Boothorpe Hall

Reviews (6)

• Husameddin

  it is in a nice area to have good walks. Martin, the manager, is a helpful and responsive guy. Negatives: 1- Heating system is terrible. We stayed for a week between 5-12 January, as expected the coldest period in the year. but the heating was faulty. First of all in the description they did not mention about the central heating failure. there is no gas heating. the electric heating system is just rubbish and doesnt work properly. We literally stayed in freezing conditions. There are not enough electric heaters. the ones that exist do not suffice to make the huge place warm enough. We had constant electricity cut due to fuse blow. 2- Electrical system is insufficient. All the appliances in kitchen dependent on the electricity but due to the system failure we couldnt use the big kitchen. We had to use the gas cooker in the small kitchen but it was very unpleasant experience. 3- there was a regional electicity cut happened and we had to stay in the cold even without electircy for around 20 hours. They took zero responsibity for it. 4. The bed numbers are misleading. 27 individuals cannot stay if they do not share their beds in most of the rooms. There are only double beds in the rooms, except one or two rooms. So if you are a big group like 27 and not coming as couple group, so it is not your place, if you don't mind sleeping in the same bed though. We made our complaints and asked for compensation and they accepted to make a compensation when we are still in there. Yet, after we leave they refused to make any compensation claiming that they had no share in the problems we face d during our stay. If we knew that there is no central gas heating and there is electricty issues in the building we would never rent this place. It is very unsuitable for a winter retreat. Even for the summer, the electricity is still a problem in the kitchen. All in all, I recommend Sykes Cottages to remove this place from winter rentals and ask these people to rewrite their description. The current description is literally misleading and untrue. If this place stays as it is in the website it will only cause a reputation damage to Sykes cottages. We are so disappointed and the money we paid is literally wasted, on top of that the people who came all the way from different parts of the country and even abroad left the place with having cold and illness.

• Diane

  The party size was 21 and the Hall’s accommodation of 12 bedrooms looked perfect, and it was. We had a great time and the manager of the property, who lives on site in the former butler’s house was very helpful and responded to any requests quickly and efficiently. On arrival all the heating had been switched on, the hot tub was warm and ready for use and all rooms were made up with ample towels for all guests, we were also shown where the additional towels were kept if we needed them. We were supplied with plentiful kindling, wood and coal for the fires in the various rooms, which was restocked on request. The manager had even put up a Christmas tree in the large Hallway and decorated it which was a really nice touch. As the large Aga cooker is awaiting an upgrade to Gas (after a previous guest burnt themselves on it despite being warned!) the manager supplied a brand-new large air fryer (two basket version) prior to our arrival. The two kitchens are well equipped with a dishwasher in each plus cooking hobs, there were also a number of large electric pans available as well as a medium sized slow cooker. Ample glasses, plates and crockery were available along with cooking utensils. Downstairs the three large receptions rooms were divided into; a dining room which easily accommodated our party of 21 for our Christmas dinner; a library with a large smart TV; and a sitting room with a grand piano (in need of a bit of a tune) but otherwise okay. Along with these rooms there is a large conservatory equipped with toys, puzzles and games for children as well as a beautiful rocking horse. The downstairs is completed with a well-equipped gymnasium (although not much room between all the equipment), a sauna and cool room, with a door leading to an external hot tub that was enjoyed by all. Upstairs the 12 bedrooms easily accommodated all of our party and the beds were comfortable. The two ensuites had underfloor heating which was luxurious in the mornings. The two dogs in the party were made welcome with no restrictions on the use of the house, the only advice was to keep them on leads outside as the large grounds are not secure and we were advised there were large foxes in the woods. So why a 4 star and not a 5 star? Only because the current owner and manager are still in the process of a gradual upgrade of the Hall, and while some rooms have been done, other areas still need upgrading. Areas awaiting upgrading include the second kitchen and the Aga in the main kitchen, but none of this prevented our party from having a wonderful family Christmas at the Hall. Once all upgrades are complete, we are sure this will rate 5 stars. Strongly recommend this to other families looking for a place to gather all of their extended family in one place. If you do stay here please let the manager know of any concerns at the time and certainly before you leave, we are sure he will do his best to help. Finally, we will not be using Sykes to book another holiday due to the stress they caused: We contacted them around 10 times to discuss a few concerns before we went (after reading post-booking, several appalling reviews on Trip Advisor) but we rarely spoke to the same person twice. This necessitated updating them on everything before reiterating our concerns and repeating our questions, it appeared that very few of their staff had made detailed notes. Each Sykes employee was extremely polite and reassuring, but only on two occasions did we receive a callback despite being promised by other employees that this would be the case. After a while their empty platitudes felt insulting and patronising and caused a lot of unnecessary stress. Fortunately, the Boothorpe Hall manager called us 48 hours before our arrival to see if we needed anything and instantly gave us answers to all our questions. Top marks to the Hall manager!

• Eliza

  The owner was very helpful, making sure we had everything we needed to make it a great stay. A previous review mentioned a couple of issues but we were happy to find that they were all resolved ahead of our trip and in reality we couldn’t have picked a better place for the weekend. The house is very large with spacious bedrooms and living areas which catered well for our large group. There’s both large indoor and outdoor dining and lounging spaces to choose from and plenty of bathrooms. The hot tub was fully heated and ready for our arrival. There was a nice decking area as well as a fully covered terrace, which came in very handy as it rained briefly when we wanted to do a bbq so we could stay dry. Overall a perfect house for a large group of guests.