Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa

I should be clear that this review is limited solely to a visit here to eat, on one of the last fine weekends of the summer — I seem to recall coming to a wedding here, many years ago, but that is a dim and distant memory. Indeed, I can’t even recall whose wedding it was.
Anywho — general impressions: very helpful and accomodating staff; 5 stars and no qualms about that whatsoever. Can answer any query, or will find someone who can. Pleasant outlook from the outdoor terrace over the wooded grounds; no hint of traffic noise. They were quite happy to allow us in with a generally well behaved dog.
The problem, therefore, I found with this place was neither setting nor staff — it’s the food. While reasonably priced (for this sort of thing, think c£15 for a main at lunch), it’s, how can I put it… just not that good. A «smoked salmon plate» had salmon (tick), some caper berries (ok, tick), a teasponn-​sized splodge of unidentified dairy (was it Philly with herbs — probably), and two wafer thin pieces of quite ordinary sourdough. Just not very special. Fish and chips was reported as OK (and scoffed). A burger was reported as good, but arrived innocent of any sides, just, well, a burger on a board. The most offensive item, however, had to be the so-​called Thai fishcakes; three shrivelled pucks of matter with some bog standard supermarket dipping sauce. Dire, just dire — it’s not as if this is the most difficult thing to make. Although I strongly suspect the chef isn’t guilty of that, but is guilty of buying them in, frozen, and reheating them at least once.
So, in sum, I’m sure this is a good venue for all sorts of things, but not a place to eat for the vaguely discerning.

Before I start I would like to mention that this was supposed to be a 5 Star Hotel, so if I seem a little harsh its because my expectations were very high!
The place was easy to find and on arrival the place looked great. There was no valet parking, so we had to walk a good 7 minutes to get to reception. It was a lovely day, so major drama.
We were running a bit late for our massage in the Spa, but they checked us in quickly and we headed to the Spa. We walked past the outdoor pool which was closed as there was major building work going on, but inside the Spa it was nice, if not a bit dated.
We both had a massage — mine was brilliant, however, my better halves was dreadful!
We went into the main Spa for a swim and outside Jacuzzi, but before this we had to get changed into the robes and slippers. I tried them both on and they were very small, now I am an ex rugby player and realize that I am far from average size, but I asked the attendant if they had any bigger robes and slippers? The response was a very plain and simple «NO». I managed to get them on, but my feet were only able to be covered up to my heel and the robe was so small that the sleeves only came to my elbow and was very tight.
So off back to the Hotel Room to get washed and showered for a romantic dinner.
Our room was quite big, the bed was only a double, we have a Queen size bed at home, so it seemed like a single bed to us. Not 5 star luxury!
The wife came out of the shower and said that there was no hot water, I tried to get it working as our dinner reservation was only 20 minutes away. We both had a cold shower and when I went to have a shave there was no water at all coming out of the sink tap, so I shaved using the cold shower water.
We were now awake and fresh from the cold shower — we informed reception the issue and went for dinner.
The Hotel Décor was a mix match between Victorian and North American Ski Lodge, strange and in my opinion pretty Naff! You could see that they had spent a lot of money doing it, but very underwhelming.
We were running late so we did not have a chance to sample one of the Ascot Bars Cocktails before dinner. We went straight into the soulless, drab and music-​less Brasserie. The place had zero atmosphere.
We ordered a bottle of wine (Very nice!) and some mineral water. All great at this point.
The food and service in The Brasserie was dreadful. I have had way better food from a Harvester and that is saying something.
We both ordered starters
Carrot and Ginger Soup, bland but passable!
Lobster and crispy chicken strips, there was one piece of lobster the size of a 10p piece and it was not cooked, the chicken was dry and it was just a terrible dish. If you order a Lobster starter you expect to get more than one piece.
Main Courses:
Roast Beef Dinner — 2 pieces of roast beef, 2 small carrots, a handful of haricot vert and a small piece of dry Daphinoise potatoes. Edible but not 5 star quality and it was served in a bowl? And no Yorkshire Pudding.
Steak (ordered BLUE) — Steak arrived well done, we sent it back immediately. After 10 minutes the steak had not arrived and I had finished my «Poor Mans Sunday Roast» (no Yorkshire Pudding). After 15 minutes the waiter brought out an espresso cup filled with Carrot and Ginger Soup (what I had for my starter) and said «The Chef has offered you a Amuse-​bouche as a way of apologizing» I am not sure why he bothered, embarrassing. When the steak did eventually arrive it looked like it had been boiled and not cooked on a hot griddle. It was a very poor quality piece of beef, fatty, tough and virtually impossible to cut (even with a steak knife). How can a 5 Star Hotel be incapable of cooking a Blue Steak? I’m not sure but I think it was on the menu for over £30! There was a lady eating alone behind us and she had also ordered the steak, we over heard her complaining about the quality of the steak and she pointed to a pile of fat and grizzle piled up to the side of her dish.
We both passed on desert for obvious reasons, but I was still hungry so I ordered a cheese board. 5 pieces of cheese, 4 crackers, some manky looking apple chutney, 5 dirty black grapes and 5 dirty and bruised green grapes. Whoever put together the cheese board was obviously very uninterested in providing quality.
Service: Staff were polite and attentive, but not trained to a standard that you would expect in a 5 star Hotel. When I was eating my soup starter the waiter decided to remove our bread plates and surplus cutlery. I had my spoon in the soup when he leaned over my bowl so I was unable to lift my spoon to collect the plate, I looked at him and he smiled and leant over my food again to collect my butter knife. You wouldn’t expect this service in a greasy spoon!
We asked for the bill and there was no apology for the mistake. The bill was pretty high considering and I have eaten in Michelin starred restaurants and paid less than this!
Awful!

We checked in at 2.30pm and checked out again at 7.30pm! Dreadful service, no hot water in our room, small uncomfortable beds and food a Greasy Spoon would be embarrassed about!
A very underwhelming experience.
I will never return even though they gave us a free nights stay!

I had a wonderful time at Pennyhill Park. Service at the hotel is impeccable… The food is delicious, the bartenders in the lounge area really know how to make a good cocktail!
I was visiting from out of town, New York, and a friend from Hong Kong was also visiting… So while the room was quite quaint, and a bit old, it was still exotic to us! We were also there for a wedding which was superb… The food, the drinks, the space, the grounds, all of it was very nice.
My biggest regret was not bring a swimsuit… The spa at the hotel looks fantastic, and was extremely refreshing for my friends who enjoyed it in the freezing winter…
It is a fantastic little English getaway for anyone not from the UK!

Let it not be said that this is not an absolutely beautiful location because it is. Luxurious, tranquil and oozing a very well to do feel. As looks go this is definitely when of the nicest places you are likely to visit. We visited one afternoon for one of their Speciality Afternoon Teas; a leaving treat for a work colleague. The cost of the afternoon was £29.50 per person, (including their discretionary service charge of 10%; which you only find out about if you download a sample menu prior to attending!). The menu consisted of: Freshly cut sandwiches
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Lemon tart Dome
Apricot and Almond tart
Macaroons, raspberry and vanilla
Chocolate and Lime Log
Chocolate and Vanilla Tart
Freshly baked scones with clotted cream and preserves
Choice of Teas or Coffee The food was very nice (certainly very, very well presented), but definitely nothing special. Apparently people who have Afternoon Tea’d at the Aviator in Farnborough (for half the price), stated that the food there was far superior. The sandwiches were well. sandwiches… just cut into very easy to eat sizes with a nice filling of chicken or smoked salmon; very tasty but very simple. The cakes were a little too rich and heavy for a vast majority of peoples taste, and certainly for an afternoon tea and you where overwhelmed with large scones (which had not been cut into dainty afternoon tea size portions and which quite spoiled the overall look of the tea and certainly spoilt your appetite after eating one of them). The really disappointing thing from the afternoon was the feeling that the staff did not want you there. You felt you had to search for staff if you wanted anything (they were not at all attentive), and when they served you they couldn’t wait to get away, even though the place was far from busy although they still managed to find a place for the 10% service charge at the end of the bill. The other real disappointment was those members of the party who did not have tea to drink. As well as consistently having to ask staff for more tea because you had run out, those who had a coffee or hot chocolate were given one drink for the afternoon and if they wanted more they had to pay extra. Also the tea was basic English breakfast tea, if you wanted a speciality tea you had to pay extra (sometimes up to nearly £5 extra); which is another thing not clearly advertised on their website! If this is going to be advertised as afternoon TEA, then surely you should be provided with plenty of it! Unfortunately this afternoon turned out to be another example of Rip Off Britain, over inflated prices, based on a beautiful location for an underrated product. Many finer Afternoon Tea establishments in the area which will provide a better service, better food at a more affordable price.

We stayed at Pennyhill Park for our wedding night and had the most fantastic experience! It was the perfect end to a stunningly beautiful day.
We were welcomed at the reception by friendly and highly professional staff and we were thrilled to bits to be upgraded to one of the loveliest suites, where Johnny Depp has stayed the previous week apparently. It was absolutely huge with beautifully opulent décor, two chandeliers, a bathroom to die for an a private terrace.
We ate that night in the Latymer which was outstanding and fully deserving of its Michelin star. The service was discreet and spotlessly efficient. The food was magnificent, especially the foie gras starter. I think I said nothing but ‘Wow’ for about 5 minutes!
The following day we thoroughly enjoyed breakfast and then had a wonderful time in the spa which is truly excellent. It was quite busy but all the outdoor pools, steam rooms and jacuzzis are great fun and very relaxing.
All in all it was a superb experience recommended without hesitation!

My first comment is that I didn’t use the spa here and by all accounts its great so maybe I would have given a higher mark if I’d used it, but I’ve reviewed based on the room, the food, and the general experience of staying here.
The staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. The room was very big, had a tv and walk in shower in the bathroom, and our own piano in the sitting room. The food was perfectly nice, especially the smoked haddock soup amuse bouche.
So overall a good hotel. But for the price? Disappointing. Its the little things that make the difference when you get into this price range. The walk in shower lost most of its power when you turned the side jets on. It was also fairly tepid even when turned up to maximum. The building itself strayed a little too close to the tacky ski lodge look. The fan in our room was totally inadequate for a warm night. The bed dipped in the middle so we kept rolling into each other. The food was good but not amazing.
Little things like this add up. Must try harder.

I enjoyed this spa sooo much that I’ve been twice. This place is sooo relaxing and it’s never overcrowded. The staff bend over backwoods to please and treatment are excellent. Am saving to go again

This has be the best spa I have every visited, the facilities are absolutely superb and exquisite. The most relaxing and exclusive experience I have had. I would recommend going for the «Two Treats in One Day» offer which includes afternoon tea, a beauty treatment and full access to the spa for £99. This is such great value and the best money I’ve spent to unwind and relax. I loved my experience so much that I’m taking another trip back to the spa this week.

Gorgeous retreat in Surrey, within easy reach of London. The England rugger buggers apparently use this place but don’t let that put you off.
The rooms are the height of luxury. We stayed in a suite where the bed was massive, the bathroom opulent and the room bigger than some of the flats I’ve lived in.
The spa, which you get into for free if you’re staying overnight in the hotel, features saunas, steam rooms, massage chairs and plenty of jacuzzis, pools and the like. You can pay for treatments, too, and I’m reliably informed that they are the business but if you’re only staying for the one day, you should be happy enough larking around in the various watery bits like the outdoor heated pools.
The restaurant maintains the consistent feel of luxury, with a nicely obsequious staff paying just the right level of attention. We had the tasting menu here, including a very large cheese course (it took about 10 minutes for the cheese waiter just to describe what the various cheeses were), which left us barely able to walk back to our rooms. A bit of advice — if you’re here for a — ahem — romantic weekend, you will not feel like doing much on your bed apart from laying on it like a beached whale, waiting for your gorgeous meal to be digested.
Highly recommended, and a surefire winner as a surprise weekend away for a loved one.