To celebrate the first anniversary of our relationship we decided to book a late break on lastminute.com. The deal I found for South Lodge was more than we'd normally spend on 1 night in a hotel, but it did include dinner and breakfast.

We arrived mid-afternoon and were shown to our room by the extremely helpful porter. The rooms are all absolutely beautiful, and have some lovely features such as the pet dog (toy) which takes the place of a "do not disturb" sign, you just put it outside the bedroom door. I also loved the enormous shower, with its rain bars.

We booked a table for dinner (included in our package) for 8pm so went down to the bar at 7.30 for a drink. The bar and lounge are both absolutely beautiful too. The food was fabulous, I cannot rave enough about the lamb! Not too sure about the roquefort ice cream - but it had to be tried!

Unfortunately the restaurant had run out of our first choice of wine, but the recommendation of trying some lebanese wine was curious but well worth it!

We went back to the lounge after dinner and played board games and drank port. The staff were all exceptionally friendly, and didn't make us feel uncomfortable in what is a very high class establishment!

I thoroughly recommend South Lodge for anyone who wants a weekend of pure luxury.

What a fantastic hotel. The staff are amazing especially the head of maintenance who was very helpful when we had a few problems in our room.
The food was great but service a bit on the slow side.
All areas inside the hotel are exceptionally well looked after but as an avid gardener we were a little disappointed about the upkeep of the grounds.

We will return.

I have stayed repeatedly at the South Lodge Hotel on conferences over the last three years. My recommendation is that it's a great hotel to soak up the atmosphere of a country house on the South Downs - for one night. After that, the hotel is a bit tiresome. Showers do not hold a constant temperature, leaving you at the mercy of the toilet flushing habits of your neighbors. That is, if you get a room that has a shower at all. Walls are paper thin. Watch out for the room over the bar. While in bed, you'll feel like the bar patrons are in your room with you. The last time there was a downpour (not that uncommon in the UK), water came through the roof and soaked my bed, forcing a change in rooms. Don't plan on eating breakfast in under an hour, and that may not be enough for the slow service.

My advice? Unless you enjoy playing "country gentleman," give this hotel a pass.

South Lodge is an old country house with much history (carefully explained in the hotel literature), located in a small village quiet a few miles away from the A23. There is a large hall like reception area, the staff are very friendly, explaining the fluffy dog is the hotel's do not disturb sign. We booked a junor suite with views over the south downs, this was in the new section, complete with large bathroom, kingsize bed, sitting area and an outside terrace!

We didnt try the resturant, but the room service food and breakfasts are excellent. Popular with weddings, we didnt find it disturbing us, ymmv.

Pros
- Very clean
- Great location, gardens, lakes
- Quiet
- Great staff, excellent service

Cons
Kingsize bed made of two mattresses
Can be pricey

R and G