The Wood Norton

Good but could be great

Some of the hotel's aesthetics could be greatly improved, i.e. on arrival at the entrance, the first sight that greets your eyes is a very sad looking rusty fountain! How much does a coat of Hammerite/waterproofing paint cost?! We had been upgraded to a 'feature' room 102. The wood panelling and window frames may well have been a feature of the room 100 years ago but they are in in need of some attention nowadays. Again, how much does some wood treatment and a bit of TLC cost?!
On arrival in the dining room for our special family celebration meal, the tables and furniture look like they are intended for a fast food restaurant, not a country manor, not a table cloth or candle in sight! On the subject of lighting, most of the lounge rooms are only lit by a single chandelier emitting a slightly oppressive 'kitchen style' dim light! Not a lamp or wall light anywhere! The meal itself was very nice but the service of each course was very slow. This was surprising as the restaurant was not even half full.
We enjoyed our stay but really because we were there as a family. I will not be returning or recommending The Wood Norton to anybody else.

Cold ambience and a noisy conference

The hotel felt cold and it would be have been better if a fire had been lit. Only one was lit on the second night.
There was a conference at the hotel on the first night and there was a lot of noise all through the night as they came to bed. Surely their bedrooms could have been separate from private guests. The restaurant was incredibly noisy at breakfast - private guests should have been put in a separate part of the restaurant.
Otherwise we enjoyed our stay - the staff were friendly and helpful and the food was very good.

January stay

We stayed for one night in January. The welcome was good. The bedroom was in the hotel but was dark with a view of walls out of the window. Heating was loud and inefficient. Noisy flush of toilets in the night! The hotel itself was cold. There was a fireplace but the fire wasn t lit unfortunately. I am sure its a lovely place in the Summer but if they want Winter guests then they need to make more of an effort. We would visit again, but not in Winter. On the positive side, the evening meal and breakfast were great.