My wife and I spent a night at The Grove in early November.

I was slightly wary because neither of us have any real interest in golf which is a big feature at this hotel. That was quickly allayed on arrival. This is not one of those hotels where the golf is in your face and if you are not there to play you feel as if you are not wanted. This is (externally anyway) an English country house hotel with a golf course discreetly attached - not the other way round.

The service levels were excellent. The guy in charge of the valet parking spotted that my wife was walkking with a stick following a recent operation, checked our room location with reception and suggested a change of room to somewhere closer to the entranceso she didn't have to walk so far - an offer we declined when it was explained that there was a function on that night and it might be a bit noisy. When we asked for an ice bucket and a couple of champagne glasses they arrived within 5 minutes not the usual 20!

The exterior might be traditional English country house but the interior most definitely is not. Laura Ashley style decor is nowhere to be seen. It's quite difficult to describe in a review but I think that stylishly modern with real flair (but not over the top) is a good summary.

We ate in the small but excellent "premium" restaurant; the only criticism was that my wife's glass of champagne was a bit flat having come from a magnum which had perhaps been open a bit too long. Catering for my wife's intolerance wheat or dairy was no problem. Breakfast the following morning was in the main restaurant and definitely several steps up from the usual hotel fare. All in all a genuine "feel good" experience.

All this is very expensive. Whether it's overpriced is a matter of personal opinion. I can certainly see why some people feel that way. But if you want to try something a bit different, perhaps for a special occasion, then I would really recommend it.

Finally, don't be put off by the hotel website which has clearly been put together by someone with an overwhelming sense of his/her own importance. All the staff were really friendly and not as "posh" or "arty" as the website may suggest.

The Grove is a stunning hotel set in beautiful surroundings. The design and finishing touches are just stunning, every room is different so it's worth having a good wander round the rooms downstairs. The grounds are beautiful too, it's worth finding the time to take a good walk around the grounds. However, I do think it's overpriced. A buffet dinner for 2, with 2 drinks each came to £120, the buffet was good, but not that good! As another reviewer has said, if I'd known it was so much I would have eaten in the Stables instead, which had a great menu and a nicer atmosphere. They also tried to charge us £45 for breakfast even though we had a B&B deal, then tried to charge me £9 for a £2 drink from the minibar.
I originally looked over the hotel in view of using it for work events, and do think it's more suited to this than a personal getaway. But given the chance, I'll definitely go back.

Booked a Saturday night for my wife's birthday. If the reputation of the Grove was not enough to set my expectations high then the price for a Mansion Superior room certain was - for over 500 quid I was expecting a stunning room.

What we got was pretty standard, I have paid a lot less for substantially better. I was pretty sure that I'd been promised a golf-course view on booking but the room actually looked out over the entrance to the Hotel. I would of expected a bigger room, and a MUCH bigger bathroom which was very narrow. There was certainly no wow factor. The bellman that showed us to our room spent about 5 minutes explaining how to work the plasma screen TV and entertainment system - this seemed to be the unique selling point of the room. The picture quality was pretty poor, and frankly I could have stayed at home if I wanted to watch TV.

Booked just over a week ahead and Colette's restaurant was fully booked as was the Spa - ho hum, not much can be done about that I guess.

Mansion rooms give you access to a lounge area - we walked past several waiting staff and sat down and made ourselves quite comfortable on a sofa - before being told that the area we were in had been reserved for a corporate function. We were not shown to another area and were left to guess which bits were reserved and which bits weren't for ourselves. Poor service. Ended up sitting beside a draughty glass door that the staff never closed as the came and went.

I've heard some raving reviews of the Glasshouse restaurant but it's basically a buffet - OK, but a buffet none-the-less. The only buffet that interests me is one that I get a comp for on the Vegas tables.

Highlight of the stay was breakfast - as Mansion house guests we got to have this in Colette's. This was the only bit of our stay which came close to a country house experience. Great food and a chilled out atmosphere in which to enjoy it andlinger over the Sunday papers. The Glasshouse breakfast area was very busy and very noisy so this retreat was very much appreciated.

Nice Hotel, but at that sort of price is you don't get every detail bang on, then you are taking the mickey. And the Grove was a long way off getting everything right.

It was like visiting in a motorway service station
Noise from the motorway..just yards from M25
Carpark like a short stay airport and too close to the hotel
Buffet style Glass house cafeteria below service station standard
Cost £27.00 for buffet...tasteless food
Full of conference travelling salespeople
Bright lighting will give you a headache.
Do not go here for a treat or to relax
Great golf course
Charming Polish staff
If you like motorway service stations then you will like this.
Overhyped ..will not be returning