Britrock
Grovefield Manor||Long labored checkin process where the owner spent 20 mins complaining about the Booking.com rating system and how other hotels have shuttered, and no longer employ chefs due to the £30,000 cost of employing chefs, and how he didn’t appreciate people booking through hotel aggregation sites. We booked and paid directly with the hotel to support small businesses like the Grovefield. ||A very small continental breakfast selection was provided and it’s noticed if you do not partake... No iron and ironing board in the room, no air conditioning or lift. Plenty of water and towels, and power sockets. We asked if a bucket of ice for a bottle of champagne could be arranged, and they graciously provided an ice bucket with a couple of handfuls of ice… which we were subsequently charged for. ||Oddly when we requested an iron we were told another room had one of the two irons in the hotel. Long story about an American who damaged one and an insurance policy. Iron ultimately promptly delivered when available. The “new girl hid it, and she’s a bit thick when it comes to this” we were informed. Disappointing to blame a junior team member for not having adequate facilities you’d find in any basic hotel room. ||Every floorboard in the bedrooms and bathroom creaked, very hard to not disturb a partner when walking to the bathroom at night. ||Some communication challenges with the manager/owner who didn’t ever respond to email confirmations nor answer questions about late checkout after several emails. After multiple phone calls we were able to speak to the informative and helpful manager who explained that a two hour delayed checkout wouldn’t be a problem but they would charge £15 per hour to keep the cleaning crew. Upon check-in this was reconfirmed. A good arrangement as we had flown from overseas for a family wedding and wanted to spend an extra hour with them before leaving. However, 45 minutes into the extended time we received a phone call asking us to checkout immediately or be billed for one extra night. We were on the beach with family we see once every few years, and was rudely informed the prearranged checkout time wasn’t available and the “cleaning girls had left.” We immediately returned to the hotel emptied the room. The cleaning crew, three girls, were all present and cleaning other rooms. We were told we should have left someone in the room during the late checkout time, despite having discussed with the owner we would be with our family, in advance. Baffling. We were happy to pay the reasonable extra charge for the cleaning team’s additional two hours as it was explained adequately. Have traveled extensively for work and leisure at least once a month for 30+ years (aside from the Covid pandemic), all around the world. This is by far the most pedantic and odd miscommunication we’ve experienced. ||The positives: Ten minutes walk from the beach. Good sized off street parking area. Sound wasn’t a problem, though we did hear people in other rooms and walking along corridors it wasn’t constant nor loud enough to wake us. Good sized bed, which was unfortunately very hard with very small flat pillows. Each room does come with a hairdryer. Hotel has a large permanently empty lounge. A feature. ||The hotel, probably a 3 star out of 5, is from a bygone era, needs a thorough update to bring it up to modern standards and was overpriced in our opinion for amenities and service, compared to nearby hotels closer to Sandbanks. Our stay was during high tourist season and the expression “make hay while the sun shines” did occur to us… The owner did suggest that many hotels in the area were closing or had closed in recent years, and if they’re run like the Grovesfield we now understand why. By comparison, we stayed in central Paris and London for less than the cost of one night at Grovesfield, in clean, modern rooms with generous continental breakfasts, helpful and friendly staff.
