Kentisbury Grange

As is evident from the Tripadvisor mixed reviews Kentisbury Grange is either a love it or hate it type of place. It’s wise to read the reviews in this light and consider in advance of booking its suitability for the type of holiday you are after.||We have stayed in the Kentisbury self-catering lodges three times this year. This was our fourth long weekend and this time we booked three lodges for the first time. One for ourselves and one each for my children and their families.||The lodges are much larger than a standard hotel room. Two bathrooms and two bedrooms. A decent sized patio with a hot tub. Its November. All three Lodges were warm, dry and cosy and all the hot tubs were clean and very warm.||We like the quietness of this area, that the lodges are spaced some way apart, and like the independence that cooking for yourselves, (and for a wide range of ages and dietary requirements), brings. There is a washing machine, a dish washer, a SMEG fridge and freezer, an oven and microwave etc. ||We bought a cold box of meals for 9 people from home and then finished food off in the oven and microwave. We stocked up in advance on breakfasts, alcohol etc at the big Tesco in Barnstable which sells pretty much everything||Its November in England. Muddy walks, wet beaches, muddy children, muddy boots can all be accommodated here. ||BUT this is not a 5* hotel. So, if room service, a spa and a swimming pool are what you are after, perhaps this is not for you. BUT bear in mind, if it is, you will not be paying a Kentisbury Lodge rate, but much, much more.

A very negative experience with the company which lead to us leaving within 30 minutes of us arriving. Me and my partner booked a romantic trip away for valentines. We had booked a luxury cottage as seen and described on the company’s website with one of the main benefits being a private hot tub included for £245. When we arrived staff were rude and not welcoming as if we had interrupted their time. After this we were then rudely pointed to our room which was no where near the standard of “Luxury” as described on the website. The key set back was there was no hot tub as shown in the pictures. I went back to reception querying this issue who I was presented with the front of house manager who immediately become defensive and made us lead to believe it was our issue we booked the wrong one. Such information included “we have removed the hot tub cottage off our website due to changing contracts”. During this terrible interaction with the front of house manager this occurred over the bar and in front of other customers with even one member of staff a young female waiter began giggling at the issue and the other looking extremely uncomfortable. At no point was any solution put forward by the manager nor an apology. Luckily I then found the picture of the cottage we booked with multiple clear pictures of a hotub matching our exact cottage which was then confirmed by the manager this was the one we had booked and it was the company’s issue. No effort was made to discount the booking or any attempt for us to stay. Eventually got full refund of deposit after the front of house manager finally realising this with proof. A really terrible experience with zero customer service. A 4 hour round trip back to our home after refusing to stay the night. The worst experience I have experienced.

I had the most beautiful stay here, friendly welcoming & accommodating staff. Easy check in and easy to find the cottage, beautiful warm hot tub with views into the cottage window so I could supervise my puppy whilst still being able to relax. The most beautiful countryside views surrounding the grounds, with plenty of gorgeous walks to take my dog on. Gorgeous food served at the restaurant and really kind staff who held my dog for me whilst I grabbed food off the table. The bath was the best bath I’ve ever been in, the tap was so luxurious. The bed was great and the room also has a mini fridge so you can store groceries in or anything you need to keep fresh on your stay. I would stay here again in a heartbeat!!!! Can’t wait for the better weather so I can book again and experience this all over again.

A fantastic hotel full of character and feels luxurious but…I booked a few days in the hotel and two days before my reservation we had a phone call to say “the restaurant is closed for the duration of your stay so there’s no food available on site” this is a four star boutique hotel so not what I expected…not even room service. Luckily I had some emergency food in the car just in case, beef jerky and a small tin of tuna 😂.

Stayed here a few times before and this was by far the best experience to date. The Manager who has taken the reins has definitely made a difference. All staff exceptionally friendly. Room 5 in the main house was beautiful with a bathroom to die for. Didn’t hear a thing at night so got a great nights sleep. Dinner was superb, the Sea Bass spot on, live music in the evening made for a lovely relaxed atmosphere. Breakfast menu extensive and included Rump steak if you fancied it. Unbelievable value for money and would recommend to anyone.

We spent three nights at the hotel at end of September/ beginning of October and had a very pleasant stay. We had a Classic style room (with a huge bathroom!) which was very comfortable and had beautiful views over the estate and countryside. The staff were very friendly and helpful. A big "Thank you" from us to the restaurant in the Coach House where we were well looked after and had excellent dinners and breakfasts. Not having visited the area before, we found the peaceful location made for a lovely break with interesting places to visit.|Before visiting Kentisbury Grange we read several uncomplimentary reviews and are very glad that we chose to ignore them. We hope to return.

We were a bit disappointed with Kentisbury Grange, as it advertises itself as upmarket, but isn't really. It's very convenient for us to visit our family nearby and our grandson used to work here a few years ago. It seems to have gone downhill since. The building is lovely and the room is nicely fitted out. Our main concern was the rundown state of the room, with a cupboard door hanging off it's hinges, causing a potential hazard during the night. The decor suffers from a lot of from being scraped by luggage and the heating controls don't exist! The room was like a sauna and we had to open the windows (on a cold evening) and turn the radiator off, just to cool down. On the plus side, staff were very helpful, parking was readily available and the breakfast was good in a very nice restaurant.

My son and his family are currently at one of your hell hole so called the retreat, kentisbury grange. They arrived last night to a filthy dirty place, complained and told others available are even worse. This morning cleaner was sent, still not acceptable so my poor daughter in law has cleaned it herself. Trying to make the most of a bad experience this evening earlier my daughter in law ran a bath to find no hot water, next heating gone, contacted manager to be told got to wait until 8pm as that’s when the chef finished in the restaurant to help a girl carry a bottle of gas over to my son and family. I’m gutted for them, they have messaged to say they are coming home tomorrow. Four hours drive. This was supposed to of been a well deserved break for my son. He was diagnosed with cancer this year and had undergone a gruelling 6 months of treatment, this was a well deserved break they all needed. They have paid to put there dog in kennels and had the cost of travelling four hours and now coming home tomorrow to find out even if they make a formal complaint they won’t get a refund. My daughter in law spent ages looking for somewhere nice and special for them and also knowing how important it is for everything to be clean. Luxury coastal you have failed them !!! I hope you read this sooner than later. Your manager of this place is aware of all that I have mentioned, along with a further long list. This will not be last your company hear of this matter. I can’t believe you’ve not even tried to offer them somewhere else nearby for free !