Whether it be a drink in the bar, a three course dinner, a weekend break or a trip to the Spa....Fredrick's delivers on every level. Quality, upscale food and drink served by professional, respectful staff make you feel special. Beautiful rooms too! A wonderful serene oasis !
I visited the spa with my 2 daughters who had paid for a 1 course lunch, massage and spa. A 1 course lunch took an hour! We were all given fizzy wine with our lunch and no alternative even though one of my daughters is heavily pregnant. The massage was lovely very relaxing. However the spa was not. The water in the pool was very very cold and definitely unpleasant! Even though it looked beautiful. The roof in the sauna has fallen down in the middle !!! There are towels all over the floor so stop you slipping!! So all in all not the pampering place we had hoped for! Don’t think we will be visiting this spa again!
A 1 night stay with Secret Escapes. Overall good value but we have to give a very mixed review.
On arrival we were informed only one other room would be occupied that night and we were the only people eating dinner in the hotel. A shame as part of being away is being around other people, especially in the restaurant. However, this was no fault of the hotel.
We were automatically upgraded to a suite which was appreciated.
The Good Bits:
The bedroom looked as though it had been recently refurbished and was decorated in pleasant colours and furniture.
The bed was large and comfortable.
The room had it's own private garden.
A good sized bathroom and very good shower.
Towelling gowns and slippers were provided.
Dinner was delicious - good quality and very tasty food.
Interesting gardens with a number of sculptures.
The spa area was quiet and had a number of beds to relax on.
The steam room was probably the best we've ever been into.
Outside pool was great.
The Not So Good Bits: There was no teapot and only 2 small cartons of milk in the bedroom.
No bottled water.
The hairdryer didn't work and the toiletries were very limited.
There was only 1 bedside lamp and 2 of the power points didn't work.
Breakfast was only okay. The continental selection was poor, the cooked breakfast slightly better.
The changing rooms in the spa area were tiny and only had 1 shower.
The spa staff were completely disinterested and detached.
We chose Fredrick's as the venue for my wife's 60th birthday party, just a small event for about 25 guests. Everything about it was perfect: the efficient arrangements, the room with views over a lovely garden, the food, and above all the friendly and knowledgeable staff, led by Penelope (thanks Penny!) My wife was overwhelmed!
I wanted to take a friend for afternoon tea. I telephoned at lunch time to book. I was told it was fully booked for afternoon tea. I asked if we could have tea and cakes and was told we could. We arrived and sat at a table set for tea just outside the restaurant. After 15 minutes no one had come to take our order. We went to the bar and asked if we could order tea and cakes. The lady behind the bar said we could order a sandwich and told us to sit in the restaurant. We sat at a table for two. A waitress arrived and told us that we could only sit there if we were having afternoon tea. I told her that is what we wanted but I had been told it was fully booked. Indeed 3 of the tables were eating afternoon tea, many were unoccupied. We told her that the lady at the bar had told us to sit there. With a poor grace she insisted she would have to 'reset' the table. This involved her removing the glasses and cutlery. She told us this was definitely a 'one off' as they did not usually allow this! Apparently the chefs go home after afternoon tea and as everything is prepared fresh it is impossible to provide fresh food not ordered in advance. We felt as if we were doing something wrong. She gave us a menu. My friend went to the bar and asked if we could have tea and scones. She went and asked another person who simply nodded.
She sat down and we looked at each other. This celebration tea had turned into an awful experience where we felt we were causing trouble. We got up and left.
We went down the road to the Holiday Inn. There we were served with a smile and had a delicious tea.
Four of us went to an entertaining murder mystery evening. The deal was an evening meal, one night stay & full English breakfast. During the meal five actors played out a scenario which ended with one of them being murdered and we had to identify the villain. It was good fun and well worth the money with about 90 guests involved altogether.
The meal was pretty good and the breakfast fine.
There’s a pool & spa for guest use.
The bed was a tad hard for us though.
The only down side was a bit of a con on mixer drinks. For instance, a G&T was just topped up from a big bottle of tonic at £2.50 a shot, a splash of lemonade £1.50. Perhaps I’m out of touch!!
