Slepe Hall Hotel

Fawlty Towers Lives. It's a place of two halves. The ground floor is very smart but devoid of staff. The second floor is entered through a time portal into 1986. We booked a twin and got a small double. The stair carpet was so threadbare that it must have been that way for years at least. The main ceiling light flickered. The window catch was broken. The blinds did not lift up. The toilet roll holder was broken. The jacuzzi jets did not work. The coffee pods were not replenished on day two. We did have two plastic potted plants though. The bar was unmanned 90% of the time. We managed to get a drink on the first evening but on the second evening, by the time we were offered a drink it was too late for us to drink one as we were going out to eat. There is no breakfast. The morning we left we presumed we might get a coffee at least so we went to the bar, there being none in our room. Not only was the bar not manned, the entire ground floor appeared to be unmanned. We wandered through all the rooms and could find nobody. The reception is unmanned. What remains a mystery is why we were given a room at the top when the car park was empty.

Excellent. Lovely reception and great staff team. Charming tranquil establishment with spotless rooms tastefully furnished. Great night’s sleep and delicious breakfast. The hotel is a short walk from the beautiful town centre which has lots of restaurants and lovely pubs. Will definitely stay here again.

Disappointing stay - checked in early as the room was ready and that was faultless. Room was functional but not that wide and really long with the TV at the end of the room which made it feel like you were watching a TV in the 70s! It felt like the bed was shoehorned in at the end of the room with very little clearance either side of the bed. It was meant to be a double bed but it didn't feel that big. We switched the heating off in the room but this didn't seem to have any effect and make it any cooler so hardly slept as the room was that hot!! Bathroom, shower was great but toilet roll holder broken, mould around bath and sink tap wasn't sealed. The hotel bar was closed when we got back just after 2200hrs so had to "gate crash" and use the function room bar as there was an award ceremony going on. When we went back to our room, we could clearly hear the event going on downstairs....Not sure why the hotel situated us in a room so close to an event. Breakfast was a good quality full English breakfast but limited on other choices such as cereals, pastries, juices etc. I wanted to complain when we left but felt so sorry for the person who was running round serving breakfast, re-stocking coffee, glasses, orange juice and checking people out. It felt there needed to be more staff. I've stayed here many times over the years but this was by far the worst stay and doubt I'll be staying again.

Quite a lot of mixed reviews from one extreme to another so here is a balanced account of my stay. The hotel is ideally located with a lovely 10-15 minute walk to St Ives town centre. Parking is free on site. It is clean and tastefully furnished. My room (Rm 5/Double Bed) was a bit of a labyrinth to get to (be prepared for climbing a stairs) but was nice and had plenty of space. If you want to use the desk (table) for work then you will need to move the Tea/Coffee tray off to another part of the room. There is an Ottoman type seat at the bottom of the bed which does get in the way when going to the window, other side of the bed and the small wardrobe. The bed was comfy and the room was clean. There is an oil type heater which only keeps the room warm but not cosy. The bathroom is very large and has a shower and a seperate bath. The bath is big and though it has a whirlpool feature, it has been disabled (as have all the rooms I was told). Nice view of the garden. I'm not sure why but the hotel wasn't manned until 3pm (check in time). The staff were friendly. Unfortunately the hot water was only giving out lukewarm heat. The staff did try to sort it out but to no avail. Which meant no soak in the lovely looking bath but also no shower in the morning. The spotlight goes to Crystal who did her best to try and sort things out and went out of her way to rectify the issue. I cannot comment on the food as I did not eat in house. May be due to the slow season, there were no staff at 8am at check out so leave your key at reception. Overall, I'll probably stay again on the basis that this was a hiccup...

We had a room booked for 17 of us for a family get together the Sunday before Christmas. When we arrived there were two staff covering the bar and tables despite it being full. We had to wait 40 minutes for a drink. When our pre-ordered food arrived it was awful. The prawn cocktail included a few prawns on a plate of lettuce with a drizzle of sauce. They forgot to bring out the bread and butter until everyone had finished. The camembert was not cooked, and the pate was runny. The main course and desert was even worse. I wrote an email stating that we were disappointed and why and heard nothing back. I have to say that the waitresses did their best - they were completely rushed off their feet with no support. Such a disappointment.

Quite simply the worst meal I have eaten since really bad school dinners over 40 year ago. £45 for a Christmas function with a group of 10 friends… the service was slow and disorganised… food was tasteless, bordering inedible. Some items ordered didn’t turn up… it was at best an awful experience. It is such a shame to see Slepe Hall spiral downward again after it was improved so much a few years ago, by a manager that now has his own pub, which hits those high standards he sets. It will be the last time I choose to go here to Slepe Hall. I even contacted the Hotel directly with some honest and constructive feedback. I’ve still to even receive and acknowledgment. I think this sums up this place… They took £450 off our group and probably at least half as much again in drinks for a Christmas function that will take some beating as the worst Christmas function ever!

What a wonderful experience it was today, with 5 * service. Exquisite food, amazing staff and beautiful ambience, could not recommend the slepe hall enough. This absolute gem is located in the heart of St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

Disappointing is an understatement. This was meant to be a two day trip down memory lane. This was the hotel where we spent our wedding night and my sister spent her wedding night. We drove 140 miles to be greeted by no one. The receptionist took 15 minutes to end her private telephone conversation before attending to us. Absolutely no one around at all. We asked if we could see a menu for lunch or at least get a sandwich, to be told there was no kitchen staff as they had been given the day off (19th Dec ???). Our room was the room we had on our wedding day, but it was so cold. We went out to eat and to take a look around St Ives. When we returned, we went to the bar…again no one there but a waitress, who never took her coat off. Our second day, was a repeat of the first day. Never, ever again. The whole experience only managed to put a blot on the memory of our wedding day.

Shocking Christmas party evening. £45 per person for an awful dry turkey meal, every part of the meal was inedible. Drinks overpriced and also warm bottles of wine left preorder on the table. Staff started clearing the tables and packing the chairs away at 11.45!!! While the disco continued until 12.30.