Charingworth Manor

“Wonderful place to celebrate!”

The team made our extended family so welcome and nothing was too much trouble to celebrate our son’s 21 st birthday. The staff were so friendly, such a beautiful setting, lovely dinner, comfortable rooms and we loved the pool. Thank you so much.

“Best Hotel for a small group that we've ever stayed in.”

We were part of a small classic car group staying for four nights DB+B. We couldn't have been better looked after! Our room was clean and tidy and very nice, but the shower cubicle was a bit on the small side for me! Dinner every day was excellent with a different menu every day. Breakfast was al... more

We were part of a small classic car group staying for four nights DB+B. We couldn't have been better looked after! Our room was clean and tidy and very nice, but the shower cubicle was a bit on the small side for me! Dinner every day was excellent with a different menu every day. Breakfast was always large enough for my big appetite and beautifully freshly cooked. All the staff were friendly and couldn't have been better. Thanks to you all.

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“Not quite what we hoped for.”

Several things to take account of - the hotel is undergoing renovations and some parts were closed, other parts temporarily appointed - the bar and restaurant was in the Orangery and the bar barely had enough glasses to serve our group of 7 - especially not matching glasses. The pool was nice, a ... more

Several things to take account of - the hotel is undergoing renovations and some parts were closed, other parts temporarily appointed - the bar and restaurant was in the Orangery and the bar barely had enough glasses to serve our group of 7 - especially not matching glasses. The pool was nice, a little small, but not unusually so. Staff seemed very pleasant, and tried to offer a level of service that we expected. The hotel is set in lovely grounds, although the building work takes the shine off - that work is due to be complete by 17 May - fingers crossed for that. The tennis court saw better days about 20 years ago, and the air-con or cooling fans running constantly onto the terrace made conversation nigh impossible in the largest part of the terrance. The breakfast was good and they offered great flexibility to our group. Not the widest choice for the buffet / continental, but adequate. We had dinner which was of great quality and served efficiently; it turned out to be the most expensive meal of our trip by some margin (+20%) once drinks were factored in - almost £600 for 7 meals with three of the cheapest bottles of wine and some drinks. Add on top of that the 10% service charge and it starts to feel very much like there are some pretentious views of their own quality. The rooms we had were at best ‘adequate’. Not much bigger than a standard Premier Inn room, with a tired bathroom needing update and new lighting, and perhaps a mirror at a level that guests of shorter stature have a chance to see themselves and a sink that isn’t at chest height might be nice. The bed creaked like mad, waking me several times a night as i turned over. The creaking floor above also not particularly welcome when the guests upstairs were waking and moving around much earlier than us. Somewhat worrying therefore that other comments and responses indicate that the ‘normal’ rate is much higher, lowered only because of the building works at the moment. Absolutely would not consider paying more than the average £250 per night we paid, and even that feels very much at the high end of acceptable. Would I stay again? Perhaps - a lot might depend on the room rate once the refurb is done, and some confidence that the refurb actually has addressed the issues with the rooms. Finally, something that is really annoying me in several hotels I’ve stayed in in the past year - the introduction of a 10% ‘discretionary’ service charge added to the whole bill - including accommodation. I understand that the charge is distributed as ‘tips’ to all staff, I understand that it is discretionary and I accept that it was clear in the post-booking email from the hotel that explains that such a charge will be levied. We asked for it to be removed and it was, without any question or issue. I would like to understand why hotel management think it is ok to load prices like this - a sort of guilt-trip stealth tax that changes the stay price well after the choice has been made after comparison of prices and facilities. I would also like to know whether management consider they pay staff adequately without the addition of the service charge - if they are not then they need to change the room rate to raise wages and stop loading the guilt tax on customers after booking.

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“A tired hotel missing vital facilities”

On arrival we had mixed feelings. Beautiful countryside surrounds the manor, and then we saw the tennis court. Oh dear! Not a great first impression. The net was on the floor and it all looked rather scruffy and dirty. The hotel is having work done to update, so unfortunately half of the hotel wa... more

On arrival we had mixed feelings. Beautiful countryside surrounds the manor, and then we saw the tennis court. Oh dear! Not a great first impression. The net was on the floor and it all looked rather scruffy and dirty. The hotel is having work done to update, so unfortunately half of the hotel was blocked off. I hope they resolve issues found when the update occurs. In the bathroom the tiles were lifting off the floor, and there was no hand soap. The toiletries provided are quite an embarrassment and need to be rethought especially for the price of the rooms. The beds were very soft and not that comfortable. There was no smart tv and we struggled to get our fire stick to work with the hotel WiFi which is very slow. . The room was acceptable but just tired and much in need of the makeover it will hopefully receive very soon. The bar was very limited in the orangery, and the furnishing again needs an update. On the positive side, the views are to die for and the food is superb. (Breakfast not as good as evening meal). Unfortunately, one of the waiting staff on our stay was not the friendliest which made us feel on edge, so that needs to be addressed also. The pool was lovely and clean, but because of limited space no loungers are available and poolside seating is extremely limited. There are no jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. The hotel just feels like bits are missing. Wouldn’t recommend.

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