The Gallivant

What can I say, I’ve visited twice in the space of a month.. if that doesn’t say it I don’t know what will! The Gallivant is a special place, their attention to detail, their hospitality, the quality of food, serene location and so much more. The team has thought of everything you’d need for a restful, fun and relaxing gateway. If you’re debating whether to go - go! Special thank you to Lindsay, Lorena, Fergus, Naketa & Millie (who makes the best margaritas). Thank you Gallivant for this little slice of heaven, away from the noise. I can’t wait to come back.

We have just returned home after our two night stay at The Gallivant. This break was to be a special, luxury celebration for me and my partner. We often take these breaks and almost always choose a hotel from Small Luxury Hotels or Leading Hotels of the World to guarantee somewhere that will match our expectations. We expect to pay for somewhere special so when we booked at £475 per night for bed and breakfast our anticipation and expectation was high. The marketing for this hotel is exceptional. In fact stylishly so. Wonderfully written web site copy and cleverly angled photography. However, from the moment of our arrival and throughout our short stay it became very apparent that this was very much a case of clever messaging over any substance at all. What a huge disappointment and a very very expensive mistake. I rarely feel utterly ripped off when staying at a hotel but at The Gallivant that's exactly the feeling created. How the Gallivant can pass the test to be classed as one of the Small Luxury Hotels group I simply do not know. It makes me want to get in touch with Trading Standards such was our sense of being misled by the marketing and a price tag that certainly suggested we would be in for an amazing experience. At best it feels like a motel, with cramped, tiny bedrooms (albeit nicely decorated) with a restaurant and bar attached. In our tiny Garden Room (room 1) there was no wardrobe - not even a luggage rack (we had to push our bags under the bed so there was room to move around) , the TV took about 5 minutes to find a signal each time we tried to watch, no room service for a late night snack and such little sound proofing that we were woken early both mornings by noise and banging from an adjacent room or possibly cleaners going into the cupboard that was directly outside our bedroom. Breakfast was simple and again a victory for marketing proposition novelty over real substance. No option for a cooked breakfast of fried or poached eggs with sausages and bacon (so often a nice hotel treat for us). DIY boiled eggs and toast was as far as a hot breakfast went. To cap it all when we asked to sit outside on a sunny Wednesday morning we were told by the waitress that as there were no tables set up (although plenty were free) we would have to sit inside. Quite extraordinary in a SLH establishment not to simply have the offer of - I'll set a table for you now - after all it was only crockery and cutlery and a napkin that needed to be put out. So, to dinner. I loved the idea of the local beer that was on the drinks menu we were handed for some pre-dinner drinks. I asked the waitress for one of these to be told "I'm going to be honest we've not had that for a while and only serve Amstel". So that's what I had to settle for. My partner was able to enjoy the local gin on the menu. Dinner the first night of our stay was pleasant. The choice was pretty limited but we found something we liked. Upon checking out I discovered that a service ch

I am sure it is a lovely place to stay but beware of the cancellation policy hidden in ‘Property T&C’ which means they take the full amount if you cancel within 14 days. I mean most hotels allow cancellations up to the day before. We found out to our £1500 detriment when we cancelled our 20th wedding anniversary treat 7 days in advance due to my wife’s 102 year old Grandmother falling and breaking her wrist. A sympathetic email with 20% discount but not even an offer of the dinner credit was made. We have been left having spent our entire budget on a 2 night treat away from the kids with nothing to show for it. They should be much more transparent about the cancellation policy, make it more visible and actually label it a cancellation policy.