Chilston Park Hotel

I had a wonderful stay at this Chilston, the room was comfortable and the amenities were top notch. Hotel environment was charming with beautiful and relaxing ambiance.

Always looked after, Chef Ali’s food is flawless. His attention to detail is second to none! Thank you Ali, Matt, Ella and Chilston

We booked a Sunday lunch which was billed with a jazz singer. The music was excellent if a little too loud for a conversation. Lunch was unimpressive. It was roasts with all the trimmings however as I have a food allergy, which I had deviously notified them of, no attempt was made to offer an alternative. Hence my meal came dry… no sauce or gravy. The Yorkshire pudding was huge and like cardboard and the vegetables were over cooked. All in all I've had better Sunday roasts at a pub where my allergies are catered for. Not what I expected from an establishment of his calibre.

Afternoon tea awful left on our own for 30 minutes before anyone took our order 2 dirty glasses 1 chipped glass cold pot of coffee 2 dirty plates and a huge dirty stain on the ceiling above our heads very disappointed and for the price I would expect better

We stayed for 2 nights for my 70th birthday at the end of July and everything was just perfect. We stayed in Gilt room and the view over the lake was lovely. We ate in the lounge and the restaurant and the food was delicious. All the staff were so helpful and friendly. I must make special mention of Morgan and Ellie who made our stay so enjoyable

Great place to stay : beautifully laid out: Big rooms and great food: specially the breakfast

Having stayed at Chilston Park a couple of times in the past and, because we were married in Kent 60 years ago, we decided to spend our anniversary there before going on to France. I had advised the hotel that it was our anniversary and would like the hotel to produce something to acknowledge the fact - perhaps a small cake or special dessert at dinner. The spreadsheet on the computer screen at the dining room even mentioned this fact but nothing was forthcoming either at dinner or in our room. As regards the room(s), I had asked for two rooms but was told that they did not have them for the dates requested - instead they had a mews suite with two rooms and two bathrooms. This in fact was one large room with two small bathrooms in need of renovation and, with the sofa bed set up, no space to sit. As a result, I asked if there was in fact another room and of course there was! Food (especially breakfast where practically nothing was left on the buffet table due to large American tourist groups) was not exceptional. But, worst of all, having sent emails and letters to the General Manager to complain, no response has been forthcoming which is not acceptable for a Hand-Picked Hotel. The hotel is of course in a beautiful location, the grounds are lovely and the building attractive but it is need of refurbishment and perhaps the management should consider each guest important - not just large tour groups.

We chose Chilston Park Hotel to celebrate our daughter's 5th birthday because of its excellent reputation and the confidence we were given throughout the booking process. Unfortunately, the experience on the day was nothing short of devastating. From the very beginning, the service was chaotic. Despite pre-ordering lunch weeks in advance to fit around our entertainer's schedule, our food arrived almost an hour late, with the birthday girl's meal arriving last. This immediately set the tone for what should have been a very special day. The problems only escalated. We had specifically requested that the Orangery bar be open from the arrival of our guests, particularly as temperatures reached 34°C and the air conditioning was not working. Instead, there were no staff present, no drinks available, and I spent much of my own daughter's birthday searching the hotel for someone to help rather than celebrating with family and friends. Many of our guests were elderly, very young children, and one had a serious heart condition, making the lack of refreshments in such extreme heat completely unacceptable. Drink orders were repeatedly forgotten, simple coffees took well over an hour, a dairy-free afternoon tea requested for a child with a serious allergy was not provided, afternoon tea arrived without any tea, and when it came time to cut the birthday cake, we had to clear tables ourselves, search for cutlery, and even collect forks from dirty tables because none were provided. Despite asking for the remaining cake to be boxed so the children could take a slice home, nothing was done before our guests left, leaving our daughter heartbroken. The most disappointing part, however, came afterwards. We took the time to write a detailed account of everything that had happened and were assured that the matter would be thoroughly investigated. Weeks later, it became apparent that no meaningful investigation had taken place. The response felt generic, failed to address the seriousness of the issues, and showed little understanding of the impact the day had on our family. It left us with the overwhelming impression that once payment had been taken, customer care simply ended. Mistakes can happen anywhere. What defines a quality venue is how those mistakes are acknowledged and put right. Sadly, Chilston Park Hotel failed on both counts. This wasn't simply poor service; it was the complete failure of an event that can never be repeated. A child's fifth birthday is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and instead of making memories with our daughter, we spent the day apologising to guests, chasing staff, and trying to salvage what we could. We will never get that day back. For that reason, we cannot recommend Chilston Park Hotel, nor would we ever trust them with another special occasion

Lovely location but hugely disappointing with both service and the food. We had booked for my aunts 80th birthday and the service was chronically slow and we had to chase several times for our meals. The menus that were given to us were out of date so when 4 of us ordered the scallops expecting them to come with carrot puree, pickled carrot and quail egg. What we got was scallops, cauliflower purée and pickled apple. The ceasar salad had no anchovy dressing and the croutons were so large and solid they were inedible. 2 of the party ordered deserts and they took so long to arrive we were all ready to leave as we got fed up waiting. We brought a cake with us and had to repeatedly ask for the cake to be brought out. Hugely disappointing especially for a 3 Rosette dining experience.