We went back to the Lords of the Manor last weekend, having previously visited a few months ago. We were blown away the first time and the second time exceeded the first.

The décor is a little tired in certain areas but it’s certainly not shabby or dirty in any way. The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed the food which we found to be outstanding as always (on all 3 nights!). I’m not sure the complaints about this hotel are justified as we are repeat guests and each time we were more than satisfied.

The enviornment, settings and grounds are hard to beat. We cannot recommend it highly enough.

The attention to detail and friendliness of services is extemporary without being obtrusive.

We will certainly be back.

Having read the reviews on TripAdvisor I was a little concerned how our 2-night stay at LOTM would be. First of all, I think some reviewers have been very harsh about the decor. Yes it is a little tired but really it is not so bad. I think some rooms may be worse than others but our room (Wrigley) was great. Bathroom was in need of a makeover and the shower sprayed all over the floor but nothing too bad.

Sherry and bottled water in the room a nice touch. Public rooms and gardens are very nice.

As a building and for the interior I would have graded this 4.

Now the bad bits.

Cleanliness - could be better. There was toothpaste on the taps left by a previous guest.

Service - the staff who served us were all polite and friendly. There were just not enough of them. The receptionist had to help us to our room - leaving no one on reception.

The waiting staff work night and day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Again there were not enough people serving the restaurant.

Dinner was a comedy of errors. Both nights there were mistakes with our orders (wrong food brought to table, wrong wine, a forgotten pudding which we waited 30 minutes for then the waitress came over and asked what it was we were waiting for).

Dinner starts by arriving 30 minutes before dinner. Guests wait in a lovely lounge, have a drink and 'canapés' (these were not canapés as I know them - just breadsticks, cheese straws and olives). During this time you select dinner and wine from the menu.

Despite being in the lounge for 50 minutes on the first night and 45 minutes on the second night, our food still took a very long time to come to the table.

They set the table for each course - only when our starter plates and cutlery were taken away, they forgot to replace them. When our mains arrived, we had to ask for cutlery and our wine which they had failed to bring to the table.

The cheeseboard was fantastic - except the waitress who served it confess she did not know what all of them were. When we asked if there was anyone to assist her she said only chef - and he was busy in the kitchen (obviously)

Dinner is expensive at LOTM - and I must stress the food is fantastic - but the whole experience was spoiled by poor service. We listened to other diners who had cause for complaint and we heard the head waiter/restaurant manager apologise to 3 tables.

Trying to get a drink in the garden is impossible unless you go inside and ask. This is unforgivable as the bar overlooks the front garden and the barman could see us waiting at a garden table for 20 minutes. He made no attempt to send anyone out to offer us a drink. When I my partner went into ask for a drink the same barman acted like he had not noticed we were waiting. We then felt completely fleeced at paying about £10 for a gin and tonic – which we would not have felt had we been provided with good service as the setting is so fabulous.

The cooked breakfast is great but selection from the buffet is pretty poor.

Overall, this hotel is not worth the money. We paid £330 per night on a DBB basis. This may be what the market will stand but I would be in no hurry to return. If they got the service right – I would be back like a shot!

Unfortunately, I just found the service to be below the standard I would expect in a chain pub. There really is no excuse for such a catalogue of errors. .

The hotel was very quiet when we stayed there. It is in a lovely location, but it seems not to be trying to be quite so upmarket as it used to. Booked on an offer it seemed very reasonable (£99 per night), and dinner remains of a high standard, even if the dining room lacked atmosphere because it was quiet. I'd rather stay here than in a chain hotel charging almost as much. Obviously expect to pay smart hotel prices for e.g. afternoon tea. Overall it has a slight air of decayed gentility but that gives it a somewhat different charm.

I took my partner to the Lords of the Manor for his birthday last weekend. Luckily, he had chosen it so I could not be held responsible! (Unfortunately, he had based his choice on a review in the Style section of the Sunday Times - where A.A. Gill had, quote my partner, given the restaurant a virtually unprecedented 5 stars. When I later read the article myself, it turned out to have been written by Alex James of Blur - as A.A.Gill was away!)
The hotel seemed to be staffed entirely by young people - not a managerial person in evidence all weekend. We were initially given a "junior suite" - a dark room in the roof of the barn. Two tiny dorma windows made the room very dingy; my partner loves nothing more than a beautiful view, so I organised for us to be moved. We were then given the best room in the house - and whilst I must admit the view out of the enormous bay window was gorgeous, the room itself was very tired and somewhat shabby looking. The bathroom was cheap and plasticky, and the towels grey and threadbare.

Our meal was such a disappointment and a catalogue of disasters. We had elected not to come down to the bar for the recommended pre dinner aperitifs 30 mins before dinner. This seemed to throw the staff completely ; we were shown to our table (moved, because we had been seated with strangers at what was virtually a table for four) and then left alone for 30 mins. All around, diners were given breadsticks, olives etc - we received nothing.
When the menus finally came,I didn't fancy much on it. The only thing which vaguely appealed was the sole - but I didn't care for the "slices of apple" which came with it.
I asked our rather young, condescending French waiter if I could possibly have potatoes with the fish instead. He said this was impossible; they could not do this. I was just stunned - how could a supposedly top restaurant not potatoes for me? I called over a young lady who seemed to be in charge in a vague way, and reiterated my request. She proceeded to tell me this would not be necessary as the sole already came on a bed of mashed potatoes! I can only surmise that something got lost in translation from "pommes de terre" to the English wording "slices of apple" on the menu!!
In the event, the food was nouvelle cuisine at its most pretentious and portions were so tiny as to be a joke. The waiters wre all young kids and it was shambolic - no other word for it. Yet again, we couldn't see a single grown up person of management in evidence.

When it came to checking out, the whole miserable experience came to £ 395 - extortionate to say the least. To add insult to injury, they had added in a "discretionary" 10% - both to the room and the meal, which my partner and I objected to, and it was immediately removed.
All in all, a great disappointment and we certainly would not recommend it to friends.
If I had done my research better - just down the road in Lower Slaughter, is Lower Slaughter Manor(same group as Cliveden and Royal Crescent, Bath). It looks stunningly beautiful, the costs are identical, and if I had my time over, we would most definitely have gone there.....