Stuart Dudleston

Review of New Park Manor Hotel, England

Just arrived home after what can only be described...

Just arrived home after what can only be described as the worst spa breaks I ve ever had. It really boggles the mind how it s possible to return home from a spa break more stressed than before.

It all went wrong as soon as we arrived at the entrance greeted by a hoard of screaming children and a quite clearly very stressed receptionist. Not exactly what we expected.

We then went through to the spa where we had the pleasure of dealing with someone who clearly hated her job and couldn t wait to get rid of us. No offer of drinks (other than some self-service stale water) and handed a pretty shoddy looking treatments brochure that looked as though it was dug out of the bin.

After a pretty average massage which started late (no apology) and finished rather abruptly, we then had lunch, which would have been pretty good if it were a country pub but this is a wellness spa. Burgers, chips, fried things and chocolate in enormous quantities aren t exactly what s required for a relaxing detox.

New Park Manor spa is more of a kids leisure centre than anything else. Don t get me wrong, I have no issues with children whatsoever but the spa was completely overrun with screaming children jumping into the pool, throwing things and just causing absolute carnage. The parents certainly weren t helping and this place seems to attract some pretty questionable clientele.

We weren t able to use any of the facilities because of it and the reactions of some of the other guests prove that we weren t the only ones to be bothered by this.

I tried to complain to the reception staff only to find both the spa and main receptions completely abandoned.

Even if all of these problems were addressed, it still wouldn t measure up to any of the other spas in The New Forest. The facilities are below average, the styling is non-existent and the whole place seemed to feel very run down.

Avoid.