The booking was for 4 days over Christmas and was a treat for the family so apart from my mother in law none of us knew anything about the hotel.

When we arrived the hotel looked rather dismal dark & mouldy. There are signs in the car park advising you to leave your luggage until after check in but they're not very large so we didn't notice them and ended up dragging our suitcases for what felt like miles along these very strange covered walkways. These walkways are not heated and are very confusing & not well signposted so it is very easy to get lost.

The rooms though were a nice surprise very warm, clean & all looked new & fresh. We were in rooms a very long way from the main house & towards the end of our stay took the car to transport our older family members as the transiton from warm room to freezing cold covered walkway took their breath away & many stops were needed for them to catch their breath.

Once we discovered the room to book the activities we were soon very busy going to all sorts of classes & trying out various sports etc meeting up only at meal times. Most of the activties were of a very high class & I would like to single out John who taught Archery & Air Rifles as excellent. He took so much time with my elderly mother showing her how to shoot a bow & arrow & she's nearly 80! I enjoyed archery so much I went again the following day but this time the class was taken by a much younger person who really made us feel like he was doing us a favour for being there!

All the sports hall (there are lots) were of a good or excellent standard. The games room though was very poor with lots of the comupter games broken etc.

The swimming pool was new but you had to get a towel from reception with a £5 deposit and if you are used to staying in Hotels that provide towels you could end up like my husband after a swim with nothing to dry himself with and a very long way from the reception!

Because of the snow all the outside activites were not available so we did not get to use them which was a shame but much too cold.

Some of the areas like the sun room had the feel of being in an old peoples home with lines and lines of tapestry chairs and acres and acres of swirly artex all over the place.

There was a Wi Fi Hot spot in the reception area but this hardly worked and staff on reception were not sure how it worked.

I would still reccomend the hotel - we all enjoyed ourselves and felt we had tried lots of activties that we had never had the chance to do before. It would be nice to visit again in the summer and try some of the walks on the moor.

Our stay at the Manor House Hotel over Christmas was absolutely fantastic!!!

There was lots to do and at no point did we get bored. The 'Fully Inclusive' feature of the stay was very useful and helpful. At breakfast, lunch and tea you could simply turn up and get your meals (obviously free of charge). The waiter service was Exceptional! There was around 2 mins waiting time for our main course when we ordered it. The same waiting time applied to other items you ordered. This is one of the highlights of the holiday - Exceptional service from ALL waiters/staff at the Manor House Hotel. Once you were finished with your meal you just simply walked out. No having to pay a bill.

This has been one of, if not the best holiday i've ever been on. We were there for 4 days - Christmas Eve - The day after Boxing day.

We will certainly go again.


Thanks to all the Staff at the Manor House Hotel!!!

I have been to the Ashbury twice this year, once with a friend, our daughters and our mums and this summer with my whole family of teens plus extended family. We loved it. The Ashbury rooms were fine, clean, perfectly adequate facilities. Yes the lounges etc are rather dated, the tapestry wingback armchairs sit in straight lines all over the place but that just provides a giggle.
The sister hotel, the Manor House is a mile or so down the road and you breakfast and dine in the evening at your booked hotel but lunch at whichever you are at during the day with a lunch pass.
The money is definitely ploughed back into the sporting and craft facilities which for people from 2 to 102 cannot be faulted. The staff are generally friendly and helpful and anyone who cant find something to do needs shooting !

We found the value for money brilliant, considering everything is pretty much included apart from drinks (although three nights a week they will offer you a free bottle of wine per room or money towards upgrading to something of your choice) and the drinks are not overpriced at all. You will not come back from this place feeling fleeced. The food is really good, fairly simple cooking but most definitely filling and the desserts are wonderful !
I have booked a weekend trip with a bunch of 'girl' friends in November at the sister hotel, the Manor House and I know we'll have a great laugh. I just hope that the rooms arent as bad as some of the reviews. Certainly no complaints about the Ashbury, but may be its just a bit newer.

I took my mum for a short break in Devon and we booked five nights at this hotel. The room was charged at £150 per night for a twin room and it was appalling. The carpet was dirty and fraying, there was a musty smell in the room and the bed linen felt dirty. The food was worse than a motorway restaurant. We spent one restless night in this hotel and had to leave the next day even though it cost us £400.