Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa

A sting in the tail

This was a luxury break to celebrate my 50th and my husband's birthday. We booked through the Off Peak Luxury summer offers which included a complementary room upgrade if available on checking in. It was and we were given what we were told was "a considerable upgrade". We were stunned to find that instead of a basic double we had a beautiful suite including a sitting area and dressing room with a view of the lake in the distance. We were absolutely delighted. The food was excellent each night of our stay and the staff in the restaurant couldn't have been lovelier.
The sting in the tail? When I checked out to pay our wine bill, I had an additional 80 on the bill. This was for two uses of the pool. We had no idea there was a charge for the use of the Spa area. When I had looked on the site before hand, I had only seen the treatments listed. I assumed it was part of the rather hefty room prices. I had received an email beforehand explaining that due to Covid we had to book our 1.5 hour slot. I asked on arrival and was told to call the Spa from our room. I did this and again, never was a charge mentioned by either the receptionist nor the Spa personnel. We booked the slot before breakfast each day and only stayed around 45 minutes each day, having no idea that we were paying 20 each for the privilege of this. On checking out, I politely queried this, but was quite categorically - and I thought rudely (given that there was a lady in earshot waiting behind me to be served) - that they had given us the room upgrade out "kindness" and that our "basic" room rate we had paid (which was considerable) did not include the Spa. He was insinuating that I was cheeky even to question this payment. I explained all of the above and that the room rate was part of the published Offer, but was told that the charge was stated clearly everywhere. I did not argue further and, to my husband's fury afterwards, paid the bill. However, on returning home, I have searched the website and cannot find any mention of a charge of 20 per day. I don't doubt that it is on there somewhere, however, it has clearly been hidden in some tiny terms and conditions that most would miss and it certainly alluded my deteriorating vision. It is such a shame as we wouldn't have used the Spa had we know this extra charge and therefore not left with a heft additional bill and a bad taste in our mouths. Shame on your honesty, Armathwaite.

Wonderful 50th birthday weekend

I booked a weekend break as a surprise for my wife's 50th birthday. We got an upgrade to our room on check in and had a wonderful couple of nights. The view from the room was superb! The staff were attentive and efficient and we felt very spoilt. My wife had some Spa treatments which she said were wonderful! The food was very good and so were the cocktails.
The only negative was that the spa was very busy through the day, particularly the outside spa. This may be due to the fact it was a weekend and the spa is open to the public? We countered this by going early in the morning as soon as it opened which was fine.
A weekend of good memories and I would definitely recommend.

A nice overnight stay

A beautiful room but the restaurant was a little disappointing due to being shoved in a corner and service being slow. The spa is lovely but as you can't get into rooms until 3pm and have to check pout by 11am then it is an expensive treat for a few hours.