I couldn’t do any work which meant being on site longer than I would have liked. I’m working in Cheltenham till Feb 27 but certainly won’t be coming back here

Overall our stay was disappointing, but this was not down to the staff, who were friendly and engaging.On the plus side our room was spacious, and the bathroom quite well appointed.We found the mattress and pillows to be extremely hard, although this is subjective.Some of the furniture felt out of place and a bit flat pack, given the historic credentials of the hotel. It was in the bar and restaurant that we felt that things were most adrift, but again not through any fault of the staff. Prices were steep, both for drinks and food. I ordered the steak for my evening meal but ultimately it proved inedible, in spite of the efforts of the very accommodating Maitre D' to resolve the situation.The cost was deducted from our bill and we were given complimentary cheese and biscuits. At £38 for the steak I expected much better and later learned from other guests that mine was not the only steak returned that evening. My wife enjoyed her own meal and made a point of telling our server. Our evening meal on Sunday was generally better, but at £30 for a chicken breast it was a bit basic, Breakfast was okay-ish. Food quality was fine, but I felt very much that strict portion control was in operation. A single rasher of bacon served as a portion in a 4*hotel? The business model appears to be: charge the highest prices possible, minimise costs, and trade on reputation. Sorry, but we won't be returning.