Stapleford Park - Reviews
Mystery Inspector's Reviews
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12 February 2012
Top 3 reasons to stay at the hotel:
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Staying at Stapleford Park is a very comfortable experience. While one is clearly in the lap of luxury, the ambiance and atmosphere is that of being at an informal country house party. Service is excellent and unstuffy. There is a range of very inviting and impressive public rooms to choose from, plenty of sporting and country activities in which to participate plus a spa and pool for those so minded. There is a large estate to explore, while Leicestershire hunting country lurks beyond the main gate for those who wish (unnecessarily) to venture out beyond the bounds of Stapleford Park.
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Service is immaculate. Many of the staff are young, which gives the place its own form of energy. All the staff have been excellently trained to offer the most professional but relaxed and unobtrusive service. Their informal approach makes it easy for the guest to relax, feel at home and enjoy the country house atmosphere.
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The estate itself is very impressive. The range of outbuildings and the modern golf club house coupled with the gardens and landscaped areas mean that there is plenty for sportsmen and non sportsmen alike to appreciate. The whole is well kept and mixes shrubs with gardens and grassland. The impressive Churches Conservation Trust church adds a further interesting aspect.
Overview:
The approach through the extensive grounds suggests that something special lurks round the corner, especially if one has researched the SLH website or brochure.
And indeed, the property itself is most impressive, with a fine exterior and many large, high ceilinged public rooms and halls.
The reception process is unusual, with the staff member giving the customer their room card and confirming arrangements once one has been shown to the room. How pleasant also not to be asked for a credit card imprint, especially as the hotel already holds the relevant data from the booking process.
The room itself is well appointed, comfortable and clean as a new pin. There is enough light to read by. There is room to move without falling over each other. A lavish afternoon tea was served by two young and very pleasant staff, while I had a ringside seat to see Wales beating Scotland at rugby on the multi-channel TV.
Dinner was quite simply haute cuisine of the finest order. The tasting menu was outstanding, although the hotel missed a trick in not offering sample wines to accompany each dish to follow the initial champagne. But no worries, we did not go thirsty!
Being in the depths of the country brings deep quiet, and it is a long time since a hotel wake-up call has actually woken me up. A most adequate breakfast set us up for the day, and after a detour to the spa for a treatment, we were on our way, vowing to return as soon as possible to the quintessential country house hotel. Anybody who stays at Stapleford Park and is disappointed, must be impossible to please.
15 September 2011
Top 3 reasons to stay at the hotel:
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Dinner in the Grinling Gibbons dining room, sitting with his ornate wood carved mantle was an experience not to be missed.
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Dinner in the Grinling Gibbons dining room, sitting with his ornate wood carved mantle was an experience not to be missed.
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It is the little touches that count; the phone call before I arrived wanting to know if I required anything, the handwritten card in my room upon arrival, the complimentary sloe gin and the personalised card I received a few days after my visit.
Overview:
I realised that I was in for something special from the description in the SLH directory, and I was certainly not disappointed.
The hotel is approached via a winding drive, which takes one to the front entrance of this magnificent building, where I was greeted by one of the staff.
You are meant to feel as if you are a house guest and I did; no request for an imprint of my credit card!
I had an excellent light meal in one of the many beautifully decorated lounges, followed by a walkthrough the immaculately kept gardens. The room I was subsequently shown to was awe inspiring and wonderfully and thoughtfully furnished.
A further walk through the gardens, past the golf club, to the "lifestyle club" for a relaxing massage of which building has been created from the original stable block and servants quarters.
Upon returning to the hotel I was met by a very knowledgeable host who showed me many interesting features and told the fascinating history of the house and its surroundings.
Amongst the facts two intrigued me most; The 6th Earl of Harborough lived with his mistress in a house in the grounds and because he did not want visitors he bought bears from the local circus to roam the woods. Better than "beware of the dog"
The house was bought by Bob Peyton of Chicago Deep Pan Pizza fame from Lord Gretton and transformed into the magnificent hotel it is today.
The staff certainly succeeded in making me feel like a welcomed house guest.
My advice to prospective guests is: stay longer!