Retreat East

First the good news Chief in the Restaurant was outstanding as he/she made my food to my requirements . Unfortunately the sauna and showers were closed. Treatments not met due to unforeseen circumstances. We were two friends who had not seen each other for seven years. So disappointing. The barns were luxurious.

Stayed in the farmhouse as a group of six girls in October as a long weekend together and whilst we enjoyed our weekend together we were a little bit disappointed with the accommodation. The farmhouse is lovely and understand it’s a very old building but several aspects of the house are completely filthy and need a clean. I emailed customer care when I got home over a month ago and haven’t heard anything back. Horrible cobwebs everywhere (which I understand could happen in an old building but this just clearly hasn’t been cleaned properly in a long time), cigarette bits outside the patio door, filthy remote control, water marks over all walls in the bathrooms and mould in the freezer. Sofas are also quite marked which doesn’t really scream the luxury retreat this is meant to be. There is a window smashed in one of the bedrooms as well and a huge crack in the floor in one of the bedrooms/ ceiling of the kitchen so you can hear everything in one room from below. I would say six adults is probably the max you can fit comfortably without being too cramped. We paid £15 each for breakfast each night of our stay which is not worth it for the continental option!!! The plates aren’t even big enough to fit a slice of toast on and there are very limited options and doesn’t even include a ‘proper coffee’ from the menu. Asked the staff several time to replenish the yogurts and everything was so slow. Some of the group ordered hot food for an additional cost which took 45 minutes to come and it wasn’t busy. Also ordered smoothies which took 30 mins to come as the bar staff had ‘lost the ticket’. So after already paying £15 for breakfast + £4 + £5 smoothie + hot food I noticed on check out they added 13.5% service charge when we received less than average service. I’m not surprised I didn’t hear back via email as when anything was raised to staff it didn’t seem urgent or looking to provide good customer service unfortunately. I would also advise not to come just for a spa day especially in colder months. There is no where to sit and wait apart from the restaurant when a group is in the sauna and steam room area you have to be quiet due to being right next to the treatment rooms.

Visited Retreat East Spa for the first and probably last time. Went with my sister for our rescheduled birthday treat. Our first date was cancelled on the day due to staffing emergencies. We were compensated with an additional 30 minute facial treatment, which was a nice add on, but sadly the treatments I had were not worth the 'free' upgrade. My sister thoroughly enjoyed her treatments with Emma, but mine were OK. I feel always disappointed when going for spa treatments as the whole experience really comes down to how experienced and good the massage therapist is. Spa facilities were not great, very small changing room with no showers. Steam room smelt funny and mouldy, with water coming up to your ankles. Had one hour to use just a steam room and sauna. Cold showers were out of order. No area to wait in between so left sitting in our robes in a small walk way from the main dining hall. The spa reception was also in the main dining hall which was a little odd as well. Afternoon tea was OK but they had tried too hard with the food to make it fancy, that it looked better than it tasted. Also a bit of an odd experience sitting in our robes when everyone else was in their normal clothes, as it is also open to the public and hotel guests. Private hottub we didn't even get in. The water looked scummy and disgusting and wasn't even hot. We had one hour use of it, but decided to get changed and go home! The whole day felt a bit muddled and not the luxury spa experience we were expecting. Very disappointing when it has so much potential in such an idyllic countryside setting. It might be a better experience staying over here, but definitely wouldn't recommend the spa.

A two night stay in The Burrow with two friends. It was fabulous. The Burrow is really cute! Has a fully functional kitchen, a seating area and a gorgeous little breakfast snug. Two bedrooms with en-suite either side and a decking area with a table and chairs. Impeccably clean. Dinner in the restaurant was superb. Healthy, decent portions and great service. Continental breakfast the next day was deliciously fresh, with cereal, fruit, croissant, toast and cold meat. We weren't rushed at all and could have whiled away our day over breakfast alone. Had the mini retreat spa treatment which was divine. I cannot fault this place and want to return as soon as possible.

Enjoyed a relaxing night away with my daughter in a cosy shepherds hut. We took advantage of all the benefits included in the overnight price. The half hour slots in the outdoor hot tub, and the sauna area gave us privacy to enjoy the experience together. Peaceful to chill out in our robes afterwards, sitting outside our cabin overlooking the fields. Dinner in the Great Barn was delicious and well presented (we had Guinea fowl breast with a spring roll filled with leg, served with lentils and apricots). Following morning, we enjoyed croissants and muffins at an outdoor table before using the complimentary hire bikes to cycle for lunch at the farm shop at Alder Carr. A really lovely stay that felt like more than just a night away.

I booked the Farmhouse for my sisters Hen party, there were 5 of us so needed the biggest accommodation on offer Accommodation The Farmhouse is very quaint with lots of original features but there are a few things that made it disappointing for us. First of all three of the bedrooms are decorated really nicely but the fourth bedroom, which has two single beds is in the smallest room and painted the most horrible dark green, this makes it really oppressive especially as one of the beds is right in front of the window. Because of this my daughter and my niece wouldn't stay in it so ended up sharing with me and my sister. this isn't really acceptable especially as my daughter had paid the same as everyone else for the house. Secondly the house is fall of spiders and spider webs. No one expects there not to be the odd spider in an old house but they have obviously been there a long time and never cleaned up Finally, whilst we were blessed to have lovely warm weather it also meant the bedrooms were very hot. Only one bedroom had a window that opened whilst ours had three broken window panes that was clearly too costly to replace so covered it over with a sheet of perspex rendering the window permanently sealed shut Restaurant The food was really nice, especially afternoon tea but the service was soooooo slow, even though it was fairly empty it was always a wait time of around 30 plus minutes, for every meal, whatever we asked for. Seemed to be very short on staff as was quite difficult to find anyone. Spa /Yoga We had booked the Spa day package which was really lovely. especially the treatments, the ladies were knowledgable in the service they provided and we all throughly enjoyed the day. On the Sunday we had booked Yoga in the meadow, this was heavenly and the instructor was excellent, even adapting the moves to help my daughter who had hurt her foot Overall we had a fantastic time we just felt it was let down by the conditions of the house and restaurant service