Group Retreats Reviews 

Avoid Glentworth Hall and Group Retreats
I recently stayed at Glentworth Hall with my family, and I cannot recommend this property or the service from Group Retreats. We paid thousands for what turned out to be an extremely disappointing experience.
* Property Condition: The house was in poor shape. The showers were electric (likely for cost-saving) with very low pressure, and the water temperature was unpredictable—ranging from scalding to freezing within seconds.
* Unresponsive Caretaker: We reached out for help regarding these issues, but the caretaker ignored our requests. Despite promises of assistance, no help ever arrived.
* Unjustified Damage Charges: After we left, we received an email from Group Retreats claiming they were keeping our £2,000 deposit for damage. The issues they listed (such as a broken piano and cigarette burns on a sofa) were either pre-existing or unfounded. We provided evidence, including proof that the sofa already had a burn mark, but our concerns were ignored.
* Poor Service and Accountability: Group Retreats refused to take responsibility for the state of the property or address our concerns properly.
In short, I would not recommend this property to anyone, and I highly advise looking elsewhere for a better experience. There are certainly better properties and companies that offer much higher standards of service.

I would give no stars if I could!

No hot water no WiFi showers not working properly house was dusty and dirty hot tub cold thing broken when we arrived and then tried to charge for it overall not the best

Horrible WiFi
No pressure in the showers would have been better stood outside in the the rain to get a wash.
The house was dirty.
Piano had loose keys and chipped wood at the bottom on arrival but they thought they could bill the guests.
Left the house in a better state than we got it yet they had the nerve to take the deposit.

Lovely place to stay

We had a large (~20) family weekend at Abbey House for an early Christmas. The house was perfect - multiple cosy rooms to gather, talk and play games but also spacious enough to find peace and quiet from the children when necessary! Excellent kitchen that got put to a lot of use and the Audley End Xmas miniature railway next door was a major bonus. A weekend none of us will forget for a long time!

Myself and a large group of friends stayed at Caer Beris for a Christmas retreat. Our time there was truly magical, even with Storm Darragh hitting us on the first day. Fortunately the team at Group Retreats were incredibly understanding about potential damages to the grounds due to the storm. Once that had cleared though, it was a delight to wander around the manor and really take in the majesty of it. I distinctly remember my friends and I agreeing within moments of entering the manor that we plan to re-book the place for next year. With the entire place dressed up in time for the holidays, it really elevated our experience there and made it one to remember

Great location and wonderful facilities, staff available were extremely helpful. A throughly wonderful 4 days.

We stayed at Alward House in Salisbury for a weekend to celebrate a 50th birthday. I was a little nervous as couldn't see much history with Alward House, but, was delighted with what we found.
Being November, we didn't use the outdoor pool (or hot tub) both are a 4 min walk from the main house. However, the house made up for that in spades. Whilst very original and period, decoration was perfect and in almost new condition, it was warm, perfectly clean and we helped by Duane when we had a couole of questions.
Despite having a mad weekend of storms, the wind howling around the house, all were warm, happy and had a great weekend. Reassuring that Sunday morning Duane was checking in that we'd made it through the windy night as locally trees were down and some had power outages.
Tempted to return in the summer....

Rented Fawley Court for special occasion with several family children for a special birthday which had been planned for some time. The weekend was a disaster with no heat in half the house, aga not working , pool and spa cold, games room cold, Kitchen pans, table mats not hygienically cleaned. 16 of the 18 guests left a day early. Waiting to hear back from GR. not worth the 1 star. I am so upset was supposed to be a special 75th birthday party,

Milton House was perfect for our family party weekend.
I can't fault the service. Will, the caretaker, was amazing and he really went out of his way to ensure we had the best time. Many thanks, Will.

Alward House was the perfect place for our family of 18 to get together. We had 8 children ranging from 9 yrs to 7 months. The provision of high chairs and travel cots made life much easier. The house was SO well equipped with plenty of crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils. The heated outdoor pool and hot tub were a real high light which everyone enjoyed. We were looking forward to playing tennis but unfortunately half the court was covered in moss so it was very slippery and not suitable to play on. But we were able to play table tennis in the barn instead.
The views from the house were beautiful and the space outside and in was perfect for all ages.
Duane was an excellent caretaker and was most helpful.
Thank you for great instructions to find our way to the house.
We shall certainly be using Group Retreats again.

Fantastic weekend at Abbey House to celebrate our Mums special birthday.

The house is tastefully decorated, beautifully furnished with lots of comfort and we has lots space everyone to congregate. We made the most of the hot tub and pool. We enjoyed the games room and also the piano provided lots of entertainment too.

We did have a couple of hiccups with the plumbing which is obviously incredibly old and could do with replacing but the caretaking staff were on hand and happy to support.

The Group Retreat staff were extremely efficient and helpful from booking to answering my many questions which made our weekend run so smoothly.

I would like to give an extra big THANK YOU to Danny and Ross( caretakers ) who were absolutely brilliant when my mum realised she had lost a piece of jewellery ( which she had accidentally dropped and left behind at the house). They went above and beyond to ensure Mum got the item back safely and this was very much appreciated. 10/10 customer service!

Mum was thrilled with her fabulous weekend of fun and beautiful memories. Thank you

The company was very well organised and ensured that there was contact throughout the booking process, before the weekend and after. They were on hand for queries which was brilliant.
The property itself was amazing and so well set up for my 60th birthday party. We had a mixture of adults and young children. I loved that there were books, rocking horse (with adult supervision) and dolls house for the younger ones to play with. The children spent so much time playing in the extensive garden and there was room for kite flying too. Nobody was bored.
The dungeon was perfect as a party palace and the Castle had so much room that if you wanted peace and quiet you could find it.
The bedrooms mostly had en suite and were of a good standard with stunning bathrooms.
A big thank you to Kier who ensured that our stay was comfortable and enjoyable. He was able to help us with queries, where to find things and nothing was too much trouble to him.

We stayed at Fawley Court. It was an amazing property, so much space, fantastic pool area and lovely location. Would definitely recommend it.

Group Retreats were very helpful, responsive and understanding throughout the entire process. I received quick responses, lots of information documents and emails, and support on questions I had around the booking. Would recommend and would use again.

Fantastic stay at Ashfield Place Farm. It’s so nice to be able to write a glowing review. From our first communication with Group Retreats we have had a wholly positive experience. No question too big or small. The staff have all been amazing and special mention should go to Lia who seemed to be at the end of a phone whenever we needed anything. She even popped over with tennis balls when we couldn’t find them in the house. The house was awesome. Perfect for a family gathering. It had everything we needed and the food and wine treats awaiting us on our arrival was a really lovely touch. I wouldn’t hesitate to use Group Retreats again and would love to go back to Ashfield Place Farm.

GamLEARN had a 4 day event at this fabulous location.
Facilities were outstanding also the surroundings, clean, and designed specially for an excellent stay!
Thank you Group Retreats!

My party of 20 and I stayed at Alward House Friday 20th-22nd September for my 30th birthday and it was honestly so perfect. The property is massive and we couldn’t even use all of the living rooms! The rooms are all so spacious and it’s a beautiful period property. I would definitely recommend. We made use of the ping pong table and tennis court but didn’t get the opportunity to use the pool due to our own itinerary. The kitchen is also fully stocked with all the utensils you could need. The caretaker, Ross, was also on hand at any time we needed help so that was very much appreciated. The only minor downsides were that because it’s a period property, there aren’t very many ceiling lights, so it gets quite dark inside at night, but in some ways it created a nice ambience. There are also no bins in any of the bathrooms, so you have to carry everything downstairs with you a lot more frequently than you might normally. We had also assumed the pool was in the back garden but it seemed it might be a communal space for other properties as it was at the beginning of the entrance of the drive which was a bit of a walk away. Overall I would definitely recommend, and have done so already!

The house provided everything we could have wanted for a birthday party. Lots of comfortable spaces in which to hang out, a fabulous conservatory from which to enjoy the beautiful view - especially delightful when it rained, a great patio with plenty of seating and a sheltered area where my son set up his pizza oven and cooked for 20 people; very comfortable bedrooms with good ensuite provision. Plus a kitchen with almost everything we needed. If you like properly sharp knives or very large bowls or a teapot, bring your own, but otherwise, more than enough crockery, pans, coffee making provision. Was delighted with all the fridges, large sinks and bins for our rubbish, a great oven and hob. 2 huge pans which are ideal for large number cooking. It was all spotlessly clean. Caretaker was very helpful. My main worry with organising my family gathering was, “what if it rains?” Well, it did and we barely noticed because the house was such a great place to hang out, chat, eat, play games. Honestly, I was thrilled.

Great place to visit . I had gone with my family everyone enjoyed even the kids were so happy . I had great peace of mind as well from the place .