This was a big birthday treat, and I was a bit underwhelmed. The hotel itself was lovely, set in its own lush grounds next to the river. The room was a bit disappointing - not enough 'little touches' to make it feel special. It felt a bit dated in parts, in need of a bit of tlc. The first thing we noticed was just how dark it was. The architecture plays a large part in this, but not helped by the furniture being very dark wood as well. I suspect the room would get very hot as there's no A/C. The bathroom was very ordinary for a posh hotel. The toilet was difficult to flush and there was a lot of evidence of repairs and patching. The bath was very deep and wide, but a bit short so not somewhere to laze in. The mirrors weren't heated so impossible to use them after a shower for shaving etc.
In the room, a mini fridge would have been nice so we could have had fresh milk rather than UHT. The TV was disappointing: very small by modern standards and not Freeview so a lot of the channels didn't work.
We didn't eat in the restaurant other than breakfast, which was very good. There was no option in the evening to have a bar snack. The bar didn't even sell crisps. A Pimms and Rum/Coke came to £27 so that was the one and only drink we had.
The spa was OK. The hydropool was very noisy in operation so not that relaxing. The sauna was fine, as were the heated loungers, but the steam room didn't seem to be working.
So, a relaxing couple of nights but nothing that made us feel special.