Muthu Belstead Brook Hotel

“Restaurant is a let down. Fabulous treatments.”

The general decor is odd, with lots of outdated, dusty knickknacks especially in the restaurant. The rooms however, are spotless!! The bed was super comfy, with the fluffiest pillows and minimal noise, so I had a good night's sleep. The pool area was lovely with lots of loungers. My favorite was t… more

The general decor is odd, with lots of outdated, dusty knickknacks especially in the restaurant. The rooms however, are spotless!! The bed was super comfy, with the fluffiest pillows and minimal noise, so I had a good night's sleep. The pool area was lovely with lots of loungers. My favorite was the spa bath. I had two treatments by Monica: a facial and a back,neck, and shoulder massage. She was fabulous. I had never had a treatment before, but she put me at ease immediately. My skin never looked so good. I have since purchased all the products she used. The reason for the 4 (which would have been a clear 5 otherwise) is the restaurant. We had the set menu and you are made to feel like second-class citizens just by the look of the menu. Food on this is adequate. We then paid extra for A'la Carte with high expectations, these were not met. Tough steak, thin sauce, undercooked scallops and dry chocolate brownie. This was a shame as overall we had a great weekend a Belstead Brook.

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“Investment needed, could be amazing”

This was a Silver Wedding Anniversary treat. We booked a fri-sun package which included 2 treatments each, breakfasts and set 3 course dinners both nights. Before the break we had an email to say the sauna was broken, plus they've changed our treatment dates/times (that we had already pre-booked!… more

This was a Silver Wedding Anniversary treat. We booked a fri-sun package which included 2 treatments each, breakfasts and set 3 course dinners both nights. Before the break we had an email to say the sauna was broken, plus they've changed our treatment dates/times (that we had already pre-booked!). This was disappointing as well as stressful thinking we'd lost the couples slot we were looking forward to. Luckily we managed to get our original times again after a phone call! The hotel upgraded our room after we complained plus gave us £10 credit to the room. Which we later found out they revoked due to the sauna being repaired during our stay. Classy move, NOT, it was £10. There's pros and cons (Room 203) Cons were: All very grand looking in the reception area, until you walk through corridors to rooms, where even premier inns have classier walkways/corridors. Needs some money spending on it. We had an air lock in our tap, so coughed and spluttered water literally every time we turned it on. Very low pressure from the shower. Our shower actually dribbled a lot of water in the middle of night waking us both up too, again something to do with an air lock maybe, but totally ruined our nights sleep as it started running at 3am! (And yes it was turned off) Outdated decor. (Pics attached) We had a dirty headboard. There were Crystals missing from a wonky chandelier and odd colour bulbs in it. After seeing these things, it did make me wonder if this is what they call an upgrade, what was the original room like?!! The sink was tiny too. The Pool towels small sized and very thin, need to invest in new ones. No loo brush, which most don't care about, but we like to leave things how we find it. (We asked a very confused receptionist for one, and one eventually got delivered to our room) Shiny slippery floor as you enter the room, barefoot, socks or shoes, we both nearly went over several times. Wherever they polish it with, it's dangerous and needs review. We were actually given the wrong sandwiches on our afternoon tea. Before we went in she quoted back at us "no seafood or egg"? I replied, no that's not right, I only asked for no seafood. I like egg. She sat us down, and they bought over the tray of sandwiches with no seafood or egg 🤦. Instead we had avocado sandwiches which were vile. They sat a table down next to us, who were talking about their order, yes you guessed it, no seafood or egg. They'd given us their order. One very disappointing thing which is so easily fixable was the set menu. The 3 course meal should've been varied each day! The food on it was lovely, but you don't want the same food 2 days running!!! Of all the places we've stayed, that was a first. It's almost like you're forcing people to order from the alacarte menu. Which we did, the fillet steaks were nice, but a bit over cooked to what we had asked for, and the brownie was really dry. (Which I've since read this on other feedback too) No one asks a few minutes into your meal if everything is ok, like you get in restaurants. Pros were: Food was great (particularly the halloumi starter, pan friend chicken, and forest fruits cheesecake) All staff are really friendly. Massages were lovely (Gloria and Monika) Pool was well maintained and clean. Overall we enjoyed our stay, it was for a very special occasion as I've said, so we tried to not let little minor things ruin it. Investment is definitely needed at this hotel though.

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“3.5 - comfortable but lacks any wow factor”

I'll start my review with the caveat that I came as part of a coach party (with an older demographic, I travelled with my mum). This is mainly relevant for my comments about dinner and checkin. This hotel is a 3.5 for me, if I could give half stars! Positive features: Staff all very friendly, pol… more

I'll start my review with the caveat that I came as part of a coach party (with an older demographic, I travelled with my mum). This is mainly relevant for my comments about dinner and checkin. This hotel is a 3.5 for me, if I could give half stars! Positive features: Staff all very friendly, polite and helpful Comfortable beds and room very clean - had a great sleep Spa area clean and very enjoyable Very tasty breakfast - hot and plentiful (tea and coffee average at best!) Competitive bar prices Mostly tasty dinners Areas for development: Bedroom was a bit shabby and dated. Lack of plug sockets in useful places - none easily accessible for dressing table or by beds Shower was a dribble - quite scaly and poor pressure Tap water not drinkable. Not an issue but would have liked more than one bottle of water for a 2 person room as standard (though it was replaced each day) Spa opening times quite restrictive - it would have been good to have access from 6.30-7am to have a swim before breakfast Some meals were only 'ok' and menu choice was very repetitive (but not sure this was representative of the normal menu as we were a large party). Pre-ordering setup the day before was a pain. No coffee served at the end of the meal - surely this is standard after a 3 course hotel dinner. Overall the hotel didn't seem prepared for a large coach party. Check in was a bit chaotic and there was no assistance whatsoever with luggage either checking in or out - an expectation especially for older, less mobile individuals. This hotel is 'fine'. We were comfortable and generally well fed, but it lacks the finishing touches and attention to detail that could make it really great.

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