The hotel has only 11 rooms, each called after a nearby village or town. We stayed in Marionsleigh, one of the mid-price rooms, which overlooked the front lawn of the hotel. The room itself was well decorated, the bed very comfortable, and the décor attractive. The bathroom was well-appointed, with very good toiletries provided for the guests to use – so good that we bought some of the shampoo and shower gel when we left as we enjoyed using it so much. The room was a little smaller than I had expected from a room that was billed as more luxurious and expensive than some in the building – once the bed, two chairs and a television are taken into account, there is very little floor-space left.

The package we were on included breakfast. We took the option of having breakfast in our room, at no extra cost, and got what we asked for, at the exact time we asked for it, every day. The breakfast menu had a good selection, including toast, cereals, cold ham or cheese, or eggs, and fresh fruit juice and generous pots of tea or coffee. More cooked breakfasts, of sausages, bacon etc, were available in the restaurant downstairs, but we didn’t want them anyway.

The downstairs rooms were very impressive. The entrance hall of the hotel, which is large, has several comfortable sofas and chairs, and a bar at one end – it’s also the smoking area of the hotel. There is also a non-smoking lounge with similarly comfortable seats and a bizarre mural of the Benedictine monks who once owned this land. There are a number of games such as chess, scrabble, backgammon and Trivial Pursuit available for guests to play during the day or in the evenings, and a extensive bookshelf with books about the area, and general fiction and non-fiction material also. Newspapers and current magazines are scattered about, and it’s an altogether relaxing, pleasant environment.

The best thing about this hotel was the service. Every single person working there was genuinely friendly, helpful and pleasant, and this more than the relaxing and pleasant environment made for a wonderful weekend break. I would definitely recommend this hotel.