Champneys Reviews 927

Forest Mere is dirty, shabby and expensive. There are so many better places to stay. We paid £1075 per night for a suite which is fine if the room is worth it. Our room was in desperate need of a refurb, it slightly smelled and the beds were lumpy and sheets scratchy.

The restaurant is understaffed and has zero ambience. The tables have a fake candles and the room is really brightly lit. Food is ok.

The spa is really overcrowded and while the amenities are ok, it’s nothing special.

When you book a manicure you assume there will be a selection of colours to choose from. There was no dark red or plum(the most poplar colours they said) in gel or ordinary polish as they were busy at Christmas and new stock had not arrived.
May I suggest to the manager at Eastwell manager that they pop to the shop to buy the most popular colours to deliver the service your customers are paying £70 for. If you want sparkly, blue brown or cream you will be fine. Otherwise take your own polish. I won’t be going back

Honestly has truly diabolical stay at Champneys, Henlow. Our hotel room smelt of sewage and blocked drains. When we complained they laughed and said it was the sheep in the field nearby. But the smell was not coming from the fields, we heard others complain and later on they had put two diffusers on the floor of the hallway that did nothing. The pool was dirty and crowded. There were no loungers to relax on - which felt really odd for a relaxing spa weekend. The hot tub was so cold, again we heard others complaining about it. In the end, we took our stuff from next to the pool and headed back to our room. We later tried to book a fitness class but we waited at the reception of the sports centre for an hour and no one came. We asked a few staff members for help who looked at us blankly. The food was terrible. We ordered white wine and were brought red. The I questioned it she awkwardly laughed and said, is it ok to just keep that though? we felt uncomfortable and shocked by the rudeness so kept our mouths shut and drank it. The food was horrific. The vegetable soup, came in a cup, was luck warm and tasted like it had bee diluted from a powder. On my return I tried to contact staff to complain and I was constantly told they would ring me back. After 8 calls to back, I still couldn't talk to the manager. I also complained via email and never got my money back. The biggest waist of money and a really bleak weekend feeling unwelcome, and absolutely not relaxed.

I had a really lovely relaxing break with friends. Felt pampered from the moment we arrived. A special thankyou to Roderick, who greeted us and efficiently booked us in, taking care of our luggage whilst we headed for lunch. The lunches and dinners were great, full of flavour and never rushed. Thank you to Peter in the resturant and his staff, lovely service from Rose. Bedrooms were clean and serviced daily, a comfortable bed too. I had an amazing massage from Isla, the best I have had. Its good to have Clarins and Elemis areas. The young Clarins lady spent time helping me choose my products. Thankyou. I enjoy yoga and went to 3 great classes, a special thank you to Alaxandera for the beautiful meditation. I was sorry to leave but will be back soon. Thankyou.

I have a voucher to use and we're looking at an overnight stay. I have some questions, so wanted to talk to someone. I've made 4 calls to reservations and waited up to 20mins, with no answer. I have sent them a message on Messenger app; no response. I have emailed their reservations email address twice; no response. I have emailed their 'champneysonline' email address 3 times and no response. I cannot believe the lack of service and professionalism from a company that is selling 'services'. Once we've used this voucher, we will NEVER go to a Champneys again.......

Stopped at the old hall buxton 25 Jan 2026.
Booked a double king-size bed for our anniversary and ended up with 2 single beds pushed together with a gap the size of the grand canyon with 2 single duvets. This room has never seen a king-size bed in it.

All of the staff at Henlow are great and its the small little personal touches that really make a difference....Briche never forgets to give me a dressing gown as she remembers how much I love them!! Thankyou for being you Briche...💕💕

Our overnight stay at Henlow Grange has been super! Returning after 14 years break, we have enjoyed the facilities, and especially the food! All the staff were so lovely, but particularly Jackie, who looked after us at breakfast and all the staff in the coffee lounge. We really want to leave and most definitely will be back 🤩

Enjoyable two night stay at Champneys Tring. I was abit worried because of the reviews but it was a wonderful experience. Staff very polite and customer orientated. Food outstanding and lots of variety with generous portions. Large range of treatments and goods to purchase and vast choice of fitness classes every day. Tried Reformer Pilates for the first time. Large room leading onto to extensive grounds which we would have loved to explore if it wasnt for the constant rain. Louise in Terrace Cafe a joy as well as restaurant staff. Highly recommend. Only downside was my husband went for the Cryroytherapy which they advertise on the website (and in the rooms) but they don't provide and haven't for a while so a big disappointment for him and misleading. Also be aware that there is no bar. Alcohol is only wine with dinner. No beer and only way to get a drink is to drive to high street!!

I really don't think 2.3 is fair. Eastwell Manor Ashford is a stunning property. I think its special to be able to roam this Neo Elizabethan house (re-built 1920s) with the original house built in the Tudor 1540s! Yes, there are issues sometimes but the food is good, Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Will be returning for 2 night spa stay inc. meals for a fifth time.

I really don't think 2.3 is fair. Eastwell Manor Ashford is a stunning property. I think its special to be able to roam this Neo Elizabethan house (re-built 1920s) with the original house built in the Tudor 1540s! Yes, there are issues sometimes but the food is good, Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Will be returning for 2 night spa stay inc. meals for a fifth time.

Considering how terrible the website booking system is I’m surprised they get any bookings at all. Took me 3 days of trying on 4 different devices to even make a booking and each one gave a different journey, non of which ending in a booking. At first there was no availability when selecting a date even though the calendar said there was, then it wouldn’t let me select a room type, then it would but I couldn’t get past the booking summary, just told me there was no room selected. When I eventually got through I wasn’t able to add the cancellation cover but down to frustration I just went ahead with the booking. Thought all was good, email confirmation came through etc however, when I logged into my account there were NINE bookings in there all for the same room on the same date (I’m guessing all the times I’d tried to book but been unsuccessful) and all non refundable. Im still trying to get a response from them and really worried I’m going to be charged for the 9 rooms. Absolute disgrace Champneys and very much NOT looking forward to my visit now.

I purchased about £60 worth of their spa products for a friend’s birthday gift, and paid £5 for the delivery charges. I wasn’t given a choice on delivery options but it turns out that this is for a signed for delivery from 8 am to 6 pm! I was at home today when the DX delivery driver said they’d attempted delivery, but they clearly didn’t ring the bell. I got in touch with DX and they cannot leave in a safe place or with a neighbour as that is what Champneys have specified.

This was a gift for my friend and now it will not be delivered in time. After 2 more delivery attempts it will be sent back to Champneys and I bet that they will refuse to reimburse me, as that is the kind of company this is. Avoid at all costs.

Eastwell manor we stayed sun/mon 11/12jan 2026,we booked in ,got our room, no blind or covering up in bathroom window so when in the shower from outside your very visible, I phoned to change rooms which they did, I thought we were escaping the black mould over the window,it's a health spa?, to find out new room to have the same issues , we were booked for our treatment at 5pm so no time to switch room a 3rd time, treatment wonderful no complaints there, dinner lovely, Monday morning we go to breakfast, lovely, then a day at the spa with facilities we thought, the main pool had an issue not warm, they had to put fresh water in ,the sauna only just fixed not that warm, the hydrotherapy pool had a a small barrier near steps as there was another way in and a person was in there, I asked a member of staff why this was covering the steps, she went away and asked, came back said maintenance had put it there probably working on steps she said, can I go in I asked yeah don't seem why not she said, I went in, albiet very Cold 🥶,a man came over shouting get out there's chemicals in there no health and safety sign no sign at all I said surely you should have a sign which he then went and got I said how long until it opens as the only place to go in was the steam room , 20mins he said, well 3hours later no sign of it opening so a waste of time going to a spa when nothing is in use. So many other guests complaining about the lack of facilities, I will be writing to head office for a partial refund as what we went for wasn't working, shocking experience.

The staff at this site are super super friendly. Every member of staff we spoke to or came across really was outstanding in how they spoke to us and assisted us. Nothing was too much trouble. Unfortunately there were things out of there control that left our stay a little lacking. Upon arrival we were shown around and shown our room. We were right by a door connecting the corridor to the main bit and there was so much foot traffic going past our door and it was so noisy. We also had a group of women in a large party that they had put in the rooms next to us that were continually going in and out of each others rooms getting ready as if for a party at a premier inn in blackpool, not a spa in ashby! The walls of the room were laughably thin, we could hear entire conversations in the next door room however the worst was when the next door room used the shower or bathroom. The noise was so loud!! Of course that would have been the same for them next door when we took our showers. You wouldnt have been able to sleep through it for sure. Again we were woken early in the morning by people walking past our room. As it didnt seem full it surely wouldve been better to space the guests out a bit so we all had some space and privacy? I feel a little bad moaning as overall we had a lovely stay albeit with a few niggly things. When we went for breakfast which we were booked in for and 45 minutes before the end of service there was no white bread, no brown bread, no bacon and sausages and they just said NOPE thats the lot for today. So we had cereal for breakfast. Dinner was way too busy and we couldnt get anybodies attention, eventually just leaving and walking out and telling the lady at the host stand that we had left. On the 3 occasions we tried to lie by the pool there were no beds available. None. So we had to turn and walk out. But overall would i have rather been there relaxing than at work on a miserable monday in january? Yes! But its not a perfect place unfortunately and if you have high hopes you may well be disapointed. Again staff were brilliant. Its not there fault they are so busy

Some of the worst and non-existent customer service/response I have ever experienced in my life.

My recent visit to Champneys was the worse visit I have had ,, i have sent several emails to customer relations regarding the issues I have no option , but to pay for the upgrade of the superior room or have access to a lift as I have health issues classed as disabled and unable to climb stairs ( if was able I would choose a standard room as the time we spend in the room is minimal ) , Do you have any rooms for disabled without having to pay for superior ? I did find it a struggle walking from room ,,,to the spa, dinning room , shops . The dinning room had a fork under the table the other side of the dinning room had a knife under the table I do have pictures,,
I do not drink coffee so do not use the pod machine the only benefit for me is no stairs and I appreciate in the summer having access to the patio is great , it’s does not benefit me in the winter, as for the quilt cover it definitely was a tear as there were threads of cotton and the opening was at the other end of the quilt. We do enjoy our stays with you, we return every 6 months for a summer and a winter visit , it’s just we have noticed a few issues on this visit, and prefer to tell you about them so they can be resolved. Thank you for replying and explaining, I’m hoping to have many more visits if these issues can be resolved

Edit

Delete

Great value for a truly beautiful location with great facilities.

Food is high quality with great choice and attentive and friendly service.

James, waiter at Forest Mere, truly shines with outstanding courtesy and attention to detail, even when the restaurant is completely full and ultra busy.

Thanks James, you made our stay😊.

Website not at all user friendly to navigate.
I booked a massage and in the cart there was a day spa I never requested to purchase constantly popping up!
It would not recognize my gift voucher code so I was unable to proceed with the purchase.
I rang customer services and never got connected to make a booking.
I live near a Champneys which I decided to drive to and made a booking using my voucher with ease.
On discussion with two family members they have both had challenges with the website as it appears other people have after reading reviews on trust pilot.
How Champneys remains a viable business is beyond me if the only way to purchase a product is to visit a Champneys resort is beyond me.
It was though a positive experience once I there, enjoyed a professional service and massage at the Bedfordshire Champneys.

The Champneys website is simply the most disingenuous website I've ever had the displeasure of using.

I've tried to book twice, to no avail. Reservations don't answer the phone and reception don't deal with reservations. If you're thinking about emailing, I wouldn't bother - you won't get a response for over a week!

Sadly, I was given a voucher which I don't want to waste, but given a choice, I would absolutely not choose to go to any of these spas based on how many hours I've already wasted trying to book a simple spa day and treatment! (Over £300!)