The Retreat Elcot Park

Loved tge hotel and tge grounds. The house was beautiful. We had an amazing meal in Yu and enjoyed the Spa facilities, our treatments were amazing. Thought the drink on arrival was a lovely thought. Very clean and vibrant hotel.

Didn't appreciate the wait in 1772 and the orangery. You felt as if the staff had forgotten about you. It took an age for our afternoon tea to appear; over 30 minutes and at lunch on Sunday after our initial welcome it took 3 staff coming to the table just to get our ordered bottle of water before we managed to get anyone to take our order. Our drinks order seemed to sit at the bar neglected for at least 10mins! The Spa was wonderful although there was a vast difference to the helpfulness and proactivness of the reception staff on the Sat and Sunday; much more helpful on Sunday. The drinks were overpriced!!

The location was quiet and beautiful. And Pet friendly The staff helpful. The small spa and gym area nice. Several different places to eat and drink,tennis court a bonus. And a self help pantry a plus overal delightful! On offer is also a small courtyard with cafe/wine shop.

The room was not equipped or set up correctly, furniture set up was odd, no place to sit down to complete hair/makeup,very annoying, and although the room was well sized, the usage of the furniture set up was not correct. Our room was located next to housekeeping staff, and was in noisy. The spa and steam room needed better cleaning and better attend attendance too.

We spent a very sunny weekend (we were so lucky with the weather!) to belatedly celebrate our 10th year wedding anniversary and was surprised to find that they have upgraded our room with beautiful views of the Wessex countryside! Thank you very much:) Also very thankful for the phonecall pre-arrival to warn us about road closures which really helped us plan transport during the weekend as we were watching a play at the Watermill Theatre. The whole weekend went without any stress and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. First impression was really positive and it just got better and better! Lovely glass of wine as we arrived to check in. Beautiful grounds and decor throughout the ground floor (we never got to see upstairs). Restaurants onsite with a variety of options; food we had have been really good. Room had plenty of space; clean; really nice toiletries; storage for clothing etc. Enjoyed the spa facilities, too including the heated outdoor pool. Staff were all friendly and helpful. There was a pantry which was well-stocked with drinks and snack although we didn't really use it much as we spent more time drinking cocktails at the Atlas Room :)

Would have liked to have had a small fridge in the room although I appreciate there is a fridge at the Pantry. Maybe would little labels (room number) in the Pantry for guests to label their own stuff would be useful if they want to keep them in the communal fridge.

I travel round a lot with work and practically live in hotels these days and this is hands down one of the best I have stayed in. Not only is it a beautiful location, fabulous building and great facilities but the service they offer is filled with lots of little touches that really set it miles apart from the competition. I am very surprised that it is a 4 star hotel, it is much better than most of the 5 star hotels that I stay in. Complimentary fast wifi, a free drinks and snacks pantry, EV charging, a top rate gym and spa and some of the most helpful staff you could ask for. The food was great in the restaurant - I told them I thought one of the dishes was fantastic and they brought me the recipe with the bill - these little considerate things all add up in a big way. The rooms are great and recently decorated and the weather was very warm while there, but they had already thought about this and my room was prepared with a fan, cold bottles of water, everything already thought of. There were books in the room to read, a little bottle of schnapps on the house waiting for you and all the mod cons you need. The area is very peaceful, in some beautiful countryside and the outdoor areas of the hotel are very well tended and wonderful to walk around. I would have been happy paying twice the rate I did and still would have got value for money. I just wish it wasnt so far away so I could come back with my wife one day. Perfect marks all around, a rare gem!

There was literally nothing to be improved on

Overall great but rooms too sparse/cold - need more (good quality) furniture/soft furnishings to make them nice and cosy. Thick Curtains would be a real plus. Poor quality books on bedside table (looked liked they’d been purchased from a 1980’s car boot sale) need to be replaced - really cheapen the feel of the room. Taps in bathroom loose (room 32). Shower far too high for me (I’m 5 foot 4), water pressure not great and water not hot enough. Cleaner walked in on me at 10:20 just before check-out when I was naked! :) not sure other guests would see funny side…

See above.

it would be more expedient to say what I didn’t like.. What a place! starting with the property.. The rooms we stayed in (was so good we came back for another night) were just beautiful. the attention to detail should be applauded. from the gorgeous bedding( soft white sheets with sumptuous pillows) to the complimentary bathroom lotions and potions, was all a delight. the simple touches of the welcome on the TV and the super fast surprise hand written note the second time(whoever did that must have sprinted upstairs, as we were a last minute drop in) were lovely and let’s not forget the welcome and scrummy complimentary liqueur! the pantry is such a brilliant touch too! The rest of the property is equally wonderful.. from ‘Welly Wall’ to whisky room, from the spa to the outside pool, all just lovely. the restaurant was great too, our waitress( Anna I believe her name was,) was an absolute delight and politely laughed at all our stupid jokes. I’d go back time and time again just for the experience of finding other new areas that we didn’t get to explore, however.. the thing that would get us back would be the staff… bravo to the team who recruited the absolute gems of the female staff, they are an absolute credit to your business. Amy .. and all the other wonderful ladies we encountered at the front desk( apologies that we didn’t get their names) were a refreshing mix of funny, professional, friendly, helpful, generous, courteous and just downright top drawer, that I’d go back again for them, even if the place wasn’t as good as it was. ( a gentle note that the guys, whilst no doubt professional could do with a little of the charm and hospitality of their female counterparts, they were less welcoming- sorry) we had a very long, tiring week in UK, but the 2 days stay were the highlight of our trip. thank you.

one teeny point.. The windows could do with a blind or modesty screen, as once those curtains are up.. You’re there for the world to see 😄 oh and absolutely not picking now.. the cutlery and glasses in the restaurant could be nicer .. But I’m really digging deep now.

sophisticated and classy without any pretentious hype or expectations. spa - loved the outside pool and views of the countryside. location - feels like you really have ‘retreated’ and can indulge and do nothing food - well balanced menu with seasonal specials

We were not informed that we needed to book a time for dinner in advance of our stay (we purchased a dinner, bed and breakfast option). This meant we were only given an early slot of 6.30pm. When we raised this at the time of check in the staff member said we should have got a call or message prior to our visit (which we didn’t) but I’m wondering if booking through third party is a glitch in this system. If you do book through booking.com and do go for the dinner option it’s worth calling ahead to secure the time you would like.

The hotel has a warm atmosphere, created by friendly, professional staff. We liked being offered a glass of wine on arrival, and all the other nice touches like the personalised note in our room, the bottle of ginger liqueur, and access to the pantry near our room. We weren’t able to visit the spa, but hope to next time. Dinner was exceptional, and the staff were very knowledgeable about the food and wine. The buffet breakfast offered everything we could have wanted. We have already recommended the hotel to two friends who have now booked. and we will be back!

Can’t think of anything!

Loved the relaxed welcome and particularly touches like the pantries of snacks available on each floor. Comfortable and individual. Breakfasts in the Orangery were lovely.

As with all venues and places, there were a lot of young and very new staff. At dinner we were not told that elements of our meal had run out and were given a version missing key parts described on the menu. It was still delicious but we witnessed a very vocal complaint at neighbouring table that was handled well but did detract from our relaxed meal. When we had arrived around 4 pm the restaurant was buzzing so good they had such numbers that they ran out!

Location and easy parking. Hotel situated in the countryside and that is what we were looking for. The wellness pool was amazing especially as my husband had a bad back during our stay so we used the hydro pool as much as we could. Breakfast was OK but if you wanted a full english then it was an expensive add-on

The restaurant is too expensive and really aimed at high class city eating not hotel guests. We ended up going to local pubs which had better menu choice and easier on the wallet. The extra asian restaurant was closed during our stay but also very expensive. Just that it would have been nice to stay and have drinks with a hearty reasonably priced meal to save driving.