Lewtrenchard Manor

Simply sensational! From the contact ahead of our stay, where it was obvious nothing was too much trouble, the staff have excelled. We are still here, but couldn’t wait to write our review. Putting it simply it’s like staying in the most incredible museum. Steeped in history, charm and enchantment. The staff easily score 5 stars out of 5, they have all been polite, professional and so charmingly attentive. The welcome, the explanations of the estate, the meal (that was 6 out of 5, Valentines taster menu was outstanding) the turn down service, the refreshed ice water in the room, the fresh milk flask for morning tea/coffee. It just goes on and on. This place is amazing. We cannot speak highly enough. Thank you Lewtrenchard Manor, you’ve left a life long impression.

We had a lovely Sunday lunch here. Due to a large group dining in another room we were the only people eating in the dining room. The staff still looked after us, keeping the fire lit and providing us with a history of the house when we enquired. We were looked after by our lovely waitress Lauren who made our meal all the more pleasant. The food was excellent from ham hock bon bon to sticky toffee pudding! Nice to be able to pop over to St Peter's church afterwards for a walk around too.

We booked a one night stay at Lewtrenchard Manor for a family celebration of a significant birthday. One couple stayed in a classic room and the other two in deluxe double rooms. We stayed in the latter which was very nice. Additional heating was already supplied in the room and as a result the temperature was fine. The hotel communal areas were all very nice and full of character-open fires (which we sat infront of as a group). We booked a table for dinner for 6 people of the taster menu. The food and service was excellent throughout, every course was thoroughly enjoyable and prepared to a very high standard. It was a very nice sociable experience. After the meal we were able to speak to the chef which was a nice personal touch. Breakfast the next day, was of the same high standard. Many Thanks to the staff at Lewtrenchard Manor , we will be visiting at some point again in the future.

Living fairly locally Lewtrenchard Manor is a favourite place for a luxury treat in magnificent surroundings with exceptional food. Having booked a two night post Christmas break we made the mistake of reading the two rather disappointing reviews in this list, also dated December 2023. We arrived with an open but critical attitude on a wet and windy afternoon. On entering the portal of this historic building we received a warm welcome in a very warm building with roaring wood fires. We had to turn off the booster heater in our room and I took a sweater to dinner but never put it on. The dinner was a good as ever. An lovely amuse bouche (I could have simply enjoyed a bowl of this soup as my main meal!). A subtle blend of tastes and textures in the starters and we both enjoyed an outstanding mushroom dishe as a main course. Service was appropriately unrushed with attentive and pleasantly informal staff. We were very comfortable in our room of period character. Our two breakfasts were of high standard with quality ingredients. Scrambled eggs to perfection. On the second evening meal the venison was beautifully tender. We left knowing we will be returning. I do not doubt the two previous reviews. I do hope they discussed the problems with the management. In even best run establishments problems can occur and we all understand this. Based on our experience on this visit and on previous visits the staff at Lewtrenchard can hold their heads high.

Having been to Lewtrenchard several times in the past my wife and I were looking forward to our recent weekend there - but what a let down. Sadly, the weekend contained many disappointments - ownership seems to have lost interest. We arrived on a cold/wet December day - but there was no point in wiping our muddy feet. The porch doormat was completely worn out and hairless. There were three log fires but not a flame between them. Masses of ash underneath the fires presumably choking the air supply and we were later told that all the logs were wet - so hardly surprising no blazing log fires to greet the guests. Pleased to say our room was warm but several of our group complained that their bedrooms and bathrooms were very cold. To be fair it was a very cold weekend and the hotel had made efforts with portable electric heaters but they weren’t up to the job and every other hotel we have stayed in has been toasty warm. Eating was another disappointment - our ‘Festive’ lunch was served not table by table but to the whole room. So people with hot soup starters waited patiently and politely for their fellow diners to receive their cold starters by which time their soup was cold. Same thing with the main courses - whole room served before any cranberry sauce or gravy arrived. Consequently the people served their main course first had finished it before any gravy arrived ! It was a disappointing meal and plated so no vegetables in separate bowls. The chef deciding how many potatoes you wanted. So no flexibility for ladies to take a little less and hungry chaps to have a little more. I could of course be wrong but the dessert was poor, stodgy and appeared ‘off a van’ rather than made in house. Breakfast was another disappointment - my wife chose haddock. But was shocked at the miniscule (roughly an inch by and inch) piece of fish she was presented with. We joked that the chef must have thought she wasn’t hungry but it wasn’t really funny. Also, trying to find staff to bring some more coffee was difficult and meant trailing through several rooms to find someone. A general lack of care and attention to detail seemed prevalent - the curtains in our bedroom were all torn and saggy at the top and the curtains in the main function room were torn in several places - As well as being rather meagre our meal was expensive for what it was - our local hotel is providing much better for half the price. So all in all a big expensive disappointment and so different to a few years ago. Something has gone wrong - don’t know what, but won’t be visiting again

Lovely afternoon tea as always! Good selection of cakes, delicious scones and drinks are included - my only criticism is that the afternoon tea would have been lovely if it was festive themed the same as last years! Also I feel the sandwiches need a bit of a boost - they are okay but my personal preference is that they need to be more flavourful and that’s the only reason I rate it a 4 xx

This hotel is in a beautiful old building, and calls itself a luxury hotel, but my wife and I were bitterly disappointed. We checked in and were shown our large spacious bedroom, but it was bitterly cold. The one radiator needed bleeding as only the top few inches were hot. There was a tiny portable electric radiator, but it simply wasn't large enough to make a difference. We had an enormous beautiful bathroom, but it had only a small electric heated towel rail, and was even colder than the bedroom. We went down for dinner and were seated in a deserted and equally cold restaurant, beside an original old radiator that was barely lukewarm. There was fireplace at the far end of the room but the staff told us they could not light it as the chimney was blocked. There was no cutlery on the table. They had a strange system of making a performance of bringing the cutlery for each course after clearing away the previous course. Our starter arrived 30 minutes after we were seated, and the whole meal took about two and a half hours. Part way through I had to fetch my wife a wrap because it was so cold. The starters were excellent, but the pork I ordered for my main course was very tender but barely warm, whereas the potatoes that were served separately were piping hot. After spending a miserable night in our freezing room I wore my top coat at breakfast. We remained for a group lunch the next day. There were several lounge areas where we congregated, each had a log fire that was barely alight, probably because the wood being used was damp and unseasoned. At lunch the starters and dessert were again excellent, but the main course was not up to standard, with silly mistakes such as the gravy not arriving until halfway through the meal. When we checked out I told the receptionist that I had never paid so much (over £400) to be so cold.

We attended the Murder Mystery evening last night, great entertainment from the team of actors, they put on a marvellous show. It was the food this time, a little underwhelming, maybe the new chef is finding his feet? We started with a soup, this was very good, well presented, was silky smooth. Then things took a dive, a chicken terrine with Thai flavours, served with a green Thai broth, supposed to be hot, sadly it was stone cold, although flavour was good. The main course of venison was well cooked, but presentation was poor, very dull looking dish. Carrots over cooked, a courgette purée, with no flavour at all, very little sauce, no texture to the dish, to lift it. Fail to understand why courgette was used, it is not in season now, celeriac would have been a far better choice. Dessert of a chocolate mousse with raspberry, tasted good, but again lack of presentation, you eat with your eyes first, then taste, if food looks good, you want to eat it. A small round bowl with mousse, some chocolate soil, a tiny ball of sorbet and two chocolate sticks, to me looked very underwhelming. Normally food at Lewtrenchard is beautifully presented, tastes delicious, tonight’s meal did not deliver this. We will be back, as I want to see what the new chef can do, when running normal dinner service, not a function.

The hotel is atmospheric, full of period features and totally intriguing. The staff were all welcoming, well trained and eager to assist. Special mention has to be made about the food. Absolutely gorgeous, you should see what the chef does with the butter at dinner. This is a very special place, perhaps showing its age a little - well so would you if you were 400+ years old.. Overall, I would certainly recommend, and fully intend to return. Thanks all