Hôtel Alexander House

"Our second visit but definitely not our last. We loved it even more than the first time. The staff in this hotel are truly exceptional. We were greeted by 3 members of staff who seemed really disappointed that we didn’t have bags for them to carry. We had 2 dogs, one quite lame, and every where we went a water bowl and dog treats would appear. They were spoilt even more than we were. The building is beautiful. The food is lush and we treated ourselves to the delux suite which is so comfortable. A huge bed and lovely quality bedding etc. room service is super prompt and again friendly and attentive staff. The spa we used a lot and had treatments from the wonderfully talented Miriam but again, all of the spa staff are friendly and attentive. We are already planning our next trip."

"I stayed as a guest at the spa and initially loved the beautiful outdoor jacuzzi and garden setting. Unfortunately, the experience was completely overshadowed by the presence of insect death traps hanging all around the grounds—even right next to flowering plants like buddleja and hibiscus. These traps were crammed with dead insects: bees, wasps, and other pollinators that are vital for our ecosystems. Seeing this was cruel, distressing, and entirely at odds with the natural beauty the spa is trying to offer. At a time when pollinator numbers are collapsing worldwide, it is shocking and irresponsible to see such disregard for wildlife. What could have been a relaxing, nature-friendly escape was instead heartbreaking. Until the hotel removes these traps and adopts pollinator-friendly practices, I cannot recommend this place to anyone who values the environment."

"Had been looking forward to our night away but other than the delicious non alcoholic homemade lemonade we left unsatisfied. Staff appeared uninterested, not rude, but nowhere near a 5* level of service. We were kindly upgraded to a Garden Suite - but found out this was not in the main building, but a rather drab newer addition to the hotel. Whilst there was nothing wrong with the room, it lacked any character, which is why we choose this hotel in the first place. And with the name of a Garden Suite you would have thought it would have a view of the gardens, but no, sadly there was no view at all. It was also not very clean (sinks had water marks, lots of dust, old water left in the kettle) and the paint job in the bathroom was dreadful. The bed was very comfortable though. We arrived just before check in and had some time in the spa before our pre booked massages. Everything looked great on the website but unfortunately the area needs a bit of an overhaul. Spa reception staff were pleasant. We went for a swim and found several tiles on the main pool were just sitting loose on the floor. I picked them up and placed them on the side. The area around the pools were clean but crammed together chairs didn't make it feel very luxurious. We went into the sauna but it didn't get hot even after pouring more and more water onto the rocks. The massage was advertised as 55 minutes, I was collected by the therapist at 17:05pm and was back downstairs before 5.55pm which included undressing and dressing again and a talk about what I wanted from the massage. So not a massage length of 55 minutes. We had dinner at Reflections which started off well with the hostess being very welcoming and explaining the specials and getting us some water. Then we were told someone would come and take our food and drinks order. This took almost 10 minutes in a restaurant that was not even busy. One person was responsible for taking all the orders. The menu was very basic and underwhelming. When we finally had our order taken the server was again, uninterested. I ordered the Ribeye Steak with chimichurri sauce- what I was served was a small, thin - probably actually sirloin steak and a sauce that had absolutely no flavour of chimichurri nor looked like chimichurri. As nobody came to check how our meals were I asked the host who was clearing a table if I could change the sauce which she did without hesitation. A Peppercorn Sauce arrived, again, no flavour. A watery cream sauce which had barely seen a Peppercorn. Still no checkback, no offer of anymore drinks, but we were so hungry we ate what we had. After we finished our mains we waited half an hour for any dessert menus to be produced. We ordered some hot drinks and a cheeseboard - we had asked what cheese were included and were told 5 cheeses. 4 were on the plate. Waited longer for our drinks. When we finished we waited and waited but no one came over so we got up and went to leave - only for then the hostess and server to both come running over to get a signature for the bill. I'm not sure if a new chef/kitchen team/front of house team have been employed since gaining the two AA Rosettes as our experience had us questioning these accolades. Breakfast went better but I'm glad this was included in the price of our stay as £19.50 for a cooked traditional breakfast at the standard and portion size served was inadequate at best. I would not recommend this hotel at the current standard we experienced."