Woolley Grange - A Luxury Family Hotel

A lovely place. Great little touches to make a holiday with a young family fun, easy and special. The staff were really lovely and went the extra mile always to make it a great experience for kids. The lawn games, fairy garden and little hidden treasures, fruit to pick and gardens to explore, it was brilliant.

My husband and I spent a night at Woolley Grange in September. We paid £320 for a superior room which I really feel was only worth £150. We weren’t in the main house but in a room outside which was one of four. Our room was tired, faded carpets, mismatched furniture, a very old noisy fridge in the room and our bathroom was down 6 steps. I feel the steps should have been pointed out to us but there was no mention. The fan in the bathroom was so noisy we had to turn it off and the bathroom had a glass door with a thin curtain over it so when you put the bathroom light on at night (which you needed to because of the stairs) you woke the other person up in the middle of the night. The walkways back to our room were poorly light. We thought the majority of the food was lovely, although pricy, £17 for a glass of wine and a sourdough starter was terrible, so bad it couldn’t really be eaten, obviously stale bread toasted and rock hard butter. We had two service charges added, not 100% sure what for but to be honest I just wanted to get out of reception which had lots of screaming kids running around without any supervision. We appreciate it is a family friendly hotel but being a parent myself I would have expected the children to be more supervised. Very very disappointed with our stay, wouldn’t return and certainly wouldn’t recommend.

We stayed at Woolley Grange twice in the 90's and have fond memories of it. It is a lovely building set in very pretty grounds. I should say it rained most of the time we were there which obviously didn't help. Overall I think the experience was disappointing and, having read some of the other reviews with similar complaints, I hope the owners take note. On the plus side it is very child-friendly and the staff, who are generally lovely, seem to enjoy looking after families. On the negative side, and these outweigh the positives, the hotel looks very tired and could do with some renovation and redecorating. There doesn't seem to be anyone in charge and keeping an overall eye on the guest experience. So, for example, the reception is potentially very pretty but it has so many laminated notices up it looks more like a dentist waiting room. It was raining as I said so we wanted to take our grandchild to the Woolley Bears Play Area. We went there at 12noon on a Sunday and it was open and empty of children. The staff member, who was eating her lunch in a side-room, told us it was closed. Surely it would be a good idea to open it as people couldn't go outside? Finally, the food and service in the restaurant is poor and expensive. On the Friday night we had to wait over an hour for our food and it was pretty horrible when it arrived. Our very young and sweet waiter didn't tell us of the extra cooking time for the Cote De Boeuf. If you are paying £89 for Cote de Boeuf (sharing for two) and £36 for a rib-eye it needs to be done well. Full English breakfast at £20 was poor too - cheap ingredients throughout. If you are going to charge Soho Farmhouse prices then you need Soho Farmhouse quality. So overall, unless you have young children and don't care about the price and quality of what you get then don't go.

The staff were wonderfully friendly and welcoming. However, our room was tiny, freezing on arrival and had a really loud humming noise coming from one corner (presumably an extractor fan from the kitchen below). The hotel was very family friendly - to the point where you couldn’t visit the toilet without tripping over plastic loo seats and pottys. Toys all over the floor, baby bouncers by the pool, toddlers running loops through the lounge in their pyjamas… The restaurant was carnage when we arrived for our evening meal - high chairs everywhere covered in wet wipes and macerated food (although the staff worked hard to clear up). More like an upper class baby group/crèche than a hotel. The upside was the food was delicious and the walled garden was beautiful.

We had a really really great stay at Woolley Grange last week. The food is very good quality, the drinks are fab (wine is a little pricey) but the standout is the service and the amenities. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough to other families, particularly with young children. Thanks for a great stay

We stayed at Woolley Grange in mid-August with our 9-month old, on our first trip away from home. The hotel is well set up for families with young children. All the essentials like a travel cot, video monitor and baby bath are provided by the hotel, and there are so many activities to choose from including an indoor pool, outdoor pool and a small baby sensory room. The on site nursery was a real highlight for us. We didn't leave our baby there, but you can use the facilities as a family out of hours - the nursery was spacious, clean and exceptionally well stocked with toys. As other reviews have said, all the staff are welcoming and friendly. Lisa looked after us during our stay and was fantastic. A few downsides were that, because of the old nature of the buildings, we could hear the floorboards creaking loudly every time the family above us moved, which sometimes kept us up at night. We'd also recommend bringing your own blackout blinds if you use these for your baby as we personally didn't find the room dark enough. Overall, we had a lovely stay and would definitely be interested in staying at other Luxury Family Hotels. We'd recommend it for families with young children, but there are better options for couples / groups without young children.

A fantastic mini break for the whole family… this hotel is really geared up for children. They have thought of almost everything. From child friendly meal times and menus, to a kids club, stay and play, outdoor play areas, a cinema room/ extensive dvd library, spacious rooms, a few animals on site…

What a shame, a lovely afternoon in a gorgeous venue was spoiled by terrible food and the feeling of being completely ripped off. The £16 Caprese ‘salad’ was the size of a small starter; the £5 portion of sourdough bread was stale bread toasted. The £15 fish finger sandwich used the same stale and toasted bread and a few limp and browning leaves of rocket. The venue is wonderful, especially for the children (they loved planting seeds with the gardener) and the staff were polite and friendly.

We stayed for 2 nights with our two young children. This was our second stay and chose the hotel given the focus on families. The hotel cannot do enough to ensure a smooth stay for families by providing vital equipment (cots, highchairs, bibs, baby cutlery, etc) and a wide range of family focused activities. There's even a sensory room for babies. The outdoor pool and walled garden with wendy houses are welcomed facilities for sunny days. The staff are all lovely and really want to make your stay perfect.