South Lodge Hotel

I had a phenomenal weekend away staying in one of the spa lodges. We had ordered a hamper which was waiting on arrival along with complementary bubbly. Food was fantastic, as was the lodge itself. Everything from a to in the bathroom to bath tub on the balcony. Whilst staying we did a wine tasting, open water swimming, Michelin 1 star meal and of course, the spa facilities. If you want a perfectly relaxing weekend away I highly recommend.

Lovely stay and attentive staff. Very good spa facilities and breakfast. However there was an incident during our last night. The fire alarm went off (unknown why since there was no fire) in the middle of the night at 2 am and we had to evacuate our room. We were with our 2 year old daughter and with grandparents, and they could not fall back asleep after the incident. Given this is a 5 star hotel we would have expected a small discount or token of appreciation following this event which ruined our night, however none was given.

For the price, you’d expect everything to be perfect — unfortunately, that wasn’t the case during our stay. We really appreciated the venue itself. The room was lovely, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a pregnancy pillow already available, which was a thoughtful touch. That said, a few of the light switches weren’t working, though the staff did come and fix them while we were out for dinner. We’d assume complementary snacks to be refill when staying more than one night - it wasn’t the case. The Pass restaurant was excellent — from the service to the quality of the food, everything was spot on. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the other dining options. At Camellia, the £90 set menu felt quite steep, especially with several dishes carrying an extra charge on top. The food was okay, but definitely didn’t live up to the price tag. One staff member, who I assume was the head waiter, came across as a bit rude when we asked about adjusting the menu for dietary requirements — questioning the reason and deciding for us what was suitable to eat, which felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. We also had brunch at Botanical, but by 11am they had already run out of a few items. We were told we should have come earlier if we wanted pastries — which felt odd, considering we booked specifically for brunch, not breakfast, and attended during normal service hours. Food itself was not great and very greasy. The spa snack bar was also closed for a while with no explanation, which was disappointing. On top of that, a discretionary service charge was added to everything — including spa treatments — which felt quite excessive given how expensive everything already was. As someone else mentioned in a previous review, the fire alarm went off during our stay at around 2am. No staff showed up to guide guests or give any information. Eventually, people just started going back to their rooms once the alarm stopped, but no one confirmed whether it was actually safe to do so. There was no follow-up, no apology, and no gesture to make up for what ended up being a very disrupted night. A real shame, as the facilities are genuinely good and the place has everything it needs to offer a fantastic experience — but there were just too many issues for it to feel worth the price. Follow-up to the hotel’s response: To be clear, I fully understand the importance of fire alarms. The issue isn’t that the alarm went off—it’s that no staff appeared to guide or inform guests during what could have been an emergency. People were left outside or in hallways at 2am with no direction, and eventually returned to their rooms without knowing if it was actually safe. Saying the alarm was “there to save lives” misses the point entirely. If this had been a real emergency, the complete lack of staff response or communication would have put guests at serious risk. Fire alarms alone don’t save lives—clear procedures and trained staff do. None of that was evident that night. This isn’t only about compensation—it’s about a failure of basic emergency protocol and duty of care. I hope management takes this seriously and addresses it for future guests’ safety.