The Dartmouth Hotel

No review title

Disappointing,

Our room was tired and needed refurbishing. Carpet was threadbare in places, and stained. TV was hanging off the wall with dangling wires. Large and comfortable room and bed. Bathroom and shower were fine.
We partly chose this hotel because it was dog friendly but walking area was restricted to one pathway. restaurant was excellent, great food and service. Although no heating in the windowed area, was cold.
No hotel name on the hotel, nor directions to it from the drive in. Facade was plain and uninspiring Reception staff were friendly and helpful and efficient.
1st hotel I've stayed at that doesn't service rooms daily, unless requested.

Absolutely nothing luxury about this hotel

We stayed at this hotel on an Off Peak Luxury beak for 3 nights. It was booked with some friends as a thank you to them for some help they had given us.

We arrived on Thursday evening and departed on Sunday morning and from first impressions right through to departure there was nothing resembling luxury in this establishment. In fact it was a complete disaster even by budget standards.

The reception desk and entrance to the 'hotel' resembles a leisure centre or a hospital admin counter more than a cosy hotel reception so much so that we were not even sure we were in the right place to begin with. The green and white utilitarian paintwork at the desk and adjacent corridor was stark and very unattractive. Following check in which could only be described as efficient rather than friendly and welcoming, we arrived in our rooms. The rooms were very basic. There were stains on the cheap cord carpet but otherwise it was clean.

We booked this hotel as it offered a swimming pool and spa facilities. After our long journey we were looking forward to spending some time in the spa before dinner. On arrival we were ignored by the staff on the spa reception desk until we asked the way to the changing rooms. As with the reception staff they were not at all friendly and welcoming.

The changing rooms were absolutely filthy and in a very poor state of repair. There were lockers without doors, the changing room doors were chipped, the floors were extremely dirty and there were buckets of dirty mop water in the corners of the swimming entrance area. The dirt was disgusting. The pool was warm and the jacuzzi and steam rooms were ok but we didn't use the facilities again due to the filthy changing rooms.

The following morning when we woke up our room stank of sewage/bad drains. We reported this to reception at 10am who said they would send in housekeeping. When we returned in the afternoon at circa 5pm the smell was even worse. When we went to reception there was no apology and no offer of an alternative room. I questioned whether anyone had even looked at it and the receptionist said they were aware of the problem and quickly added..... after you reported it this morning. We asked to move rooms (if anyone had looked at it and smelled the smell we should not have had to ask to move rooms it should have been automatic) and were advised that they were full and she didn't think she could find us another room. Eventually after me saying that there was no way we could stay in the room and a lot of umming and ahhing she offered us a room on the back of the hotel with no view (we had a golf course view room booked). This room was even more basic than the previous room with an out of date bathroom but at least it didn't smell.

The photo of the hotel used on their website (a very long distance shot) is very deceptive. It is nothing like this close up. Future guests should be told that this is in fact a golf club with rooms rather than a hotel with a golf course. Everything about it from its layout to the decor and ambience was just like a golf club. All the public spaces feel like a clubhouse- green paint, wood/lino floors, bar with sky sports running all day.

Furthermore the 'hotel' is in a very poor state of repair. There were leaks in the conservatory part of the dining room, locker doors missing or falling off in the spa, we had leaks in the velux window in the bathroom of the second room with drips that resembled blood when we woke up the next morning! The carpets are cheap, thin and stained.

The bedrooms are not serviced daily. I don't expect towels to be changed but I would expect the bathroom to be wiped over and the tea, coffee, biscuits and toilet rolls to be topped up on a daily basis. We had no biscuits or tea after the first day and no toilet rolls after 2 days. My friend asked at the bar if she could have a couple of earl grey tea bags for her room. After a lot of exchanged looks between staff she said she was prepared to buy them as she doesn't drink regular tea. Eventually she was given 2 tea bags - we were staying for 3 nights, not even one a day! This is a lack of even basic service, forget the promise of a 'luxury' stay implied by your company name.

There was NOTHING about this establishment that can remotely be described as luxury - neither the physical property nor the service. Indeed a stay in a budget B&B or a Premier Inn would have been more comfortable, our beds would be made, the bathrooms cleaned daily and the supplies topped up.

I was so embarrassed that this was somewhere we chose to take our friends as a thank you. Fortunately they are very old friends and they were very sweet but it was all just awful. Instead of spending the weekend relaxing in the hotel, using the spa and sitting in the bar we headed out as the option of staying in was bleak.

Would I return again? No
Did it offer value for money? No
Did we enjoy our stay? No.