We stayed at this stunning property in October stayed for 3 days. The property itself is outstanding , historical dating back to the Tudor period.
Since this was our first time to visit this place we got astray by car, asked for directions from reception, were sadly misled us a few times that we ended up going around in circles and wasted an hour driving trying to find the place after a long hectic drive from London. The property is historical from the Tudor period, low beamed ceiling, 4 poster bed, takes you back to Tudor era. However, the sofa was dilapidated, with faded material. Needs re-upholstering.
The bathroom badly needs revamping. It dates back to the mid nineties..No shower cubicle....only a steep safety hazard high edged slippery bathtub with an obsolete fiddly tap that takes forever to function and mix water.
The breakfast was very unhealthy with very little choices.
The young blonde waitress who served our dinner was rather abrupt, had very little knowledge of what goes in the menu. Staff lack training.
The male middle aged waiter who served breakfast was very polite and accommodating, breakfast was very basic, unhealthy, lacking in berries or superfoods which are supposed to be local produce from the local neighbourhood. All what was on the menu (in terms of fruit) were imported tasteless GMO sour inedible pineapples, watermelon and melon, processed dry cereals and a stodgy commercial English breakfast which did not taste organic, free range or fresh from the local farms. The food and beverage management should encourage the local farming community by resourcing their ingredients from them instead of buying whole sale from commercial suppliers.
The dinner was disappointing too...the cooked salmon came across as frozen, stale and flaky (quite tasty though) despite the fact that the town is close to the seaside. They should invest in a more creative chef to live up to the grandiose image of this sophisticated property.
Beautiful, breathtaking well manicured gardens and golf course.
Lovely statues and historical fixtures.
Hygiene standards are quite inferior and shocking. Housekeeping refused to clean our bedroom, change the sheets and towels all throughout our stay, using Covid19 as their flimsy excuse! This beggars belief! On the contrary, Covid19 should be a good reason to frequently clean and disinfect the bedrooms. This is against health the safety. We had to request fresh towels, the young male receptionist obliged, politely apologised stating that this was ‘management new Covid rules’.
Such a shame because it’s a stunning property with a lot of potentials.
Would have loved to return but sadly the negative attitude left us with very little to be desired, in particular that we paid £280 a night on that weekend to be expected to make up our own bed and get fresh towels ourselves, using a dirty bathroom for a 48 hours stay. This is against hygiene, health and safety less
Mike Day, Marketing at Seckford Hall, responded to this review
Thank you for your review. Whilst I am sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your stay, I need to correct some of your "facts" which are wrong. Firstly, the housekeeping team did not refuse to clean your room, as part of our certification as a COVID 19 safe hotel (under government regulations) and our risk assessment which forms part of this, the team are not able to enter your room once you have checked in as you and your possessions may be carrying the virus. Likewise one of the housekeeping team may be carrying the virus so to keep both you and the team safe, they do not clean your room. This procedure is happening in hotels all over the country and is not just done at Seckford. On arrival, the Reception team would have explained this to you. Secondly, at breakfast our eggs are free range from a local farm and our sausages and bacon are also sourced from another local farm. We do utilise local berries when they are in season in the summer but these are out of season in October. The only berries currently available currently are imported from Spain.
I hope that clarifies our position.
Regards
Moira Banks
GM