Mercure Newbury Elcot Park

“Thank you !”

Matt and I had an amazing stay at the Elcot. The food and service were great, and the spa was incredible. Belle and Holly took such good care of us, and we really appreciate their hospitality. We’ll definitely be back. Thank you so much.

“Richard & all the fabulous Elcot staff.”

Beautiful, relaxing hotel & exquisite service from Richard,(exceptional Mr Breakfast man) Maisie, Lucy, India, Brin, Emmy, & Cormack, & all the terrific staff at Elcot, including the Spa reception team, made our stay so enjoyable. It's an absolute pleasure & joy to be in these beautiful surrounding… more

Beautiful, relaxing hotel & exquisite service from Richard,(exceptional Mr Breakfast man) Maisie, Lucy, India, Brin, Emmy, & Cormack, & all the terrific staff at Elcot, including the Spa reception team, made our stay so enjoyable. It's an absolute pleasure & joy to be in these beautiful surroundings. The fabulous staff are attentive & cheerful, super smiley & so very helpful in making ones stay exquisite. The outdoor pool is divine, as is the food & I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this fabulous place. I have been lucky enough to stay on previous occasions, (but 4 years prior) & can't wait to return again, it really is heavenly & sensational. Thank you to Richard & all the fabulous Elcot team for a fabulous stay. Can't recommend highly enough, very loathe to leave & loved every mo!

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“Fantastic experience”

Fantastic quiet location set in beautiful grounds. The only noise is the birds which is lovely. Everything about this place is geared towards recycling and eco friendliness. Parking is good although the gravel does present a problem with wheeled suitcases. Check in was easy with good explanations… more

Fantastic quiet location set in beautiful grounds. The only noise is the birds which is lovely. Everything about this place is geared towards recycling and eco friendliness. Parking is good although the gravel does present a problem with wheeled suitcases. Check in was easy with good explanations of where things were and what was on. Just be mindful there is a £150 holding fee for incidentals which caught us by surprise but we understand why this is implemented given the quality items available for use in rooms. Rooms are tastefully decorated and spacious. Very clean and with quality toiletries and tea/coffee making facilities. Toiletries are Bramley products. Tea is also good quality with a subtle taste. Milk is provided is mini milk bottles which we thought was a nice touch. Bottled water also provided. Robe and slippers were provided although I'm not sure if this is because we had booked spa treatments. Use of pantry between 4pm and 11pm where you can help yourself to sweets and top up on milk and flavoured waters. Lounge was again tastefully decorated and we found it to be very relaxing. This is where the homemade biscuits come out at 11 am, the tipple at 4pm and night cap at 9pm. We had lunch, dinner and breakfast in the Brasserie. Beautifully decorated and relaxing although the overhead balloon lights around the edge did cause a few issues with bumped heads due to them being low. Menu is more or less the same for lunch and dinner and is a bit restrictive for vegetarians however food is well presented and cooked to perfection so we enjoyed it all. Breakfast is superb with a good selection of hot and cold foods and juices/teas/coffees. Waiters are very accommodating. The spa facilities are very good with hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, outdoor cold/hot tubs and outdoor pool. There is also a gym. Towels and flip flops provided. Good selection of spa treatments and I have to say the massage and facial were the best we've ever had. Therapists ensured we were well hydrated providing chilled lemon water and green or mint tea. Other facilities include a coffee shop and art shop in the courtyard, use of bikes. Check out was again easy but the £150 holding fee is not immediately reimbursed. Overall we had a fantastic two days where we certainly chilled as intended. I really cannot recommend this hotel enough. It really was a special experience for us.

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“It couldve been better”

The retreat has been my happy plsce and as a repeat customer im really disappointed to not give my usual 5 stars. My recent trip to the hotel was meant to be a relaxing stay away. Upon arrival wwe chrcked in and were thrilled to be offered our room early , with an upgrade to our suprise which we w… more

The retreat has been my happy plsce and as a repeat customer im really disappointed to not give my usual 5 stars. My recent trip to the hotel was meant to be a relaxing stay away. Upon arrival wwe chrcked in and were thrilled to be offered our room early , with an upgrade to our suprise which we were thrilled about. The room was in house and lovely with a view of the front lawn. We spent the first two hours exploring and taking in the scenery. At 4pm we went four our complimentary drink which as usual was always a delight , we know that the hotel has good wine in mind and myself and my partner love trying things we wouldn’t usually! After this we were looking forward to the spa , a real highlight from previous trips. Upon arrival to the spa , i noticed the changing rooms were incredibly cluttered and full of dirty towels and used flip flops- busy times perhaps. We were kindly warned that the spa was busy and appreciated the transparency however we werent prepared for the overpowering smell of whst i can only describe as sweaty feet. The spa floor was full of a murky water and almost every lounger had dirty towels on it, meaning myself and my partner were forced to use the cold outside ones which we were not pleased about. We were in the spa about 3 hours and noticed none of these towels were cleared even after we were left as the only users of the facilities. Alongisde this , we found that empty cups and glasses were littered around both the poolside and in and around facilities which wasn’t pleasant. The hydropool was one of my favourite parts of the spa previously however i didnt dare go in as the water seemed incredibly cloudy and had weird black flakes floating on the surface, that and the smell made it incredibly unpleasant and hard to enjoy being near. Dinner was okay,we had wine in the bar and as our reservation loomed we carried through our glasses and ice bucket , not one of the members of staff we spoke to or passed from the bar ti the restaurant offered to assist us as my partner was struggling with cold hands whilst juggling his jacket and other items in his hand . we had an issue with the scallops we ordered a large but got a small, the team were quick to rectify but didnt check up on our starters so i had to get up and ask myself. The chocolate mousse desert was really special its a great addition to the menu, i felt the toppings were a bit stale- potentially the gimmick outweighs the taste factor but the mousee itself was superb. In the morning we always liove the breakfasts and have always enjoyed the orangery for the atmosphere. We headed back to the spa for some last minute relaxing. Bearing in mind we have visited a few times and enjoyed the hot tub outside in previous times with minimal fault however midway through out time in the spa were informed by a member of staff quite bluntly that we would have to pay for it , something which has no indication on the hot tub itself . The member of staff said this information was available on the reception for both the spa and hotel, information which when i went back to find was not visible and incredibly misleading. I appreciate that this may be the case , we said thank you we will be aware for next time but unfortunately it did leave me feeling disappointed i both the team and communication, especially given a couple in the tub next to us who i found out hadnt booked also , were not informed of the booking / payment situation. Please can this be made more clear around the hot tubs or upon arrival by staff in the spa! The inside of the spa was really well maintained in the daytime and the one individual member of staff who seemed in control of the poolside did an incredible job of keeping it clean, its an incredible shame this wasnt the case the evening prior. We left early feeling like that touch of magic which brings us back to elcot park wasnt quite there on this particular stay and im disappointed because its such a lovely getaway from reality, unfortunately i dont think i would return this time , or atleast not in such a hurry.

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