Wow what a great stay!

We were lucky to stay at the hotel on a February special offer and we are so glad we did.

It was a present for my mums 60th birthday and the staff were so friendly. We were provided with a glass of bubbles each in the spa and even though it was February still managed to enjoy all the facilities.

The gym is a good start to the day, whilst on the smaller side it goes have all the equipment you need.

The indoor/outdoor pool was great and then having the different Jacuzzi, Sauna and relaxation areas meant that none of the areas ever felt busy.

Our offer included dinner and breakfasts and both the food and service was spectacular!!
We were able to order a starter, main and dessert and didn’t had to pay any additional costs - including a cheese board!

The room was one of the spa rooms overlooking out to the countryside. In the summer you can relax on the sun beds on your patio area.

The bathrooms were huge! Great showers and a roll top bath that has shutters into the main bedroom.

The fridge is stocked with water, soft drinks and juices and complimentary tea and coffee is available.

The only thing I would say is that the beds were not very comfy and the rooms could do with a little spruce up.

Overall though - it was an amazing stay and I would definitely recommend!!

Disabled access -
Personally I would not recommend the spa or rooms if you have a disability that affects you ability to walk around.
There are quite a few steps in and around the areas.

So we decided to visit for afternoon tea as its was my wifes Birthday and we love a experience and this has become a tradition we look forwards to annually

We walked in Ockenden manor a was meet by a pleasant receptionist who guided us to the gentleman who sat us down in the library set for afternoon tea
The library was wooden clad floor to ceiling it was painfully silent, dark, dreary the books on the shelf hadn't been dusted since the day they had been put their I think!

We where sat by a window that looked great until you sat down then you feel like your a rabbit peering out of its burrow, due to the heigth of the window sill and the huge dusty copper closhes sat their, I could see the sky and a roof top but nothing else! Lucky their was a rainbow to brighten things up a little

The staff where pleasant however I got the distinct feeling that this service was jammed into the middle of lunch/dinner and not a dedicated afternoon tea service.
initially it started well with tea box brought to the table however once the service was placed and tea brought as far a service was concerned job done

The tea food was uninspiring ,poorly executed' with dense heavy tray baked cakes cut inaccurately into squares and rectangles (wonky at best)
The cake seemed to need the vast vat of tea served, to just about get you through the clag.
No delicately garnish items
Not macaroon in site!

to be honest I've had much better from local farmers markets than what we where served cake wise.

The sandwiches where on bread which seemed to be shop brought own brand white and brown sliced (co-op/aldi standard) with very dull fillings that where made either in the morning or night before as wet and some what soggy
I have already given this far more attention than the chef who made them so I'll move on from this now!

The scone's where tasty but not well risen,
With only enough clotted cream and jam for one serving but there was no one to ask for extra so x2 scones went un eaten.

We waited nearly 30 mins yet no one entered the room for payment
So we followed suit and upped and left the was a chap hovering by the door to catch you on the way out rather like that of a garden centre café

Who charge us for the afternoon tea added service charge to the bill without asking.

So you couldn't really without feeling embarrassed say no

Unfortunately we left feeling like we had wasted our money on a under inspiring poorly excuted afternoon tea

It was not terrible but was a poor experience compared to others we have enjoyed the area