Champneys Forest Mere

We weren’t allowed in until 5pm the coffee shop had workman in the room next door. Spa facilities weren’t all working. Everyone was complaining in the restaurant for the evening. Next day we were told we could only use the spa @£70 per person for the morning so no morning swim. Hotel needs updating. Really disappointed.

Misleading check in time. Arrived three hours early to be told we could either sit in the coffee bar for the remaining time or pay £140 to have a glorified swim. The room was dated and in poor repair with paint peeling in places and lights taped up. The inclusive breakfast was delicious however, in the 40 minutes we were there the cooked breakfast was not offered and things we not topped up unless asked. Could be absolutely wonderful if it was handled by staff with better customer service.

Everything was brilliant

We paid over £1000 for a two night stay. The room was very very tired and felt grubby and dated. The room was worse than a budget hotel room. Despite the £500 a night price you have to pay extra to have a cooked breakfast and the self serve breakfast on offer is very poor. No table service and only coffee on offer is weak watery coffee via a thermos flask. Not actually sure how they can justify the room price. Bathroom in particular was very dated and grubby - shower is operated via attempting to run the cold and hot tap at the same time ( ! ) Shower curtain grubby and shower rail rusty ( like the bath taps ) Reception is always empty and unable to speak to anyone about the shocking standard of the room Will not be staying again and emailing requesting a part refund…

The spa was lovely—slightly busy at times, but still a relaxing space with friendly staff throughout. One standout was the lady hosting breakfast, who was genuinely fantastic. She brought such warmth and energy to the room, greeting every guest with a cheerful hello and goodbye. Her attentiveness and positivity made a real difference to the start of each day and was easily one of the highlights of our stay. There were a couple of small details around cleanliness that could use attention. In the breakfast area, the artwork frames on the right-hand side had a noticeable build-up of dust. Similarly, in the café, the lights hanging from the windowed back wall had cobwebs on the right side. These didn’t affect our overall experience, but they were worth noting. The main issue during our stay was the lack of hot water in our room, both in the evening and the following morning. We were told there had been a boiler issue and that it had been resolved by morning, with instructions to run the tap. Unfortunately, this didn’t work. It was particularly inconvenient as we were trying to get ready for dinner, and given the cost of the stay, it was a disappointing part of the experience. While we understand that technical issues can happen and may be outside the hotel’s control, what matters most is how those situations are handled. In this case, the response from reception felt indifferent and lacked empathy. We would have appreciated some form of gesture or acknowledgment to reflect the