Luton Apartments

There seemed to be plenty of little things not quite right with this place - all of which added up to make an experience that was most certainly not 5*. It started the day before we arrived. I called up to book a table for dinner. It turned out to be unnecessary as the place was very empty. An hour after this I got a phone call from the hotel to do with golf bookings. I had no intention of playing golf so was confused by this. We arrived before our check in time but were told our room was ready. We dropped our bags and went straight to the spa. The spa was a little tired. The seats in the changing rooms were worn, and lots of standing water around the pool. Obviously this happens around a pool but there were certain places where it was clearly a permanent feature. After an afternoon in the spa we wanted a drink. The spa is co-located with the golf club so I assumed there would be a clubhouse or similar. Nothing was open, and over two days we didn't see a single golfer. We went back to the mansion house for a drink. There is no bar - just a 'hatch' in one of the very grand drawing rooms with waiter service. The draft beer was not on, and the waiter had to ask three times to check my wife's order. There was no bar atmosphere at all as we were the only people in there. We went back to the room to rest and change. Our room was stiflingly hot and the controls for the air conditioning were broken. This is clearly not a new issue as there was a plug in radiator and fan in the room. The room was large and well furnished, just a bit dated. The hairdryer was of the quality you would expect in a Premier Inn and while there were some products in the bathroom there was no conditioner. We took advantage of the concierge car service back to Adam's Brasserie for dinner, and had a really good meal. We both had scallops and shared the Chateaubriand which was delicious. The puddings were a bit ordinary, whether they had or not they looked as it they came out of a box. We ordered a bottle of dessert wine to accompany our pudding but it never arrived. We didn't chase it as we were halfway through our pudding and thought we'd return to the 'bar' for a drink. We were a little surprised to see a large service charge added on to our bill. The service had been fine, but not worthy of such a tip, especially given the forgotten wine. Limoncello was an ingredient in many of the cocktails we'd seen when we had a drink earlier. My wife decided she wanted one, and I was going to have a whiskey. My first choice of whiskey from the menu was not available. Then I asked for a limoncello, which could not be found. At which point I gave up and went to bed. We slept well, and breakfast was quite good. I'm not sure I expected a buffet at a five star hotel, and the juices came out of a long life carton and were not freshly squeezed. I was surprised again to receive an email after I'd got home, cancelling my dinner reservation. Lots of little things that suggest the 5* rated isn

There is free parking, which is very convenient for self-driving travel. The hotel is very easy to find. The entrance door logo is not clear. It is a little hard to find. It is a bit laborious for the lady to carry the suitcase up and down. The room should have been upgraded for us, very spacious and clean, with showers and baths, and air conditioning. It is a great value at this price. I will go to Luton in the future and I am willing to continue to choose to live here.