I fall for it every time.

The "country house hotel" web site, the glowing prose, the photos of rolling countryside.........

I stay in hotels about 50 nights a year for both business and pleasure, and on this occasion it was for business.

Yes, the grounds are beautiful, the building stunning and steeped in history..... and maybe these are important if you are there for a weekend on a romantic break or something. However, for business travellers, the agenda is somewhat different.

My room to be fair was huge, as was the bed. However, it was a bit like staying at your nan's. All the furniture was 1930's and the decor was definately 1980's. But fine. OK for one night.

I stayed on a chilly evening at the end of October. The very helpful man at reception helped me with my case to the room but then, astonishingly, dumped it outside in the corridor (is that just me being picky?). All the corridors were unheated and freezing, as was the room. To be fair, once I turned the radiators on, it warmed up in a couple of hours though. Went down to the bar and it was all a bit Fawlty Towers. One, exuberant but completely untrained, lady was serving drinks and serving the entire restaurant! She was doing her best, is all I can say there! I was rushed with indecent haste from the (unheated) bar into the (unheated) restaurant and force fed food at an astonishing rate! When you are on your own in a hotel, you like to make the bar/restaurant thing last all night -but here it was all over in 40 minutes!

It wasn't terrible or anything. But I wouldn't go back on my own money. I think the only reason I was there in the first place is that it seemed the best place in the area - so if push comes to shove, yes, I would go there again - but only if there wasn't anything obviously better. Maybe next time I will go a bit further afield to the Hollins Hall or something 20 mins down the road.