Name: Down Hall Hotel
Address: Hatfield Heath, Hatfield Heath, England, United Kingdom, Hatfield Heath, Essex, GB
Price range: $181–$552 per night
Rating: 9.13

What guests think

At Down Hall Hotel, travellers praise the grand historic setting, extensive grounds and tasteful decor, along with generally friendly, professional service and comfortable rooms; many also enjoy the bar and dining options, and several guests note relaxing spa treatments.

The most frequent complaint is the lack of air conditioning, with some rooms uncomfortably hot and windows that barely open; a minority also find certain rooms small, dated, noisy or with disappointing views. Food is often praised but breakfast service and coffee machines can be chaotic, prices feel high to some, and the spa frequently requires pre-booking, can feel small, and may have cold or limited thermal facilities. Expect a picturesque country stay with warm service and amenities, but check room type, temperature options and spa access before booking.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Extensive grounds and characterful public spaces are praised, and some guests enjoy the spa. However, the spa often requires advance booking and extra fees, can feel small or cold, there is no main pool, bar prices are high, and the drive/car park has potholes.

Related guest reviews

10

Maria Lorraine

Jul 24, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

A truly luxurious and special hotel, beautifully decorated and maintained. Outstanding staff, lovely grounds to wander in, and excellent spa, we loved our stay.

8

Bhaveet

Mar 14, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This is a beautiful property. Whoever has completed the interior design and decorating should be commended - very classy. We happened to visit on a weekend where the weather was stunning, which made everything so much nicer and meant we could spend almost all day outdoors enjoying the grounds and patio area. If the weather wasn't great I suspect we'd have got bored. The staff are very good, the food was excellent. The property and grounds are very clean and tastefully furnished. Compared to our spa hotels, I would say the gym and spa at this hotel is a big let down. The gym is very small and limited in terms of equipment. The spa is very basic, not much more than what you'd expect at a half decent gym. Overall we had a great time, significantly help by the stunning weather. If we were to visit again it would be on a similarly warm day and it would probably be just a day trip.

2

Kane

Feb 3, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Place is stunning HOWEVER please make sure you pre book the spa as it doesn’t come included in the room (which is silly) we booked this for my girlfriends birthday and found out on the day spa is fully booked even though the hotel seemed dead. everything is clean staff aren’t too bad, food and service was bang average food was poor tbh, girlfriends chicken wasn’t cooked properly and for the price of everything its was below par compared to when we went to Rowhill grange the year before and it was amazing this place was a real let down for us.

8

Beverley

Aug 31, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great place went for a wedding Positive 1st Lovely building Staff fantastic Food brilliant Walked round kitchen garden love the bbq area got some ideas Negatives Dust in room Car park needs a bit of repair walk up to reception lots of holes

8

Rafael

Mar 6, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Friendly staff. Use of pool/ spa should be included

10

Hemanth

Jan 3, 2023

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Stayed 1 night

Fantastic hotel with wonderful staff. Spent a night there with the family and the dog and the place was great. Huge grounds for walks with the dog and a wonderful doggy welcome package. The Fox Bar was great and the wife was able to enjoy the spa. Will be back for sure!

10

JULIE

Aug 8, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Hotel lovely in great surroundings. Room clean but bathroom needed refreshing.(the door). we had dinner in the bar although a little pricey food was excellent and plenty of it. The only down side was the state of the drive with quite a few pot holes could be a problem if unsteady on your feet and not good on the car tyres.

10

Lesley

Feb 1, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This was by far one of the best stately manor/Halls we have stayed at, The House is breathtaking and spacious, free parking and breakfast was included in the Price. The fine dining was excellent but pricey, Therr was a cheaper option in the lounge bar. Drinks expensive but well worth it for the experience. Spa and hydra pools not included but was very nice. The best thing about the hotel were the staff. Polite, helpful and attentive, by far the best service we have had in a long while. Thoroughly impressed and highly recommended

8

Hassan

Dec 30, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Nice hotel but spa too small and cold. Not a spa destination since no pool either. Water in the shower in the room was cold too.

4

Hannah

Jul 21, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Not informed that we needed to pre book the spa and unfortunately it was fully booked for the duration of our stay, which was the only reason we booked a spa hotel

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Cleanliness

Generally clean rooms and well-kept grounds are noted across reviews. Some report lapses such as dust, dead bugs, dated or scuffed bathrooms, dirty spa areas, and room-service trays or linen left in corridors.

Related guest reviews

6

Doja

Sep 7, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Definitely had cleanliness issues, had loads of dead bugs and animals in my room. The grounds were absolutely beautiful, and the staff were really lovely! Would recommend but they do need to sort out the housekeeping.

6

Diana

Oct 29, 2023

·

Stayed 5 nights

The reception task is great and was very helpful. June selected and made a reservation at a wonderful restaurant we thoroughly enjoyed. The original room we were assigned had insect nests. The hotel kindly moved us to another room, though it was much smaller and needed some cleaning. For example, had I had cleaning supplies I would have washed/dusted the wooden blinds in the bathroom, cleaned spots of mold in the tub/shower, and wiped the outside window sills.

10

Stuart

Sep 22, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Outstanding. From the minute I arrived it was clear this was an efficient, clean, and amazing hotel - staff were brilliant and couldn’t do enough for you. Will definitely be staying again. Shame it wasn’t a longer stay as would have liked to have had a walk round the gardens and hotel to see more.

10

Carl

Nov 18, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The hotel room was very clean and the staff were professional and helpful, the waiters and waitresses were so polite and helpful , they are a credit to the company. WELL DONE TO ALL

8

Beverley

Aug 31, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great place went for a wedding Positive 1st Lovely building Staff fantastic Food brilliant Walked round kitchen garden love the bbq area got some ideas Negatives Dust in room Car park needs a bit of repair walk up to reception lots of holes

10

Susan

Feb 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The hotel was clean, comfortable and convenient. Rooms very comfy, with great pillows. Very nice bathroom with lovely complimentary toiletries and fluffy towels. Bar has a very good range of drinks and the menu is varied. Prices as you would expect from a 4* of this calibre. Grounds are beautiful and parking is plentiful. Recommend and look forward to staying again.

4

Madeleine

Aug 25, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Staff were incredibly stressed and one member of staff sighed when I asked for drinks. The food was delicious but the portion sizes were tiny considering the pricing!! The bed was comfy and the room was nice and clean, it was warm and the fan came in handy. There was however breakfast trays left in the hallways for several hours, observed from 09:30 until at least 12:30, dirty linen was also left in the hallways under the stairs.

6

Renee

Apr 8, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

My room wasnt as clean as it could have been.

10

JULIE

Aug 8, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Hotel lovely in great surroundings. Room clean but bathroom needed refreshing.(the door). we had dinner in the bar although a little pricey food was excellent and plenty of it. The only down side was the state of the drive with quite a few pot holes could be a problem if unsteady on your feet and not good on the car tyres.

6

Jayne

May 28, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

We were only staying for 1 night, 5 hrs to drive and then allocated a room with a view over the car park, quite disappointing given the nightly rate. The pillows were awful and in desperate need of replacing, staff aren’t particularly welcoming, warm or friendly. Breakfast was really poor, no turn down service in the room. I have a bad back and struggled to open some of the doors to get to our room. We also booked the spa and couldn’t use the thermal pool as it was freezing, steam room didn’t work and the loungers outside had no covers and the area and floor is filthy. Hotel ordered us a taxi and they charge us £28 to go 5 miles yet we only paid a local cab £12 to return!! I think on check out guests should be asked if everything is/was okay but the guy seemed more interested in whether we had any extras to pay for and clearly uninterested if we were happy guests. I had such high expectations from the website but this is just a very mediocre hotel pretending to be something it isn’t! We will not be returning and we will not be recommending this hotel to our family and friends.

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Rooms

Many rooms are spacious and comfortable, with some offering quiet stays. Recurring issues include no air conditioning and very warm rooms, occasional small or dated layouts, limited window opening, weak showers, poor views, and some noise near service areas or events.

Related guest reviews

8

Benjamin

May 27, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Absurdly tiny room, vey hot. Lovely breakfast Nice grounds Lovely staff

2

TW

Jun 29, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Impossible to sleep at night given room temperatures of 28 degrees +; without availability of AC. Windows don’t fully open. In the modern era, a far more comfortable sleep would have been had at a Travelodge, Premier Inn etc for a third of the price. And the food quality: £25-30 a dish for Wetherspoons quality. Again, better off just going to Spoons! Good venue for an event; terrible place to stay.

4

Jackie

Jun 20, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Room was small, cramped and very very hot. They had a small fan which as useless and the windows opened about 10cm. Our view was on to a black tiled roof and out room was just big enough to have a king size bed.

4

Joan

Aug 30, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Horrible! Never again the room was above the kitchen and the rubbish bins! Flys and noise made the room unbearable, constant noise from the extraction fans goingon - with the weather being warm and not having air conditioning made the room so hot having needing the window open the only option - staff did move me but it’s was so late and spoilt a very special occasion

8

Chris

Aug 18, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Beautiful hotel and surroundings. We were wedding guests for the steel/leach wedding 10/9/25. Room was lovely. We were VERY disappointed being in a room, 210, with NO view due to the roof being outside our window,

10

Sharon

Aug 26, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We had a basic room. Very spacious and quiet but a little dated. The gardens and terrace are perfect

8

Anthony

Feb 21, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Lovely room and grounds. Only slight quibbles would be the shower (very close to the wall making it difficult to get fully under and not very powerful) and breakfast (could have been hotter). But overall nice place.

2

Hayley

May 3, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We could have a had a wonderful stay but unfortunately the room was very hot we actually woke up in puddles of sweat we had a window open there is very poor air flow

10

Sofa

Oct 20, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We stayed for 1 night with a toddler, plenty to keep the little one entertained with a play area and large grounds to explore. Room was also very spacious, we stayed in an executive room. Even with an additional bed, the room had plenty of room. Loved it so much, we’ve since rebooked.

10

Lynsey

Jul 26, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Beautiful building, needs a little TLC as there was an issue with the water in our room, we were promptly moved to a better room. Staff are friendly and social while retaining a professional manner. The grounds are stunning- I’ve stayed here several times and will definitely be back soon, as they never disappoint!

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Service

Service is widely described as friendly, professional and accommodating, with staff often going out of their way to help. There are occasional lapses in training or responsiveness, including slow check-in, breakfast chaos, miscommunication about lifts, billing or taxi pricing, and limited remedies for overheated rooms.

Related guest reviews

8

stephen

Jul 16, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Receptionist told us we had to walk up two flights of stairs as no lift. However there was a lift she obviously has not been shown her way around. However she was very pleasant just lack of training

10

Timothy Martin

Jul 24, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Staff were amazing, couldn’t do enough for you, polite, respectful and had a great sense of humour if you joked with them!

10

Stuart

Sep 22, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Outstanding. From the minute I arrived it was clear this was an efficient, clean, and amazing hotel - staff were brilliant and couldn’t do enough for you. Will definitely be staying again. Shame it wasn’t a longer stay as would have liked to have had a walk round the gardens and hotel to see more.

6

Rob

May 16, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

A word of warning, this hotel has no air-con and is VERY hot - my room was 36c, the windows opened about 10cm and they couldn't switch my room or move me anywhere, should've researched it myself more. Staff wouldn't do anything to rectify the issue other than provide more fans. Think if you stayed in a chain hotel you'd be at least given some kind of compensation, it doesn't have to be much but a gesture brings the situation under control. Nothing was offered.

8

Robin

Aug 22, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

It was very beautiful setting staff attentive. Breakfast disappointing toaster machine poor and a coffee machine que for it ! Really not what you expect at breakfast no menus first morning for breakfast provided all a bit chaotic at breakfast unlike dinner first class . Reception staff don’t re act to requests or problems need training.

6

Anneliese

Dec 13, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Booked through Hotels.com 5 rooms bed and breakfast. Hotel had us down as breakfast only so we had to pay again for it - when I queried they said it was down to Hotels.com, not them. Everyone then had to pay £10 except myself who for some reason was made to pay £15 (despite being told on the phone by reservations when I called to query the bed and breakfast situation that it would be £10). When I queried why I had to pay more, I was met with a smile but no explanation or offer to sort. In te grand scheme of things, £5 is nothing but its the principle. Room was lovely and clean, bar staff were fab, food was nice but the restaurant was soulless.

6

Karen

Apr 18, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Checkin is 3pm but check out is 11am which I feel is too early. We came up for a 70th birthday party. Hotel was nice, rooms nice, staff friendly though. Be aware of booking taxis via Reception, no one warned us they would charge £20 to go 1.6 miles though.

6

Michael

Jun 22, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Very delayed check in

10

Rhona

Mar 24, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We had a fantastic time at Downhall, which is a beautiful property with lovely grounds. A big thank you to every single member of staff that we came across, as everyone was friendly and helpful. But a massive thank you to the lady (duty manager) who helped my family . She changed rooms for us, upgraded some of the rooms, so our 5rooms would be close to one another. Can’t wait to go back👍

6

Amy

Jun 22, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I loved the grounds the location the decor in this hotel it was beautiful however , the staff were awful no one served myself and my friend on the terrrave for over two hours to the point I got up and went and got the drinks both times myself ! At dinner they didn’t take our plates away we were sat for over an hour with our plates on the table service was poor and basic training needed or more staff so that the day shift staff can rotate as the staff work from day to night then breakfast clearly overworked . Then comes the worse part we didn’t sleep and my other half has extra heat exhaustion because the rooms are not air conned and it was a hot weekend to the point where we had to wet towels on our bodies throughout the night the walls were warm and the tiles in the bathroom hot from how warm it was we told reception who were well aware of how hot it was yet no water was sent to the room or any compensation offered she had told us that she couldn’t do anything about it as the hotel was fully booked and that there was no more fans either ! We overheard a couple at reception say they were leaving to stay in a travel lodge because the environment was inhumane !! Secondly our friends we went with were pregnant it was for my other half’s 30tj birthday we had to cancel the spa the next day as we couldn’t think of anything worse then sitting in heat again and we left before lunch it ruined our stay and for that we would never stay there again it was unbearable

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Location

Scenic, quiet countryside setting that’s convenient for Stansted Airport and relaxing breaks. The remote location means fewer nearby alternatives, so guests often rely on on-site dining and services.

Related guest reviews

10

Sophia

Apr 13, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Tranquil location and beautiful grounds. Just what we needed for a restful break. The staff were helpful, friendly and professional. Every need is thought of and provided. Only one complaint and that was some noise from what appeared to be pipes in the early hours of the morning but other than that a lovely place to stay.

10

Brad

Jul 19, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

This is a stunning property for the money, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. It was a perfect location near Stansted Airport where we had just come back from Morocco. Next time we'll stay longer to take full advantage of the grounds which include tennis, croquet and a human sized chess board and hopefully ride bikes around the neighboring villages. Highly recommend !

10

Jeremy

Aug 30, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Last minute booking becuase of air traffic control flights all cancelled. Booked into closest hotel to airport that had space for 8 of us. Wonderful surprise. Great meal. Great service. Stunning place. Shame we had to leave at 5am in the dark

10

Rosanne

Jan 26, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Beautiful building in quiet area, super friendly staff, comfy beds, delicious food and drinks, excellent breakfast buffet

10

silvia

Jul 13, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

It is an amazing place so conveniently located if traveling out of Stanstead airport. It exceeded all of our expectations.

10

Tricia

Jun 15, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Lovely quiet situation, just what we needed

6

Jane

Jun 17, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We have been here before and had problems but thought we would give it another go. Still not a lot better. Food and drink is very overpriced and as the hotel is in the middle of nowhere, you do not have the option of going out. We probably will not return.

8

Wendy

Dec 26, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Dog friendly hotel close to Stansted which fitted what we needed for a handover of a dog before a flight and it was a special family treat for Christmas. Extremely friendly and courteous staff, they were all outstanding from reception to dining room and bar, everyone. Lovely rooms prepared with pride.

10

HAYLEY

May 1, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

amazing hotel friendly helpful staff definitely stay here again location good

10

Annette

Feb 6, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The staff were amazing nothing was too much trouble. We liked the open fire and a space where we could sit and relax without having to sit in our room. The grounds were lovely. Nice place to relax.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Dining

Many guests rate dinners and bar food highly, but several find breakfast service disorganized, coffee machines unreliable, and prices or portions not good value. Overall food quality is often good, yet experiences vary between venues such as the Garden Room and the bar.

Related guest reviews

10

david

Mar 26, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The Hotel and grounds are lovely, the staff were all really helpful and friendly. Breakfast was excellent, as was the food served in the Fox bar. The food served in the Garden Room was delicious but way over priced. Top tip - eat in the Fox bar!

10

Nikki

Jun 17, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Beautiful hotel, great staff, fantastic food in the garden restaurant

10

James

Aug 4, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Good as above, slight issue with cold plate at breakfast, £50.00 for two plates of fish and chips excessive!

6

susan

Jan 15, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

I think for the price that the hotel charge it should not be a buffet breakfast. I was disappointed as is was not hot only barley warm. Very disappointed! Called for room service and it took a long time for someone to answer the phone. The food was extremely disappointing.

8

Robin

Aug 22, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

It was very beautiful setting staff attentive. Breakfast disappointing toaster machine poor and a coffee machine que for it ! Really not what you expect at breakfast no menus first morning for breakfast provided all a bit chaotic at breakfast unlike dinner first class . Reception staff don’t re act to requests or problems need training.

10

Ronnie

Jun 29, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

A wonderful hotel. Let down by its Garden Room restaurant which was poor for a hotel of this standing. The Terrace dining was good.

8

Anthony

Feb 21, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Lovely room and grounds. Only slight quibbles would be the shower (very close to the wall making it difficult to get fully under and not very powerful) and breakfast (could have been hotter). But overall nice place.

8

Simon

Jun 17, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Staff and grounds are great Food, not so good

10

Sue

Aug 3, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Lovely hotel. Only negative was the coffee machine at breakfast. Only one, not great coffee and kept breaking down. Would have been nice to have coffee/tea served at the table.

8

Deborah

Aug 13, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Breakfast choices were excellent.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Month	Average price
January	$184
February	$186
March	$181
April	$184
May	$219
June	$244
July	$224
August	$182
September	$200
October	$190
November	$191
December	$198

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4 $330	5 $328
6 $224	7 $285	8	9 $416	10 $269	11 $319	12 $387
13 $222	14 $228	15 $211	16	17 $286	18 $315	19 $388
20 $241	21 $230	22	23 $235	24 $263	25 $319	26 $319
27 $213	28 $235	29	30 $245

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $227	2 $294	3 $318
4 $237	5 $227	6 $552	7	8 $249	9 $322	10 $321
11 $233	12 $350	13 $193	14 $231	15 $251	16 $290	17 $321
18 $226	19 $274	20 $275	21 $280	22 $280	23 $297	24 $319
25 $189	26 $229	27 $181	28 $236	29 $252	30 $300	31 $319

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

Guest reviews

Superb

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property Policies

Check-in instructions

Good to know

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