Bowers Mill Aparthotel

Comparisons to “Fawlty Towers” abound in reviews but were a recurring theme during our stay at the Bowers Mill Aparthotel. But first, some good things about the stay… The location is lovely, with views across rolling hills and it can be very peaceful (but see later comments). Some effort has been made to make the rooms individual, though not a great deal beyond different wallpaper and a lamp. Likewise, there have been efforts to retain some of the features of the old mill building but these weren’t particularly noticeable in the rooms. The rooms are very clean and well-maintained. They have nice kitchens, with all the bits and pieces to cook a full meal, though I’m unsure who might be doing that. A large fridge was certainly handy for wine. The beds are large and (when you can get to sleep) comfortable. Then the bad bits… The four-person rooms have only two dining chairs, so you can’t easily share a takeaway meal. The bathroom has no light over the basin, so I shaved in gloom. The shower floor was frictionless when wet and an accident waiting to happen. And the farcical bits… We had booked two rooms, and this seemed to confuse the receptionist no end. She first charged us for one room but that failed somehow, so she then charged us for the two rooms as we had asked. She then realised that we had pre-paid for the room and told us she would cancel the charge, but we are still waiting for that two days later. Then the air conditioning wasn’t working in one of our rooms. We had changed our booking to this hotel for the air conditioning as it was expected to be the hottest nights of the year so far. The receptionist asked us “Have you tried opening the windows?”! All they could manage was to provide a couple of fans for the room, which blew the hot and stuffy air around. Sadly, the apartment block is a few feet from a huge wedding/party venue next door. The disco’s music continued until about 1am and, even with the windows closed, there was zero chance of sleeping until then. Woe betides anyone staying here with children. At last, blessed sleep. For 15 minutes! Then the fire alarm went off. We, and others with babes in arms, were milling about the corridors uncertain what to do. So, we threw on some clothes to leave. Then a staff member appeared at our door and said our room had set off the alarm and asked if we were OK. Without checking the room for smoke or other problems, he accepted that we had no problems. He said it was probably a false alarm that happened there sometimes. The alarm was finally silenced after several more minutes of din. Before going off twice more! We finally did get some sleep but our family in the other room never did really settle again. So, would I stay at the Bower Mill Aparthotel again? Nope. Never. Not a chance.

Came here to stay for my brother’s wedding and it was exceptional! The rooms were incredible, staff were lovely and situated in such a beautiful place. Thoroughly recommend to anyone. Member of staff Dee was particularly helpful and made the experience just as enjoyable!

We stayed in the Botanical in Jan 2025. What an experience that was. Heaven in the West Yorkshire countryside. The rooms were amazing, a brilliantly equipped kitchen, lovely bedroom, huge TV with all the channels you could possibly want, it was the ultimate in luxury. The staff were superb, so incredibly kind and helpful. But the location was dreamlike - not that it was easy to be tempted outside: we didn't want to leave our Botanical suite. It was like being in a Beryl Cook illustration: rolling hills and greenery and sheep and fresh air (I think I got the right artist there.) . Our 3 days were just so peaceful and so luxurious, we're even thinking of spending Xmas there. Honestly, it's probably the best place I've ever stayed. Sean