Horwood House Hotel

The hotel was beautiful. It was lovely and clean and the rooms were spacious. I had emailed before to request for a room with a bath which was provided. The staff were lovely both in the reception and restaurant. The location is far enough out to enjoy the views and get away from the busy roads but still local to shopping centres etc ( Bicester shopping village is 30 mins from the hotel ). The spa / swimming pools were lovely and clean. There were changing rooms and towels provided if you ask the staff in the spa. We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel. Dinner was amazing. I would recommend the Duck leg. Nothing was too much trouble and the bar staff make a great cocktail!

The only thing I would comment on it the spa closes at 5pm and opens at 10am. When check in is at 3pm and check out is at 11am it would have been nicer for the spa to be open a little longer. We also booked in for breakfast at 10:30 however when arriving we were told to ‘Hurry up as breakfast closes at 10:30’. Luckily there was plenty left however this could have been different. When I tried to explain we had been booked in at half 10 I was rudely cut off.

Based on a lovely old house in impressive grounds giving some lovely views. Lots of new building has been added to give 150 new rooms. Can be difficult to navigate until you get used to it! Very clean with lots of friendly staff. Breakfast was easy and comprehensive with plenty of room. Dinner menu was a bit limited and the room could be noisy especially if there was a wedding going on. We were upgraded to a better room which was good.

During our 3 day stay the room was not serviced. Covid is still be used as the excuse for this which is stretching a point now. We could have requested the room to be tidied but it would have been nice to have the bins emptied, bed turned back and tea supplies topped up as a matter of course.

Comfortable bed and room. Harry’s Bar & Restaurant was good. We had a lovely dinner. Staff were friendly and in the main attentive. Breakfast had a reasonable selection on offer but no marmalade! The gardens and pond are delightful.

The disabled parking was a long way from the check-in point, it would have been useful to know that we could pull up at the Mansion to off-load and check-in there, in advance. When directing us to our room, which was probably the furthest from the check in desk, the receptionist should have pointed out that lifts and ramps were available to aid people with mobility problems. We had to work this out. Staff on check-in were not wearing face coverings which was surprising given there were no screens. In spite of these negative points and we accept that the hotel is in the middle of refurbishment, we would definitely consider returning in future.

I like the outside calmliness of the place as have been loving the countryside more than the bustling city. The foyer and the rest of the public areas inside the hotel were up to a standard. It was good of them to not entirely change the Edwardian architecture of the Manor from the inside, as well as the outside. The breakfast was more than minimal as it had choices, from healthy cereals to not so healthy food choices The staff who managed the breakfast area, restaurant and the swimming facilities were commendable.

This place can be subjective as I felt it when I was dealing with the reception people. The housekeeping could be territorial and unfriendly; I mean, one of the women. I think she wasn't that keen for her role even though I showed kindness and understanding as a person. On the other hand, the plug flange of the bath tub wasn’t working properly. It’s either in need of a throughly cleaning or a replacement. In general, this hotel has a hierarchy. People who manned the reception desk are not as interactive as the rest of the employees. I think, there is a need for those "type, click and press" receptionists to go around in order for their feet to touch the ground of humbleness (once again) like the rest of the employees.

The hotel is in a lovely location with great facilities, although we didn't use the pool and spa as we spent all day out attending an equestrian event nearby and only went back to the hotel to sleep. The breakfast was included in the price and the range of food served was more than enough. There was a good choice of hot and cold food including the typical English breakfast, cereals, pastry and fruits. You can have delicious coffee and other hot drinks from a coffee machine. We didn't have dinner, only had a couple drinks at the bar and the staff were all very friendly and attentive in spite of being very busy throughout the night.

Both of us are quite tall and we found the double bed a bit too short and narrow, which had some negative impact on the comfort feeling, although the mattress was perfect, not too hard and not too soft. The room could also be a little bit more spacious, but it was ok as we didn't stay too long in the room and only used the room for sleeping.

On arrival, the house looked beautiful but unfortunately the hotel rooms are in a modern built on annexe to the side of the House. The staff were exceptional, very friendly and helpful. Food was great. Room was clean and great comfy beds!

It’s a shame the hotel rooms are in an annexe to the beautiful House. They aren’t in the same architectural style and looks a bit like a motel. What a shame. Our room felt like we were in the basement, long dark corridors to get to it. The room was clean but really small. Would have been nice to have bottled water in the room as it was quite a trek to the bar and there’s no room service. Only bar in the hotel is part of the restaurant so it’s very loud and bright and very limited comfy seating.

Very well maintained and clean, good facilities. Excellent breakfast. Lots of parking. Lovely countryside setting.

Although the on site restaurant served quality food at reasonable prices for a 4 star hotel, the bar service was terrible and although there was plenty of staff working the restaurant was badly Managed, so bad that we only used the restaurant the first evening and went off site the other nights. The main building is a historic manor house, with nemorous modern extensions, a bit of a maize very easy to get lost. In other large properties I have stayed, different blocks/floors had different carpets, it would have made it easier for guests to navigate if the hotel had done a similar thing.

Welcoming and helpful reception. Comfortable room and good bathroom with space to put things down. All food of a good standard and pleasant staff, plenty of staff too. Spa area ,excellent pool area. Original house very impressive and beautiful garden area. A very impressive drive to the property and plenty of parking.

The modern part is difficult to find your way round, along corridors and up and down stairs. The modern bedrooms could have been made to blend in much more with the Arts and Crafts house as they could be anywhere.

Room was spacious, clean and comfortable. Good selection and plenty of choice for breakfast. Excellent choice of food , I had the chicken burger with chips (and all the extras) 2 night running as I enjoyed it so much. I can recommend the Coconut & Lemongrass Rice pudding with passionfruit coulis and crumbled pistachio. I had 2 Spa treatments and made use of the pool area, very relaxing.

I was sat near the bar one evening for dinner and found it distracting when a couple of groups of people were standing at the bar and were quite loud. Maybe a screen between the end of the seating for dinner might help lesson the noise. Didn't like having to carry my case up and down about 12 steps to get to me room.

The food was exceptional. We enjoyed the use of the relaxing environment- swimming pool. The hotel grounds were peaceful and beautiful and the staff were friendly and very polite.

The fact that the towel rail in the bathroom we stayed in (stable room) could not be turned off in the 20-22° C weather we had when asked at reception. The room was still very hot at night even with both windows open. An option of a fan would have been greatly appreciated. The thought of asking for one did not occur to us at the time.