Jeff Wainright

Review of Barnsley Resort

If I could score this place 5 stars, I would, but ...

If I could score this place 5 stars, I would, but I just can t. We booked a room for two nights for my wife's birthday. Our room was spacious and comfortable. The inn was beautiful, the grounds were amazing, and the staff went the extra mile for her - especially Taj at the Woodlands Grill. After our horseback ride (special thanks to Hannah and Ainsley), she counted it as the best birthday ever. My only issue was the bathtub in our room. I understand the aesthetic they were trying to achieve, but the end result just didn't work. The tub was enclosed in marble panels, with the lip of the tub above the marble. The shower heads were positioned so that any overflow from the shower pretty much flooded the bathroom floor. The housekeeper, Lisa Marie, was as attentive and helpful as she could be. Special thanks to Chase and Cray, and the young lady (Destiny, I think) who was working at the outpost store. Th funniest part of the trip happened in the outpost, when my wife was browsing and came across Blueberry - at first she thought it was a stuffed toy bunny, then Blueberry hopped away.

As a couple of side notes. They add a 20% charge to everything; if you aren t watching your bill they will nickel and dime you half to death. We always tip generously depending on the level of service we receive, so we found the 20% service charge somewhat offensive, especially since you don t see it if you aren t paying attention. While the service at the Woodland Grill was top notch, we almost left without eating because of the noise level in the main dining room. Resort guests should not be subjected to the loud and rowdy party crowd. Kudos to our waitress Kayla for offering us a table in the bar to salvage the evening.

We also believe they need to rethink the room service policy - who wants to eat out of paper containers with plastic flatware when ordering room service? While management claimed that most of their guests like it that way, we found it hard to believe, and paper & plastic took away some of the specialness of my wife s birthday breakfast.