Balmer Lawn Hotel

Wonderful spa break

Stayed here with my daughter for a little spa break before her wedding. The hotel is located in the beautiful New Forest and is set in lovely grounds. The staff were all friendly, welcoming and helpful. They kindly upgraded our room which was large and very comfortable. The spa area is really good and the restaurant is excellent. We would definitely visit again and have no hesitation in recommending to others.

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Most enjoyable stay with very helpful staff who were able to resolve the booking issues made by
off peak luxury. Will certainly stay again but will book direct with hotel and will never use offpeak luxury again

Poor value for money and with limitations - do not be swayed by its 4* rating

Tired building with a number of limitations:
Room - nice 4 poster bed - no room to walk down one side - sideways only
Black grouting on some of the floor tiles with some grout missing
Very noisy - room above must have had every floor board loose
Shower gel and body wash bottles bolted to the wall - ok is you are showering - if you have a bath you can not reach. Plus the tap fitment was broken so tough to switch between shower and bath.
Drainage from all white goods in the bathroom very slow with quite a bit of follow on noise .
In truth I have been in much better Premier Inns - and these do not cost 365 per night!!

The indoor swimming pool was supposed to be heated - everyone who was there was surprised now fresh it was. Also not suitable if you have mobility issues - the loungers were at best 6 inches off the ground so my wife could not sit on these - she just walked out.

The restaurant - limited menu for the evening meal - food very expensive - looked like a picture but I normally have larger starters than the size of the mains. After 90+ for 2 the result was we had to drive to nearest village to get some food. Also the table we were on was very poor - the surface was wood with some of the surface missing and someone had clearly tried to add wood to various holes to try and make the surface level - never seen anything like it. On the upside, the buffet breakfast was great - good food and great portions - you helped yourself. Would suggest giving the black pudding a miss - was very dry and some were crispy - perhaps left over from the previous day.

Final moan - on the outside of the hotel as you walk to the carpark, one of the down foul water pipes had a material leak, with water flowing everywhere. Had clearly been like this for some time given the level of moss that had built up - perhaps explains why drainage was so poor from the room.

One the upside, the staff were attentive and the surrounding area very pleasant. We did not use the spa facility so can not comment. We were disappointed that gym had closed though as this still showed on the app we used. The venue was clean with the exception of the bathroom floor, although this is more about maintenance.

We would not recommend this hotel. Given that this venue gives itself the right not to publish reviews they do not agree with it will be interesting to see if this post makes the site. As such I will also post elsewhere so potential guests are aware.