Top 10 The Berkley Hotels

Myself and husband have just returned from a wonderful one nights stay at The Grove. Firstly huge thanks to Alex Bowman, Monika and Mia for arranging our great stay for my birthday, and post celebration after tying the knot late last year after 33 yrs. There’s a very grand approach to the hotel complex through the prestigious golf course, and on arrival we received a warm welcome at reception, and congrats from Ioan ( apologies for spelling) who checked us in and explained where everything was. Beautiful hotel with tasteful decor. Our room was also fabulously furnished with views over the splendid gardens . After unpacking, we steamed and bubbled our cares away at the steam room and jacuzzi in the stylish Sequoia Spa located in the hotel grounds. Feeling chilled we returned to our room to prepare for an exciting dinner in The Glasshouse. (I’ve reviewed that experience on The Glasshouse page) There was a little treat of yummy happy birthday chocolates and card in our room, thoughtfully left for me which was a lovely gesture. After an excellent dinner, we returned to our room to snuggle down, only to find the turn down fairy had been, and tided and refreshed our room ready for our return. After enjoying a really restful nights sleep, we awoke to the joys of knowing we had breakfast to look forward to in The Glasshouse again. After another delicious meal, we sadly had to prepare for return home. We again had a warm goodbye at checkout from Kiri and Nishat. We live nearly three hours away, but my goodness it was worth the journey to visit this place. We felt so relaxed, and chilled after our stay. Thanks so much to all of the very hard working team at The Grove, who make sure their guests have a really quality stay. Until the next time. Take care all. Karen and Steve x Jan 2024

I booked a weekend away at Hartwell House to celebrate my partners 75th birthday. I had told the reception on the phone when I booked that it was my partners birthday on the Saturday. What a lovely hotel with amazing staff. It was like going back in time. Wonderful service and a real experience. We arrived early (12 noon ) check in is 3pm. Very warm welcome. On checking in we were told that we had been upgraded, which we were very happy about. We would have been happy just to walk around the magnificent grounds for a couple of hours whilst waiting for our room to be ready. However we were told our room would be ready in about 30 minutes, a very good start. We had a tour around the ground floor of the hotel by a helpful porter, who pointed out some really interesting points in this old building. Then we had a light lunch in one of the lovely lounges. In no time our porter came for us to take us to our room. Room 6. What a fabulous room and upgrade. It had a massive four poster bed and so much room to walk around. The only gripe I had with the room was the size of the bathroom and the shower is over the bath and not that powerful. At home I am used to a power shower. However my partner was delighted with the bath and as the weekend was about her, I didn't moan about such a trivial thing. The grounds are amazing, we went for a long walk and when we came back the fire in the lounge was most welcoming. We had afternoon tea there and then went up to get ready for dinner. We went into the dining room at 7.30pm and were quite surprised as there were only about 8 other people in room. However by 8.15pm the place had started getting busier. A lovely touch is the complimentary canapes served before our dinner. The food was delicious. Served with real panache. One thing that could be improved is the choice of vegetables served. it was not a great selection. We met a really nice couple inn the restaurant who had come down from Liverpool to celebrate both of their birthdays as well. After dinner we went into one of the lounges and had a drink with them and spent an hour chatting in front of a roaring fire. Breakfast the next morning was delightful with a good choice. After which we went for another walk to explore the amazing 90 acres of parkland. After lunch we went to the spa and chilled there until 5.30pm. That evening we went into dinner and it was nice and buzzy. Two of the waiters came up to my partner to wish her a happy birthday, a very nice touch. Again the food was excellent as was the service. If you feel you want to be spoilt with some old fashioned service I can highly recommend Hartwell House.

We had high expectations after reading the website and based on the price. Overall we enjoyed the stay but it wasn’t quite 5*. The welcome at reception was efficient / lukewarm. There was also working going on in the lobby area. Our Chic room was on the first floor no mention of a lift or a help with the bags. The room itself was nice and the bed comfy, but the bathroom was pretty small for the price and perceived room standard. Our room was near the stairs and at the intersection of 2 corridors so a little noisy at times. My wife said the spa was wonderful. We ate in the bistro and thought the food was good an reasonably priced but the setting was quite functional. (Please invest in some vinegar!) Breakfast was fine but not special given the hotel. One or two areas are starting to look a bit tired. In general the staff were friendly and helpful. So in summary very nice but could do better. Would we stay again - probably, and it might help that our expectations will have been tempered.

Spacious room Upstairs on holiday inn The two hotels share elevators, parking lots, etc. You can cook your own food. There are several large supermarkets within a ten-minute walk around. It is convenient to buy food and come back to cook. The extra bed in the triple room was uncomfortable. The train station is 200 meters away, and the shuttle bus to the Harry Potter studio is sitting there.

The location is great. Located on the street where all banks, stores, supermarkets and restaurants located. The st albans cathedral abbey is just located opposite of the hotel. However, for the amenities, it would be best if they could provide hair conditioner.

We stayed as part of the Harry Potter Studio Tour deal. It’s fantastic value! Parking is included in the package. Two adults and two children in one room. A double bed and a sofa bed (a bit springy but doable for one night). The hotel staff were really friendly. We booked to use the pool which was great. Breakfast was really fresh, plenty of options to choose from and well organised. We opted to go for dinner at The Plough which is a few minutes drive away and would also recommend eating there. A really good trip ☺️