Mercure Newbury Elcot Park

“Pleasant countryside hotel with some nice features and good staff”

Generally good stay but a few frustrations. The staff are willing and welcoming but some things seem to take a long time : for example the gap between ordering a drink and being served it can be quite long. Staff are generally young and enthusiastic but not always knowledgeable and at times hav… Mais

Generally good stay but a few frustrations. The staff are willing and welcoming but some things seem to take a long time : for example the gap between ordering a drink and being served it can be quite long. Staff are generally young and enthusiastic but not always knowledgeable and at times having a maitre d'hotel type figure in charge would be welcome. The pool, spa and gym are good but our room and some areas looked a little tired and the extension is functional. The breakfast and food in general is to a high standard and we tried both the diner and the asian restaurant and were pleased with the food though seasoned a little ourselves. Breakfast is good and the quality of the machine coffee available and in the rooms was surprisingly better than expected. There are nice little touches - cookies on the door on arrival, king's gin liqueur in the room - but the price feels on the high side. I'd also question if this would be a much better hotel in summer when you can make more use of the outdoor space. Lighting in the conservatory extension was rather harsh and in hindsight we'd have preferred to have eaten in one of the other areas our first night but overall we enjoyed our stay if not sure we'll return.

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“One night stay in a lovely area”

So this is a lovely hotel with quirky extras The room was very nice but it was hot and just a fan to help cool down . Windows don’t open v wide Loved the pantry Loved the reception and building Grounds are lovely and the outside pool is v relaxing but there were lots of young children which wo… Mais

So this is a lovely hotel with quirky extras The room was very nice but it was hot and just a fan to help cool down . Windows don’t open v wide Loved the pantry Loved the reception and building Grounds are lovely and the outside pool is v relaxing but there were lots of young children which wouldn’t suit eveyone Staff were v nice My biggest negative is the food. Lunch in the brasserie is a very limited menu Dinner menu is much the same with repeats of the lunch menu What we ate for lunch was ok Dinner was not up to standard and v expensive. Again not enough choice I’m only stating that the food doesn’t give the hotel anything. Can’t eat out as nothing is local The Asian menu is meant to be good but we didn’t try it Breakfast is fabulous and served on beautiful crockery - we didn’t go to the spa but it looked lovely

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“A mixed review of our return to the Retreat”

We came to the retreat a year ago and couldn’t wait to return. We were initially put in a room next to very loud fan/extractor system that was on and off throughout the night, so after a couple of hours of terrible sleep (despite the closed window) the next day we asked to be moved. Kudos to the lo… Mais

We came to the retreat a year ago and couldn’t wait to return. We were initially put in a room next to very loud fan/extractor system that was on and off throughout the night, so after a couple of hours of terrible sleep (despite the closed window) the next day we asked to be moved. Kudos to the lovely reception woman who sorted us out a new room with no fuss even though the hotel was busy. Couldn’t fault how they dealt with it but i can’t believe anyone sleeps in that room and doesn’t complain! It was definitely a mixed bag this time- amazing service from staff (particularly the ladies who run breakfast- one with glasses and one blonde woman , both fantastic) The whole hotel definitely felt a bit run down compared to last time, just in need of some paint & general TLC. The spa pool wasn't that clean, infact there was quite a bit of visible mould and the temperature both in the pool and the air temperature was too cold so we were in and out as it was just too chilly to spend any length of time. Breakfast food was amazing as were the bar drinks. We were disappointed by the Yu restaurant which was very average and expensive for the quality (it was exceptional last time), although in no way bad, just underwhelming. On balance we would return (the only real shame being the spa cleanliness & temperature as the use of that is a big draw!), the staff are 10/10 and really make for a lovely welcome experience. Its a beautiful setting just not quite the ‘WOW’ we’ve had before at the retreat.

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