Hillbark Hotel & Spa

From the very first time we visited Hillbark, we were made to feel like part of the family. Amanda, the Manager, Charlotte the Wedding Planner and the rest of the staff are not only incredibly professional and knowledgeable, but also genuinely warm and attentive—always going the extra mile to make every moment feel special. We heard that planning a wedding can be stressful, but the team at Hillbark have made the entire journey feel seamless. Their support and guidance, whether that was making introductions to suppliers or organising the day, helped to take the pressure off. This allowed us to truly enjoy the lead-up to the big day. Their honesty, care, and expertise were evident at every step. We are so excited for our wedding next month. For us, Hillbark has become a place we gravitate to and feel special in.

Went to Hillbark for their Afternoon tea. Set in a stunning location with exceptionally friendly and professional staff greeted us from the moment we arrived till the moment left. Unfortunately, the Afternoon tea let the whole special experience down. We had left the hotel know in advance one of our party was vegan and when the food was brought out it was pointed out which items of food were vegan, it was clear that the mini meringue made from egg white was not. We pointed this out to the chef who admitted his mistake but the whole attitude was one of indifference which left was questioning if the rest of the vegan food was really vegan. Shame that experience clouded the what would have been a lovely afternoon.

Absolutely Beautiful Place to stay. We went for my 50th Birthday and I have never experienced anything like it. Room Perfect, Food & Service incredible. Ever member of staff that we had the pleasure of meeting were so welcoming and nothing was to much trouble. Highly Recommend. We will definetly be going back.

We stayed overnight in a Junior Suite after attending a family wedding. I cannot fault the wedding. It was spectacular. My issue was not having any hot water at 8 am the next morning. A maintenance man came to our room and acknowledged this. We had been excited to use the in room spa facilities but were unable to and had to suffice with a cold wash before breakfast. The reception manager said that this happened when other guests were bathing / showering at the same time. I don’t feel that this is acceptable in a 5 star establishment but our comments and emails have not really been addressed. We were just brushed off with ‘we do not offer refunds.’ That wasn’t our issue at the time but because of the price that we paid and because of lack of response by hotel management, I feel that this is pertinent now.

Myself and my partner stayed here Friday 15th and Saturday 16th, as a belated Valentines. We have stayed in multiple 5* hotels and consider ourselves to be quite fussy but fair with reviews! Arrived at this extremely grand setting and were quickly greeted by a pleasant young girl who took us to our room, a suite. The room itself was very pretty, great views and a Jacuzzi bath. Have no idea what the standard rooms were like but the suite was okay. I'm going to summarise the problems rather than waffle on! 1. No minibar whatsoever, no complimentary snacks, nothing. 2. Every time we opened our door we were immediately greeted with a member of the reception team asking if they could help and what were we doing, found it quite invasive and a bit 'much' as felt like I couldn't even have a wander or take pics of the place 3. I ordered salmon and eggs for breakfast on the Saturday, the eggs were clearly cooked using the microwave method which was disgusting for a '5* £28 breakfast'. Also, the cold platter they served us had soft/stale pastries on it. (Hillbark, what were you thinking?!) 5. I woke up with a headache, my boyfriend went down to 'reception' to find someone, ended up roaming around the entire hotel for about 20 minutes looking for somebody 4. The 'spa' is not a spa. It is a treatment led space where you must book treatments, and that's it. So do not take a bikini etc. as there is no swimming pool, no sauna, no steam room etc. All in all I'd give this hotel a 4*. They need to tone down the over familiarity and concentrate on the facilities of this place. Do not go to this hotel if you are looking for a spa break style trip. We came away a bit deflated to be honest! The phrase 'style over substance' springs to mind.

We visited for afternoon tea at 1415hrs as a gift from parents. Staff were nice and friendly although not very attentive. The food arrived and consisted of a plate of dry sandwiches, a selection of stale cakes and some exquisite chocolate compote which I loved! Sandwiches were crab meat, Cheese salad, coronation chicken and cheese and tomato. The bread was stale and the fillings were dry and of a low quality. However, the cup of tea was probably the nicest I’ve had for a long time. We (stupidly) didn’t complain at the time as I was unaware that it had cost a whopping £33 EACH!!!! £66 pounds for a selection of dried out sandwiches and some stale cakes. It also came with scones and clotted cream which hadn’t come out with the platter and being sceptical as to their quality, we didn’t want to waste more time there waiting for more stale food. We asked the staff if we could take them home and she kindly wrapped them for us. We smiled and thanked the staff, had a quick look around the function rooms that smelt like cats wee and left. When we unwrapped the scones at 1800, they were more like rock cakes. They went in the bin. After stewing on this all day today and having been told how much it had cost, I called to complain. The chap I spoke to was very pleasant but tried to argue that the sandwiches had been made “fresh” that day and couldn’t offer an explanation. He did apologise once but it didn’t quite cut it. I clearly wasn’t going to get anywhere so I gave up. I’ll spread the word in an attempt to save others from being ripped off instead!!!