De Vere Belton Woods Hotel

We recently stayed at Belton Woods for a two night break over Easter as we were going to see relatives nearby and thought we'd take advantage of a good rate. The room was a very good size with two comfy double beds and with a good size bathroom. I had asked to be near a lift due to some mobility problems and didn't want to walk miles to our room so they put us on the ground floor just two rooms in from reception which was good and suprisingly not too noisy. The drawbacks to this hotel are that it is very busy so when you have had dinner it is a problem finding a seat in the lounge area. Also because they were fully booked they put a note under the bedroom door saying it was best to get to breakfast before 9am or you may have to wait for a table. The first morning I had room service as my husband had gone to play golf and it arrived on time but very luke warm which is not overly appertising. The second morning we went to the restaurant about 8.40 and yes it was very busy and we had to queue for the hot buffet but not too long. The second drawback is the restaurant food. We ate in the Grill the first night which is quite restricted in choice but ok. The second night our relatives joined us and we ate in Stanions. Firstly they didn't have our booking (which had been made with the first nights) but they did find us a table straightaway. The restaurant was quite busy and we did have to wait quite a while for our food but they were apologetic. The main thing though was that the main courses were all very bland. I mentioned this to my husband next morning at breakfast and we came to the conclusion that this was also the same with this food. We weren't quite sure how you manage to make a normal cooked breakfast bland but there you go. Lastly a thing we thought odd was that they don't have a guest directory in the room so when we arrived we didn't know what time breakfast was, where it was etc. Also for things like spa info etc this would have been handy but instead you had to contact reception. This is the first hotel, and we've stayed in a few, that hasn't had a directory. Overall for the price it was an ok stay but next time we go to Grantham we're going to try the Angel and Royal instead (which I just found out is number 1 Trip Advisor choice).

i booked this hotel as a suprise for my boyfriend for his 25th birthday when we arrived we were both very inpressed with the drive up to the hotel the grounds were huge! before we arrived i booked is into the 19 bar for dinner i checked at the desk when we arrived and we wasnt booked in lucky enogh they wasnt booked up so we got in. i wasnt to inpressed with this restaurant we did get dressed up when when we arrived people was in just jeans and tshirt. we orderd a bottel of wine that took 15mins to be served to us! the food was great but not much to choose from apart from stake. in the room we stayed in the kings suit it was huge and the bed was massive only down side to the room was the tv wasnt very good and was fuzzy also the remote had tape round it. breakfast was nice it took us a while to find were the breakfast wasnt but it was in the other resturant they had alot of food on but i was being abit worse for wear with a hangover ha ha. other wise great hotel loved the stay and good vale for money.

Having had to stay at the De Vere Belton woods hotel Grantham due to bussiness ,it is sad to report that this is one of the worst examples of bad service I have encountered. The staff were un-proffesional and un-helpfull. The staff may have encountered the word "Hospitallity " once on a flip chart during their one day training seminar. Half the staff appeared to be training juniors that should be directed to a different proffesion whilst they have chance the other half were too busy with themselves to even notice that they had customers. Had to ring 4 times to obtain room service due to no one answering, had to call reception twice who also put me through to a constantly ringing room service line. Eventualy managed to obtain a cold soggy cheese on toast ! The room itself was very cold and the fan heater made so much noise it was like sitting on the wing of a jumbo jet. The room decor and designe was no better than a travelodge no in room mini bar, due to people using it !! and the amenity tray was sparce. Marks on the carpet and a bottle top by the side of the chair showed an equaly lacks housekeeping service. This is a conference and wedding style hotel of the worst kind.

We have been having the Carvery on Sundays for more than five years and up to the last six months have enjoyed it and thought it good value. Now I am afraid it is not longer (in our opinion) 4 star, We went twice at Christmas and had two completley different experiences, second time we took guests and it was awful, no crackers (locked in a cupboard and no one could find key) very poor selction of starters, no meat only fish, ran out of beef, ran out of christmas pudding, had to wait 15 minutes for more cream etc., so we left it for a while and tried it again this week 17th February, Good selection of starters, had to change my lamb for beef as I couldnt eat it, the vegetables were sliced carrots and swede with a few french beans sprinkled among them, very poor indeed. Jugged water served with no ice or lemon. We twice had to ask for the plates to be cleared, and then one of our party choose a cheese cake for his daughter and found pieces of plastic on the top. when we showed this to the waiter, he took it away but didnt check to see if the remaining ones where the same. Worse of all was NO ONE apologised. It was disgraceful and such a shame that this once excellent venue has dropped to such a low level of service. Mrs Gresham Once a local regular customer.

We stayed at this hotel for a treat in between Christmas and New Year. We had a superior family room as requested with two double beds. The rooms were an average size with average decor. Considering this is a four star hotel and the room was an 'upgrade' I was surprised to find that there was no mini bar and no bathrobes in the room. We decided to order room service which consisted of about 7 different things typed on an A4 sheet of paper and was a very strange selection. To cut a long story short the food and drink took almost 2 HOURS to get to us and then the order was wrong! I was absolutely appalled. The hotel decided to take the food and drink off the bill after my husband spoke to the restaurant manager! We decided to go to a restaurant in Grantham for our dinner. I'm not sure if it's because we were in the 'family' part of the hotel but it seemed that the walls were paper thin as I could hear everything going on next door including what was happening the bathroom(!), the tv, the children running up and down and switching the light switches on and off,,,on and off,,,on and off... Also, the doors to the rooms slam shut so there is a constant banging outside in the corridor, Not great when you''re trying to sleep. Breakfast was ok but nothing more. I can't comment on any of the leisure facilities as I didn't try them. Would I return? Probably not...

We have just returned from Belton Woods and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We have two children so booked a family room, which was a good size with two double beds, two chairs, tv, dressing table and large bathroom. We didn't upgrade our room, so had a view to the front of the hotel rather than the golf course. We had dinner in Stanton's on the first night which was table d'hote and very good. Slightly small portions but good food. Children's food was suitable - mine had cheesy pasta which they were more than happy with and at a very good price of £2.75. The breakfast was very good, with a huge choice of hot/cold from the buffet. The swimming pool was good and changing facilities above standard. There are three nature walks which we tried out and was a great way to get out and enjoy the fresh air. The only downside is the price of the drinks, but if you go to a hotel like this I think you expect to pay overpriced rates (£3.75 a glass of the cheapest wine - £6.75 the most expensive!). On the whole we had a very enjoyable time and got a good B&B rate via the website. This is the second time we have been and we would go back again.

We've stayed at many hotels in the UK and abroad and we were really looking forward to Belton Woods as it had such a good reputation from the company I worked for a couple of years ago (they used to use it for sales meetings/conferences etc). Check in was pretty fast and efficient, so far so good. Reception staff were very polite. They pointed us in the direction of our room - no offer of luggage assistance was made. After about 15 minutes of walking we finally arrived at our room which was on the ground floor. The hotel seemed to be built in an L-shape and our room was right at the top of the L. Not a good start but keeping an open mind. We entered our room, bed good, tv, ironing board, no minibar and absolutely freezing!! Checked around for radiator/heating control and discovered that it was warm air heating with a very loud blower - not great if you wanted your room less than freezing during the night (bear in mind this is December!). On the positive side there was a good view of the golf course! We read in the literature that Belton Woods had recently spent £2m on upgrades/developments - we can safely say that it had not been applied to our room/bathroom. Bit of grime/mould around the grouting, basic shower (forget a power one) and again very cold (no radiator) - there was what looked like a heated towel rail but after searching couldn't find out how to turn it on - maybe it was connected to the warm air heating? Food was average, can't comment on the leisure facilities but based on our experiences then we would guess that this is what the £2m was spent on. Certainly wasn't the rooms in our experience. Might potentially stay at BW again but only if we had a deluxe room/suite and if my husband was into golf, which he is not.

I arrived for a 2 night stay on business. My room was about a mile away from reception, but it was nice when I finally got there. There was a mini bar fridge that was on, but had nothing in it. The lady at reception informed me that they do not have mini bars in the rooms (strange). My duvet cover had a massive rip in it and all my pillowcases were put on inside out. There was no information available in the room about the hotel, restaurants ect. The spa/gym/jacuzzi/steam room were great. I ate in the brasserie and the food was ok. There was a fantastic fish starter selection. Although some of the salads looked like last nights left overs mixed up in a bowl. The carvery was ok but the beef ws a bit fatty. My cheesecake dessert was still a bit frozen in the middle. At £20 it should've been a bit better. The breakfast is nice with a good selection but on the second morning, there was no tea or coffee as the new water system made it taste like TCP

I booked a 1 night stay with Superbreak for my husbands birthday. On arrival, I expected to be in one of the rooms overlooking the car park as we hadn't booked direct, however I was pleased that we had been given a ground floor golf view room. We arrived at 2 pm and checked in with no problems. The room was reasonably sized with 2 double beds and a large bathroom. Nicely decorated and clean. The pool/spa area was pretty good (although extremely busy on a Saturday afternoon!). The only minor criticism is the the pool and jacuzzi were on the cold side. We had a note in our room to say as the hotel was fully booked there may be a wait for breakfast after 9am, however this was not a problem as we woke early (due to the tearaway children next door jumping on the beds and hammering on the walls!) and went to breakfast at 8.30 am. We were seated straight away and the food quality was some of the best we had experienced in a long time. Didn't make use of the restaurant in the evening as we went out to eat but did have a drink in the lounge bar on our return. There was a nice, comfortable atmosphere - maybe because of the fact that the rugby final was on! The prices were also reasonable for a hotel bar. Overall a pleasant stay and no major faults. I would definately stay here again if I was able to obtain a reasonable rate.

I booked for two nights relaxation for myself and wife after looking after two grandchildren for a couple of days. We arrived at 2pm on Wed.1st Aug.2007 and were asked if we wished to book an evening meal. I asked if I could book for four as my daughter and son in law would be arriving at 7.45 to celebrate their 20th Wedding Anniversary. I was assured that this would be done but I was informed that only the Brasserie was open. Apparently the Taps Bar and the Manor House restaurant were closed. although there had been no mention of this on the website. I had to ask three times that afternoon before it was confirmed to me that the booking had been made. After getting to our room, a very comfortable one, we had a walk around the hotel but as the Taps bar was shut were unable to get a drink. We saw people drinking on a balcony above the bar and enquired at the reception how to get there. The receptionist didn't know! The concierge was able to take us up where I found that they were unable to serve any draught beer as there had been a break in the pipes. Even a G & T was delayed whilst the barman had to leave to get ice. I said to him that I thought I had seen a 4 star sign as I entered the hotel gates, but the irony was lost on this unfortunate Aussie. At 7.30pm entered downstairs bar, still no draught beer, so I asked for a bottle of Leff , as advertised on the counter. No they didn't sell it. Daughter and Son in law arrived , had a drink and entered Brasserie at 8 pm. My son in law asked for a medium rare steak. It was charred and returned. My main course arrived at 9.35pm - it was the wrong one! The dessert counter was abysmal and by 9.40pm virtually a desert not dessert.The following morning I spoke to the Deputy Manager(a South African) and I told him I was not prepared to dine at the hotel again, however he assured me that he would see that everything was superb that night, so my wife and I agreed and at 8pm presented ourselves. We were shown to a table then to another one which the deputy manager had obviously forgotten to tell the maitre d' about. The meal was far worse than the previous night, when I found out that there had been 31 complaints. This night I was only aware of 7 complaints in our little corner. The crab risotto was like polycell, the fish pie had a half prawn identifiable and that was it. Apparently this hotel is used a lot for conferences and golf holidays. I can only assume that when the firm is paying customers don't bother complaining. It is definitely the worst food and service I have ever experienced, which it quite a shame because the rooms and the location are very good. It is only the bars and restaurant which are extremely poor. Oh yes!. We did ask for two whisky and gingers and were given ginger beer! Apparently the hotel was taken over recently by AHG but De Vere are still going to manage it - such a shame!