Nicola Collett

Review of Champneys Forest Mere

Just returned from our second visit, there is no d...

Just returned from our second visit, there is no doubt that the scenic view here is amazing, if you are looking for peace and quiet then the grounds here will satisfy your every need. Cant honestly fault the food, due to covid the facility offers a table service for guests in the main restaurant, for those on the spa break, for day guests there is a day room where food is served. Lunch and evening meals were of a very high quality, servers Maddy and David were attentive, professional and helpful. Guests and visitors are asked to wear a face mask when walking around the building, fair to say that good measures are in place to make guests feel safe. We booked ourselves treatments, which we both enjoyed, however book these in advance, sadly the therapist staffing levels have been drastically cut and the team are continuously busy.
As this was a special visit celebrating a friends birthday, we upgraded to a superior room, I would honestly say it wasn't worth the extra money we paid, we were on the lower floor and had a patio door that opened into a court yard area, we were advised the room would be bigger but it honestly felt no different to the standard size. I felt really gutted for my friend as she was really excited and on arrival I made her wear a birthday sash, she has had a tough year and I really wanted her to feel a million dollars. Sadly the receptionist didn't even wish her a happy birthday or acknowledged it, which I thought was very disappointing. (Good job the rest of the restaurant team made a fuss of her, wishing her a happy birthday)
Breakfast was okay, choice of cereal, breads or fruit with juices, tea or coffee, for an extra supplement, you can get a hot cooked breakfast. We got sat in the corner behind a post one morning, got served our drinks and the serving team forgot to come and take our breakfast order , waited a considerable amount of time before seeking attention and server apologised and said he had forgot us. Looked like a new team of staff were on duty.
On checking out, you need to vacate the room by 11am, bit disappointed to feel rushed and we got a knock on the door at 10am asking if we were vacating. Some small moans here, which is why we only scored 4 stars.