Champneys Health Club, Eastwell Manor

Fantastic experience:

Negative experience: let me preface this please by saying this is no reflection on the ground staff, they were lovely and as helpful as they could be, it’s clear this is a higher management issue. I’d booked a spa day for a birthday, upon arrival there was a queue of people complaining about facilities being shut, and we were waiting to check in for around 15 minutes, not a great start. We were then shown to the changing rooms, which were cramped, dirty - there was limescale in the showers, the toilets weren’t very clean, it smelt of damp and generally just not the clean, polished environment you’d expect for a 4 star champneys spa. multiple lockers did not work or were broken and the receptionist had to show us to “premier” changing which was a shared room, again putting about a 30-40 minute delay on the start to our actual spa experience. Despite there being a “please knock” sign on the door, whilst I was getting changed a man burst in without knocking, although apologetic, just generally not impressed by this, and again not exactly the ‘luxe’ experience you would expect. On booking, we were not told we had to pre book lunch, we were seated at 2pm and did not get our food until 2:45, meaning one of us missed the massage that was booked and the treatment team could not rebook. The menu was limited, and not impressive, the “supreme chicken” was a singular small chicken leg with half a potato and some gravy, overall just disappointing. I’d also spoken to the reception desk about getting a birthday plate and some Prosecco as a small birthday surprise, neither of which materialised. Unsure what the policy is on reserving lounge beds by the pool but there were towels left everywhere with no indication of who was sitting where, we ended up sitting on some chairs near the jacuzzi, which was loud, drafty by the door and overall just not relaxing. The treatments cannot be faulted, hence the 2 stars, the Elemis consultant was lovely and very knowledgeable, I was very happy with my purchases, very nice massage and nice clean treatment rooms, just disappointed by the rest of the experience, as we have visited other champneys spas before and this one is not just up to standard. Would not visit again, not worth the money at all, and not a luxury experience by any means, severely let down. much nicer experience at Reynolds Retreat in Sevenoaks for a similar price.

Positive experience: Been here a few times and staff are always pleasant & professional. Lunch was very nice and nicely presented. There was some building work going on outside which you could hear when in the pools etc at times but didn't really take anything away from our day.

Fantastic experience: Enjoyable clean. With friendly staff

Fantastic experience: It is always above and beyond

Fantastic experience: Steam room back in action and lovely big Christmas tree under the stairs in the main hall.

Positive experience: I had a lovely massage and facial. Went for coffee, and a tip was automatically added to the bill, which I wasn't happy about . Should be customer choice.

Fantastic experience: I have recently joined as a member and I’m so impressed with the facilities and service I am getting. The indoor pool is so warm and I find the hydro pool really therapeutic. The staff are kind and helpful too. I’m really enjoying the whole experience and it’s definitely helping me unwind, relax and recharge for work.

Positive experience: Nice facilities. Great facial and massage. Bit overpriced. Unfortunately although booked well in advance and arrived on time we had to wait for 2 hours for our treatments. Not acceptable for a £500 Spend I felt. We were offered a glass of prosecco for the inconvenience! Probably will not return. Treatments were good tho

Negative experience: Disappointing and very overpriced. Don’t usually post reviews but don’t like seeing people waste their money to this level- If you are looking for a ‘luxury’ spa day - this is not it. You can get spa days elsewhere with MUCH nicer facilities and offerings for half the price. For details: Can’t believe they get away with such extortionate pricing with the rundown facilities and poor services they have- We had a generous voucher to use but even with this the day ended up costing hundreds of pounds just to include a treatment each. Total cost would have been around £500 for the day… Facilities are rundown, not very clean and poorly maintained- see other reviews- it all desperately needs some investment. The pool room is cramped and not a very pleasant environment to be in to be honest felt like being underground as had no natural light. Steam room was out of use. We couldn’t believe how little the day package included for the price it was- they offer a ‘light snack’ which we missed out on as when we got there just after 10:30 we were told it was no longer on offer after this time despite this not being made clear anywhere beforehand. Our treatments had been miss-booked somehow (a ‘system error) so we had to change time meaning we wouldn’t get lunch till after 2pm, so we then asked if we could have a tea/coffee/smoothie instead to keep us going but was told no this also had finished and must be paid for up until 4pm…?! All they could offer was water. This is on a package that is £150pp… the lunch was ok but basic a soup and small chicken dish that was very much batch cooked, again no drink included in the price. The treatments were pleasant but again way overpriced and not the most expert therapists as you might expect for the prices they charge- mine didn’t even speak enough English to understand the pressure level I wanted… £100+ per hour pricing and I’m sure that’s no where near in the region the therapists will be being paid.

Negative experience: My wife and daughters attended today. Poor service. Dirty. Not premium. So many better spas elsewhere.

Negative experience: AVOID AT ALL COSTS! In a nutshell, all staff are on cant be bothered mode, you GUESS ur way around, you book and pay for things that you do not receive, breakfast is included but again you guess your way there as no one can be bothered to do their job…lunch, all of 2 things on menu that are in the price, fish or baked beetroot … if you want beef u pay another £8, the teenager that took my order told me I can’t have it medium/ well as it will be too tough!!! Really… we waited ages for service, I had to get up 3 times to ask for, bread, menu, basic service! Was meant to be a relaxing day.. Overall a shambles… Was cheaper to go to local leisure centre and Greggs!! Manager was meant to call me back, still waiting .. 10 days later… and good luck getting an answer when you call them, all too busy doing nothing!!! AVOID THIS PLACE

Positive experience: Had a nice day with my sister for my birthday. The pool area could do with some attention, looks tired & the jacuzzi wasn't working. Disappointing!! I had a taster facial, very nice. The lunch was excellent. Would revisit !!

Negative experience: £400 for a couples spa day with a massage. What we experienced: Summary Dirty, faeces in the toilets, badly managed, how is this so called spa still open? If a hygiene inspector visited the spa & changing rooms it would be closed down. FOH The front of house manager was not friendly or competent. I was given a damp, cold dressing gown and told I’d get a new one- I didn’t. There was a lady called BARBARA, she is the best aspect of the entire place, she deserves a gold medal. Friendly, competent, on top of things. Lovely lady. RESTAURANT Breakfast Fruit compotes were fizzing at breakfast. Fermented, mouldy. Cappuccinos were not cappuccinos they were large lattes. Not impressed. Not adequately clean. Lunch We waited nearly an hour in the restaurant with only bread that we had to ask for it wasn’t offered, drinks I had to ask for, starters never arrived, had to ask for them, offered the wrong meal, the right meal didn’t have in it what it said it would. It wasn’t terrible food, but not the quality you are paying for. We asked for olive oil with our bread, they didn’t have any? No oil in a luxury spa hotel? I had a nice smoothie. The staff, although not well trained did their best and were pleasant. CHANGING ROOMS & TOILETS. Unacceptably dirty, I visited all the toilets on the premises, none of which were clean, all day. Cleaning rota is filled in throughout the day, I saw no one clean anything. The faeces in the ladies changing room was there all day. The shower area dirty, flooded, used towels on the floor, dirty tissues left on the tops, some had no toilet rolls, some showers had no shower gel, changing rooms run down, damaged, dirty. See photos for changing rooms. SPA dirty, cold pool, a layer of foamy scum in the smaller ‘warm’ pool that wasn’t warm. A rusty, calcified rain shower, that half functioned. Unclean steam room. Fire safety doors run down, rusty, worn out. Jacuzzi water didn’t look clean. Whole place needs cleaning & refurbishing. MASSAGE Cost over £100 the treatment area had no one at reception, a group of young girls huddled in a corner didn’t take notice of us as we arrived and waited. The lovely Barbara again appeared and took over and sat us down, the group of three women continued chatting next to us, I believe they were the reception staff and other staff. Still huddled and chatting about their private lives. Felt very unprofessional and awkward waiting. The lady who did my massage was lovely, she didn’t know some basic muscular issue about shoulders etc but she was lovely and it was a nice experience. I wouldn’t say it was worth over £100.

Negative experience: I have visited the spa with my mum and my sister few weeks ago and I can honestly say we will never go back. I have booked the same treatment for all of us however each of us left the room with different experience as each beautician used different technique. Additionally i also had a facial with a head massage. I believe lady who did my treatment need to brush up on the knowledge of head massage as all she did was applying oil on my head. Facial was also not worth the money as the end result was nothing like promised on the leaflet. Overpriced established with inadequate level of service for the price tag. If you are hoping to use this spa as a good gift idea, like I did, please look elsewhere. I have visited variaty of spas in my lifetime and even Bannatyne provide better service for 3rd of a price.

Positive experience: Starting to look a bit tired. Some things not functional. Needs a bit of maintenance.

Positive experience: Shame really, beautiful surroundings but tired pool area

Negative experience: The phones are never answered and the service is less than adequate. Also the Eastwell manor is so much in dire need of updating.

Negative experience: Nice bedrooms, but health club is very run down. Needs more than a lick of paint. No showers working for the steam room. Small jacuzzi empty.

Negative experience: When we got to our room we greeted by a huge squashed bug on the wall.. not sure how this was missed with cleaning. There was also extreme black mold within the broken shower. Spa facilities are atrocious.. I have no idea how this place is still open. I also sent in a private complaint with no response in months. Check out the other reviews and don’t waste your money

Negative experience: Service was dreadful. Employees stood there gossiping and moaning about guests. David in the spa was particularly obnoxious.

Negative experience: A little run down. Mould in changing room. Cracked sinks, chipped paint. Not what expected from “premium” company. £2.5k per year membership…. Needs improvement

Fantastic experience: Super duper

Positive experience: Stayed at the hotel a couple of times in the past 12 months and made use of the spa. Staff are very helpful and the food on offer is decent. Drinks are extortionately priced though! We stayed in The Mews both times. Although clean and comfortable, the rooms are looking tired, especially the bathroom. Loose taps, broken flooring, cracked tiles and mouldy sealant around the shower. Hopefully they get a well deserved revamp, as it wouldn't take much to bring them up to standard.

Negative experience: Terrible experience, broken jacuzzi, steam room and sauna were cold and pool freezing. Very little spa in general. We weren’t offered a refund but choice of rebooking anywhere in the future free of charge. When I tried to re-book, I have received no response since last month. Very disappointing!!!

Fantastic experience: Great place for spa and relaxation, walk your dogs. The room however is dated and full of spider webs, few lights in my room we're not working. Dinner has reasonable choices, but our dishes for the night were too salty, desert was great.

Negative experience: Is anybody there? Just spent 20 mins wasted dangling on various lines listening to tapes. Nobody picked up. Obviously don’t care about new customers. As for the photos left in the last post: that is disgusting. Extraordinary that nobody from staff responded to that post.

Negative experience: Shockingly dirty “spa”. Excited after walking along the beautiful grounds of Eastwell Manor, I was highly disappointed by the spa. The pool area is ok but the jacuzzi section needs a serious update with visible decaying paint and rust. The steam room is good though. But being there the whole day my biggest issue was the lack of cleanness. Nobody cleaned the spa the whole time I was in and the tragic proof was a can of RedBull left by someone in the morning that was still there by 5!! Management doesn’t care as I complained midday and no one cleaned the spa once after that. If you think I’m being fussy about a clean spa look at my pictures.

Fantastic experience: Lovely spa day here. Indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, relaxation rooms and treatments. Beautiful grounds for walks also. Staff very helpful. A relaxed down-to-earth atmosphere, people walking about inside and out in their robes. Ideal place to get away from it all and refresh.