Best Western Normanton Park Hotel

Normanton Park Hotel on the side of Rutland Water is an idillic setting for a hotel break with the added bonus of being dog friendly. It is ideally located for visiting Stamford, Oakham, Uppingham and many picturesque villages. less

We have stayed at this hotel before (2018) and were very pleased and returned in July 2019. However, i am not sure if a change of management or what, but the room we were in this time was not particularly clean. The cleaning staff may be under pressure to get things done perhaps, but I felt as though the cleanliness of the room was poor and as soon as i got home had to throw my clothes in the washer and have a good shower. There were beetles in the room - which was ok, we can put up with that in a country hotel, but the dead bodies were still there after the cleaner had been in the following day. I felt like getting a hoover and some disinfectant and giving the room a good clean. The bed was lumpy and I think they had put another topper on top to rectify, but the bed was pretty old and creaky. The bathroom was ok, very modern and nice tiled floor, but the bedroom itself was the problem. Such a pity because the position of this hotel is wonderful. The breakfast was very well cooked and plenty of it, so no problems there and the reception staff was very nice and friendly. We were only there two nights so stuck it out, as we didnt spend a lot of time in the room and could put up with it for that long. The room was very dated and tired really - again such a shame this place could be wonderful. Obviously there must be a very tight budget and things have been left and not maintained within the hotel rooms. Best Western might allow so much for the hotel to maintain it - but obviously it is not enough. I think if the woman from the TV "Hotel Inspector" series came here, she might be able to bring it back to life. less

A fine looking building overlooking Rutland Water. The staff are generally friendly and helpful.The rooms are modern, some have views of the 'lake' others of the carpark. My shower room was excellent, plenty of hot water, all the linen was clean, great wifi and plenty of TV channels. The room did have a small infestation of ants, other rooms were worse apparently. Returning late afternoon I found my room door slightly ajar, seemingly left that way by the cleaners, fortunately I had left nothing valuable in the room, it was concerning as the room opened directly to the outside. I was part of a group booking and the booking had been fouled-up. The hotel denied any responsibility until we provided proof with the email chain. Sensible arrangements and compensation were then arranged, so keep your paperwork when dealing with this lot. During our two night stay there was no sign of management with any kind of overseeing grip. The buffet breakfast was fine for this standard of hotel although the coffee was tepid, so I had tea. Sadly they have plastic straws in the bar and single-use plastic bottles of water in the rooms; the tap-water is fine. less

My wife and I spent one night here to visit family and Rutland Water. Having booked, we were informed that there was a wedding that day and there might be some disturbance. Fair enough. We arrived and the outside - an old stable block - looked impressive. We had to wait some time for the receptionist to turn up, but she was polite and efficient. We went to our room along a corridor that had sloping ceilings, which was fine in the light. Our room was 'compact' to say the least. Again sloping ceilings, so my wife, who is shorter than me, had to sleep on the sloping side. I got up during the night to get some air through the window and gave my head a real bang.There was minimal wardrobe space, which was almost completely taken up with an ironing-board. Also minimal storage space. The bathroom was a strange configuration with a large, white block in front of you as you entered on which was a heated towel rail. This, the basin and the shower were crammed into one side of the bathroom leaving a large empty area that would appear to have once contained a bath. To use the loo paper where it was,one had to be a contortionist. The room was so hot that we hardly slept as we had to keep the window open all night. On the other hand, breakfast was very good and we have no complaints about that at all. The grounds and the proximity to Rutland Water are excellent and so good for watching birds - and rabbits!. It is a pity about the room that was well overpriced for its size and comfort. On the website other rooms looked much better, but I can only comment on the one in which we stayed, which I would not recommend - No.6. less

Although I was only there for one night my other half was there for three( I joined him in the last night). I really liked the hotel, the room was a good size, the bed very comfortable, I have back problems but slept very well on this bed. Plenty of hot water in the shower and lovely fluffy towels. The only problem we had was making the booking as my other half couldn’t book all three nights on the one booking,as two nights were him on his own and the third was including me. So we had to make two separate bookings in hindsight we probably should have contacted the hotel ourselves and booked it directly, we know better for next time. The hotel overlooks a lake and you can take a nice long walk along the shoreline or just relax in the hotel garden and enjoy the scenery. I actually spent quite a while watching rabbits playing in the lawn the morning I was there. The restaurant had a nice menu, good good portions, well presented. This is a hotel we will come back to again. less