I have stayed in the Marwell Hotel for the past 3 years running, always at the start of May. Each time our visit has coincided with a wedding function and this seems to cause resource problems at the hotel.

At £149 for a family of 4 the rate is attractive and the situation of the hotel, directly next to Marwell Zoo, makes it a good place to stay.

I must say that the way the hotel is managed seems to have declined over the past 3 years as we had to wait for over 5 minutes when we first arrived in reception before we were able to flag a member of staff down and get their attention.

The room was extremely hot, even with the heating off, and we could hear lots of other guests complaining about how hot the rooms were.

Breakfast was a complete joke - there was a very long line of guests waiting for breakfast and although the staff were rushing about aimlessly nobody was getting any milk, toast, or any of the cooked breakfast in a hurry!

On checkout I noticed that they had charged for items I hadn't received and generally came away with the impression that the whole place isn't managed very well.

This hotel is of a very good standard for a three star hotel. The rooms are clean tidy with nice beds and bedding. The bathrooms, although rather small are smart and clean.

What lets the hotel down is the standard of the food which is hit or miss.. I asked for some new potatoes with my evening meal and was provided with fried and very stale tasting potatoes. When I sent them back I was told that they didn't have any more potatoes and would I like chips... (no thanks!)

The prices for the meals is too high for the standard. I think that charging £2.50 each for broccolli and chips is reasonable, adding a fiver to an already inflated charge.

The breakfast also needs attention. Plates were unheated and one of the bain maries had about two pounds of very nice cooked bacon in it which was sadly cold because that amount of meat needs a bit more than a little bit of hot water to keep it warm. Had, the bacon been done in smaller quantities then it would have been hotter. Also, the toast is browned so little it seems more like dried out bread.

The management needs to do very little to make huge improvements. Make the breakfast dishes in smaller quantities, review the pricing structure and pay more attention to detail.

This is a hotel with a lot going for it but it lets itself down needlessly.

We booked the 2 night zoofari break which was £269 for 2 nights dinner b & b. I travelled with my husband and 2 kids.

Overall, we had a lovely time. The room was more than adequate with double bed, bunk beds and patio doors with balcony to wooded area. Bathroom was also above standard. Breakfast was fantastic with plenty of choice and served buffet style. The overall feel of the hotel is very chilled and very suitable for children.

On the downside, we were very disappointed with the pool. It was small and quite shabby, but the main problem was it was absolutely freezing cold! They said they had a problem with the pipes. However, it did not get any better throughout the stay. They did however give a discount of £25 off our bill for the inconvenience.

The dinner in the Restaurant was very good. Be warned, as we were told we had £25 each to spend on the menu as part of our package. However, a steak was £25 on the menu alone!! Very expensive and certain meals inc. steak had a supplement which we felt was out of order as we were on a dinner, b & b package. As a way around this, we ordered food from the bar menu up to the value of £25 which meant we could have 3 courses!!!

The best part of staying here is the proximity to Marwell Zoo, which is absolutely brilliant. We had a fantastic day there and to be able to just walk back to the Hotel afterwards was great.

The majority of the staff are polish and we found the service to be very good throughout.

I would recommend this Hotel, but only for families.

My wife and I enjoyed a Zoofari break with our sons aged 12 and 14. The deal was great value for a one night stay with dinner, B&B and Zoo entrance for £150 for the four of us Food was fine, service was friendly, and the Africa theme added to our enjoyment as a family. We all loved the zoo too.

While all this was good value and a good fit for our purpose, I think hotel needs some refurbishment and I would not regard it as up to corporate "business class" standard. Also watch out for the "all inclusive" dinner in the package. It turns out that they think kids are "inclusive" only if they eat off the children's menu (for under 12s). So they tried to charge us full price for the adult meal served to my 14-year old. I complained and they reversed this at checkout, but I do think the advertised description of the Zoofari deal was misleading (at least when we booked).

Overall though, we had a super stay and recommend this as somewhere that is fun and a wee bit different for families.