Rudding Park

We had been looking forward to our stay having stayed many years ago. We arrived on a rainy Sunday for the winter package. Lunch in the Clocktower was ok. We felt each diner had a different experience eg some we offered to take wet coats while ours were left on the back of our chairs. We had booked the standard room and it was standard. The room we had years ago was far superior. The rooftop spa was good, although very busy, you had difficulty to get a bed to relax on -most likely due to the weather. Spa staff all helpful and friendly. They brought drinks to you outside. Dinner in the clocktower was underwhelming as was breakfast. Service was warm and friendly. They did leave you a gift and replace things whilst you were at dinner. We felt that there was no consistency with guests and service eg we saw some guests offered to get cars/water to take on journey- we were offered help with bags. Our expectations were definitely not met and did not feel that this was the hotel others describe- we must have missed something! I think to definitely upgrade your room if you want luxury.

We stayed at Rudding Park during the summer and loved our stay so we were excited to visit again. However it didn’t live up to our expectations in the slightest. Upon arrival we were greeted in reception and shown to our room by a lovely member of staff (Cico was his name - we think!) No complaints there. Next we went to Clocktower for our lunch which we had pre booked for 2pm. We placed an order for drinks and a main meal. Which was just 2x roast beef. 45 minutes later and absolutely no communication from the staff we thought we had better check where our food was. To our surprise our server hadn’t put our order through the system! We were offered another drink and told our bill would be covered. The least they could do. Finally 1hr 10 mins after ordering, our roast beef arrived. We couldn’t have been less disappointed. It was tasteless, with water gravy and boiled veg. We decided part way through the lunch wait that we would move our dinner reservation from clock tower to Fifty Two instead due to the poor service and food. And we were informed that the dinner allowance we had for Clocktower would be used towards the meal at Fifty Two. This was the BEST decision we could have made. The staff and food there are exactly what should be instilled throughout the whole of Rudding Park. We played golf in the afternoon which was lovely and one of the guest relations staff kindly drove us to the course. In the morning we woke up to an invoice which still contained part of our bill from lunch and no sign of our dinner allowance reducing the bill for Fifty Two. This was questioned at checkout and thankfully amended. But should have been accounted for in the first place rather than us guests having to pull the staff up. Finally breakfast in the clock tower was again poor. It took over 30 mins to get our main dish which again was below average. We finished our stay with a couple of hours in the rooftop spa which was lovely. But unfortunately most of our stay was tainted by the initial experience at lunch time which sadly didn’t seem to disappear as the stay progressed. We know it’s not the end of the world but little things make a huge difference at that price point.

My wife and I visited Rudding Park once again to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. We received impeccable service from the moment we entered reception and this continued throughout our stay. We enjoyed a visit to the indoor pool each day and a walk around the kitchen garden where we saw how much of the food on our plates was produced locally. A very relaxing couple of days.

I purchased a gift voucher for an afternoon spa and dine. This was £219. You can get exactly the same for £165 by booking on the website without going through the voucher section. You have said the extra is because you can choose any day to use it. I pointed out that this wasn’t mentioned on the voucher. You said that a number of people have complained about this and you were in the process of sorting this issue out. I said I would cancel the voucher and rebook at the £165 offer. You refused to accept this and say it’s a third party who deal with this even though it’s your company I bought the voucher with. You showed absolutely no empathy or professionalism at all so I intend cancel my payment with the bank. Finally, with the image you like to portray, I am totally disgusted by your attitude and approach to this situation.

We just had our 5th visit at rudding park and this place just keeps getting better and better. The service from all the staff is outstandingly friendly & professional. All the staff deserve a special mention has they always go above and beyond to make your stay extra welcoming & special. All the staff are so friendly and say hello when you walk past. Thank you to the welcoming reception team and restaurant & bar team for their exceptional service. The food in the clock tower restaurant is exceptional. We had Sunday lunch when arrived, evening meal and breakfast all in the clock tower restaurant and the food, drinks and service was outstanding. We always enjoy a 4 hours spa session in the roof top spa. The outdoor pool was so warm, it was perfect temperature on a cold day. The hotel and spa are always kept to a high standard of cleanliness. The beds & pillows are so comfortable. (The only negative we had was, The rooms get warm in the night, not sure if it was due to the heavy duvet, we had to open a window to cool the room down, as I couldn't sleep for being too warm. Usually you would get a complimentary bottled water in your room per stay, this time we didn't get any complimentary water. The only option was that there was 1 bottled water next to the mini bar, but you had to pay £6.50. Also, we got charged additional £16 when we left the hotel, which stated it was from the mini bar in our room, which we didn't have any drinks or snacks from thw mini bar in the room when we stayed. We did contact them and they apologised for the inconvenience and refunded the money. Thank you to the manager for leaving us a gift in our room, which made our stay extra personal & special. Thank you, Rudding Park, for your exceptional service. We can't wait to come back again in the near future.

Lovely setting. Lovely interior. The room was nice but a little to warm. Clocktower wasn't what I expected. Very basic where we were seated . More attention to the dining area is definitely needed. I would go again but I wouldn't eat at the clocktower. The concierge Chris was super attentive. Carrying my bag . Bringing our car to the entrance and with a big smile makes all the difference.