The Retreat Elcot Park

For a hotel that classes itself as a leading boutique hotel, we found it very disappointing. The service at breakfast was poor and verged on rudeness, Day 1 my breakfast order got 'lost' so it took half an hour to get an egg , and I had to chase several times. On day 2 it was my cup of tea order that went missing. The quality of the food was also very underwhelming.

Had a birthday treat with my Daughter. 3 hour spa break . Very disappointed and was expecting a lot more . Pools are very small and you have to walk through the gym to get to the outside pool . The staff were not very welcoming . We ordered a coffee which was served to us in cardboard cups . Not worth the money

Both my friend and I have eaten at this lovely hotel quite a few times and the food and service has always been very good. We decided to have coffee here on this lovely sunny day especially knowing there is a lovely courtyard seating. Coffee was good but to our surprise we were not expecting paper cups! When did this change? We have been here few times before and coffee was served in proper cups It would be ok if it was a coffee stall in a market but we were not expecting it from a four star hotel. It just felt very cheap! On the plus side the cinnamon bun I had was very good even though it was £4.95. Please bring back proper cups!

Update to my visit in Feb (original review below). The hotel management responses are a scam as they never respond to your email. For the sake of reassuring potential customers they will respond on TripAdvisor indicating their concern but when you do get in touch h with them they are totally useless. Not had a response for 3 months! Feb24 Had read a lot of rave reviews and it was also voted as Sunday Times small hotel of the year. So booked Sunday lunch as a birthday treat. Spent 10 mins waiting in the lounge for someone to attend to us. In the end went into restaurant to let them know I had been waiting. We had the fixed Sunday menu. In general my beef was good , vegetables fine but sp****, just 2 roast potatoes not the best. In general service was very poor. Looked like the staff has just been recruited from the local school and had none of the refinements of a classy hotel. Our starter nearly ended in our lap as we had a jittery server. Table was never wiped between courses . Had to tell them to wipe it. Also rather revealing was that one of the customers had dropped their outer garment on the floor. The servers skirted around it whilst serving and in between courses with not one of them picking it up. The Assistant restaurant manager was very apologetic and removed the service charge. Seemed they were overwhelmed with a small crowd! Would I go back. NO WAY! Really need to up their game.

What a lovely evening! I took a friend to the Taste of Italy evening - she's Italian and too fabulous for words, so expectations were high. We both thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Specifically: - What makes all the difference is service and it was wonderful - there were plenty of staff on hand constantly, so anything we asked for was provided really quickly. - One of my favourite dishes is butternut squash ravioli, I've lost count of the restaurants and brands I've sampled, this one was the best. The accompaniments made it, unique and spot on. - Each course was drizzled with something at the table, loved that extra personal touch. - The wine pairings were fantastic. - The ragu was amazing, I had a pescetarian version (I'd have been happy with veggie, but they provided fish - unusual but it worked). My Italian friend was raving about her beef ragu. - The limoncello was fantastic. All too often it tastes like dish liquid, even good brands and even in Italy - this was good stuff! - The setting was lovely, a private room with loads of sunlight as we sat down that became cosy as the light turned. Such a great setting. - The chef had a serving table set up in the room so we could see the meals being put together, with about 5 of them working together. The attention to detail was impressive and it showed. - Overall, what a fantastic evening! We both loved it and will definitely be back for another special event. Well worth it for a special night out, or in our case, just to spoil ourselves because we work bloody hard and appreciate great food, service, setting and ambience. Thanks guys, we appreciate the effort every single one of you made tonight to make our evening special!

Came for afternoon tea and it was a wonderful experience. Food and drinks were fantastic and staff were friendly and accommodating. Amazing setting and hope to return in the warmer weather to enjoy the facilities some more! Would highly recommend!

Booked a classic room for two nights at the last minute. We were upgraded to a Wessex room when we arrived. I think the difference is that the Wessex room has a view of the grounds, we overlooked the outdoor pool. The bed is large and there is no choice of pillows (I found the pillows to be too soft but used the chair cushion which was harder). The room was cleaned, but sheets not changed, just rearranged (I know this because there was a small stain on the sheet throughout, we didn't think it was worth mentioning however). Wonderful glass of welcome wine on arrival. Asked to put a £100 deposit on a card in advance for any item charged to the room. Very friendly and helpful reception staff. The 'pantrys' are a nice touch, able to get coke, orange, coffee, sweets at own convenience. Cute little seating areas and nice and warm inside when the wind howls outside. Also a good selection of board games to play in the bar. Very attentice bar staff. SPA Outdoor pool is heated and lovely to be outside even in April, although the cover was broken for two days so it was then out of use. The steam room was also closed. No information of when they would be repaired, and no offer of any discount by way of apology for inconvenience: If the outdoor pool/spa area are important to you check everything is working before you book. The spa area is lovely (although some loungers appeared reserved with towels and no-one around). We tried the flotation tank for 30 minutes. My travel buddy loved it, I found it quite boring, but an interesting experience (do not rub your face when you are in there, the salt will sting your eyes). We hired the electric bikes, great fun, (£50 each for 2 1/2 hours). You need to have a motorbike/moped licence for these and I can see why, they have a top speed of 30mph and are both wheel drive (motor on front and back wheel) so great fun but powerful if you are not used to similar. Mirrors were broken on both bikes but this did not affect their use. FOOD We ate at the brassery. Tasty soup and popcorn cauliflower for starter. Travel buddy had venison pasta and it was a good sized portion. I had cauliflower steak and chips for my main, cost £18.00. It was literally a great big slab of grilled cauliflower. Probably the weirdest, and most expensive, piece of cauliflower I have ever eaten. SUMMARY Overall not a cheap place to stay, but worth it for a treat. We look forward to returning again one day.

Booked a massage to have a bit of a pamper before having surgery, turned up and they said they didn’t have my reservation then sat me down and started whispering not very quietly which I found very rude. Not the relaxing experience I had expected, and by the time they then said they have my reservation I was too agitated to stay so can’t say what the massage was like but the welcome was extremely disappointing to say the least