Stayed at the Mount Somerset last March and had an excellant stay, we booked again to stay for our wedding anniversary ( May 9th). The hotel is lovely and the rooms are excellant ( well done to the house keeping staff, full marks) but the rest of the service was very poor. We stayed for two nights, dining each night in the hotel, on both evenings we waited for about ten minutes in the bar area but there was not a member of staff to be seen, we had to go back to reception to ask for some one to serve us. On the first evening we ordered a secound round of drinks as there was a delay in the dining room, the head waitor took the order and we then never saw him again, eventually one of the waitors came to show us to our table and said they must of forgotten to get our drinks. The waitng satff in the dining room were functional but lacked any flair resulting in a dining experience lacking in any atmosphere.
Breakfast - no butter marmalade laid on the table, the waitress seem to take a long time to find marmalade sauce etc - once again very little chat from the staff, very basic slow service.

Secound evening which was our wedding anniversary. I had phoned earlier in the week to ensure we were booked into the restaurant, the receptionist made a note that we were celebrating our anniversary. Once again on arrival we had to go and find some one to serve us or greet us at the bar, the head waitor was not even aware that we had a reservation in the restaurant.

I could give a number of other examples of lack of attention during our stay, we were very disappointed with the service, there seem to be a total lack of management. We will not be returning.

We went for a 2 night break booked through Secret Escapes in April 2013.
The hotel, which I believe has been recently taken over and refurbished, was elegant and spacious, with an excellent position in the countryside about 3 miles from Taunton. Our room was superb. Very clean and beautifully furnished with lounge suite and TV, king-sized bed, and bathroom with free-standing roll-top bath and a walk-in shower. The lounge and bar areas are comfortable and tastefully furnished, however, the restaurant we found lacking in atmosphere and the food was average. Two of us had fish, which was a bit dry. Quite a few guests were having their meals in the bar area in spite of the low coffee tables, but there was a better ambience in there. On arrival we were served with a cream tea (part of the Secret Escapes deal). There were 2 enormous scones for each person. How we wished we hadn't stopped for a late lunch (because we didn't think our rooms would be ready), as they were the most delicious scones we have ever tasted and we could only manage 1 each! The staff were all courteous and attentive, especially the receptionists. We would stay here again. Please don't try and get away with smoking in the bedrooms. One guest did and we were all woken by the fire alarms and had to hurry to the fire exits and shiver outside for an hour in our night clothes until the fire brigade gave the all clear. Worryingly, there didn't seem to be any staff on hand to direct or help people!