The Wood Norton

The Cotswolds Getaway

We wanted a nice relaxing, but slightly indulgent get away for my wife who has not been well of late. The hotel is nicely situated between local attractions and was easy to get to and there was plenty of parking. What we did notice was a lack of staff in the areas of services for the bar and the restaurant. Bar food and eating in the restaurant was not the best. Also, prices were high for the quality of food provided. The rooms were average and not anything special. We got the impression the hotel was lacking Front line staff and the rooms were in need of some renovation and TLC. Sadly, for us, the hotel did not live up to expectations.

Beautiful building, and wonderful evening restaurant but poor breakfast and weird modern decor

This is a beautiful historic building with great feature rooms (although modernisation is needed as there was not even a plug socket on my side of the bed). The evening meals were very good but the stay was sadly spoiled by a few issues which were in stark contrast. The breakfast was really poor. Very stingy portions for full English, continental buffet area was scant and not restocked so when we arrived 15m before the end of serving, the pastries had almost all gone, jam & marmalade were empty. The only decaf coffee they could offer was instant! Even when I requested proper coffee for the next day at reception, I was told they did not have the resources. All it would take were a cafeti re and a bag of ground decaf.
In my opinion, the stunning original features of the dining rooms were ruined with bizarre modern paintings, light fittings and furniture.

Overall it felt like a potentially 4 star venue that was cutting corners and skimping. If it were not for these, I would definitely have been happy to visit again.

Wood Norton

I was disappointed to be contacted the day before my arrival informing me that the room I had booked was unavailable due to a maintenance issue. I chose to be downgraded to a room in the pear tree suite. As it was for my wedding anniversary I could not change the dates as was suggested or cancel at this late date. I was offered the cheaper room price and a bottle of wine. When I arrived no mention was made of the downgrade by the staff and when I mentioned it they seemed unaware of an issue but confirmed we were in the Pear Tree. There was no apology, which I would have expected. Again on leaving I had to mention the issue again as I had already paid and was expecting my refund. While the stay was pleasant and the restaurant was very good, this did cast a bit of a shadow over my stay.