lovely location but very average hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Hamish11
I had previously stayed at Hellidon Lakes a couple of years ago and considered it to be a decent hotel, but my recent experience was very different.
The hotel is set in a lovely countryside location in the middle of a golf course, views are quite stunning and first impressions are very good.
The hotel has 2 accomodation wings and they are very different.
Upon check-in, I was informed that I had been upgraded to a suite. Instead of being a treat, this was probably the most horrible hotel room I have ever been allocated! Breakfast trays were still outside the room (it was 5pm!), the furniture was extremely badly damaged, the carpet filthy, the furnishings old & worn, nothing co-ordinated, there was mould around the bath, the toilet wasn't clean, and evrywhere was dusty. If this wasn't bad enough, the heat was unbearable but opening the windows meant that the room was filled with cooking smells from the kitchen. I decided that I just couldn't stay in the room and requested a 'downgrade' back to a normal room.
Reception dealt very efficiently with my request to be moved and I was allocated a room in the newer wing of the hotel. This was really very nice - modern, beautifully furnished and with an amazingly luxurious bathroom with a seperate double sized shower cubicle. My only criticisms are the lack of mini-bar and again, a very hot room.
Leisure facilities are fairly average - the pool is very small and not particularly up-market. Unusually there is an indoor ten pin bowling alley (£20 per hour) and golf simulator. I guess that a big draw of Hellidon Lakes is the golf course which looked very nice.
Food & service were poor. Hot & cold buffet lunches for our conference party were not great - strange combinations and poor quality ingreients e.g very fatty lamb tagine. The crab linguine from the a la carte dinner menu contained so much chilli that many of us had burning mouths for an hour or so, the cod was overcooked to the point of being rubbery and the creme brulee was curdled. When dinner was brought to us 15 minutes early (in the middle of a presentation), the waiters said that they would 'bring it back later' - I assume that it was just kep warm for that time. However, breakfast (buffet) however was much better - plentiful and tasty, with a good selection of hot and cold dishes.
I would not stay at Hellidon Lakes again as I just don't consider it to be of a high enough standard. Lovely setting but 'pot luck' on rooms (some lovely, some truly horrid), poor food quality, lacklustre service mean that the risk is just too high in my opinion.
Lovely Setting in the Beautiful Countryside
by TripAdvisor Member MarkJules
We stayed at the Hellidon Lakes for two night on the weekend of 5th May, for a family wedding. The hotel has a lot of plus and minus points, but overall is clean and tidy with great food, although a little overpriced.
Location
Fantastic! Lovely views over some of the best countryside in the country. The golf courses are well maintained and set around the lakes gives a wonderful backdrop.
Nearby is the old village of Fawsley, if you are unfamiliar with Northamptonshire, I would recommend a drive around this estate, there is a lot of history here and again the scenery is stunning. Take a trip into Everdon and a wander around Badby Woods.
The Hotel
Reasonable! One wing is relatively new with good sized rooms including TV (Sky Sports), large bathroom and Internet connections. The rooms are very clean and well maintained. In the older wing, the rooms are a little dated, but have better views over the countryside. The modern rooms are probably in the same league as a Premier Travel Inn, but with a little more space.
There are good function rooms and bars on offer and the leisure club is adequate, with a small pool and facilities.
The bowling alley was great, although only two out of the four lanes worked when we stayed. There is also a golf simulator available which was fun.
The Staff
Some were ok, some were miserable! We were greeted on reception by a girl who was having a "bad day" and it showed. Most staff were polite and friendly and they couldn't do enough for the large wedding party in attendance.
Food and Drink
Excellent! There was a buffet on offer in one of the bars on the first night which was excellent, but a pricey £10.95 a head. Breakfast was amazing, with so much choice.
The hog roast available at the wedding was again, amazing. Although the catering was £30 a head, again quite steep.
The bar prices were also very high!
Overall
Hellidon Lakes looks the ideal place to hold a function, although in our opinion, it's not out of this world. It is a relaxing environment and if your a golfer, then ideal of course.
Here, you pay for the location!
Relaxed and Pampered
by TripAdvisor Member traveller1952
Our visit was based on the overnight Pamper Package, a superb stay incorporating Twin Room, 3 course evening meal, Breakfast and 2 treatments, and I must admit it was the most relaxing value for money experience. The 'Reflections' Health and Spa side of the hotel were friendly and the treatments were fantastic. The staff (Laura the Manager) went out of their way to accomodate our party with all treatment times coninciding. The hotel accomodation we experieinced was in the NEW wing and the rooms were both spacious and very clean. The bathroom was equipped with a modern shower cubicle, as well as bath etc. We were supplied with bath robes and slippers for our stay so as to be able to just change in the room and just walk down to the treatment area or pool. Towels were supplied for use by the pool which was quite small and when more than 10 people are using it becomes very noisy and cramped. The Jacuzzi was adequate.
Hellidon Lakes is set in beautiful scenery, and if you are a Golf Fan there is a beautiful course for you to enjoy.
Above Average
by TripAdvisor Member Libero
Stayed at this hotel on business a few times. Try and get a room in the new wing, bigger rooms and nicer decor. Food in the hotel is average but I always eat at the Red Lion pub, the food is tremendous and the walk back to the hotel is very relaxing after a good meal and a couple of pints.
Nice golf course shame about the rest
by TripAdvisor Member SimonDavis
I stayed here for a 2 day meeting last month. The setting is lovely with views over the golf course. The room was OK but the bathroom was not acceptable. The shower door did not close so water leaked everywhere no matter how careful you were. The ceiling light over the shower was hanging out and potentially dangerous.
I used the leisure facilities and wished I hadn't bothered. The changing rooms were terrible with almost every locker either broken or with no key. A lot of the lockers had obviously been broken in to. I'm not sure whether people had lost keys or whether there is a problem with security. Once changed you have to go back out and walk down the carpeted corridor to get to the pool. There was no shower or foot wash before entering the pool and the steam room had broken steam jets that vented on your legs. Then you have to walk back down the public corridor to get back to the changing room.
Overall the hotel looks quite tired and in need of renovation. Until this happens I would not recommend it.
Photos
Holy Cross Church, Daventry
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