Staycation - Warners

[Bazrat]

5 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

Just a note to say that I have just cancelled our weekend at Cricket St Thomas, which should have started 4 weeks today.  Apart from waiting in a phone queue for nearly15 minutes, the process was simple and no-quibble.  Full payment will be returned to my CC within 10 working days.

Stark contrast with you know who

 

not really comparing like with like heh

 

 

[terrierjohn]

I had a look at Alvaston Hall yesterday, but when I inputted my accessible reqt there was no availability at all this year.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

Just a note to say that I have just cancelled our weekend at Cricket St Thomas, which should have started 4 weeks today.  Apart from waiting in a phone queue for nearly15 minutes, the process was simple and no-quibble.  Full payment will be returned to my CC within 10 working days.

Stark contrast with you know who

 

Even if the pup wasn’t coming, I don’t think we would have gone on this break.  We haven’t been inside a restaurant yet - staying in a hotel and cabaret dining still feel like a step too far

 

No point in going unless you feel safe. Just for future reference, Cricket St Thomas has separate dining & cabaret rooms I believe. It is only a few of the properties that have the cabaret restaurant - Corton, Lakeside, Alvaston Hall and Studley Castle do - not sure about the others. 

[Eddie99]

Thanks BB 

 

I think we will go Warner’s sometime, and Cricket is our nearest - less than an hour from here - so I’m sure it will be our debut location.  I suppose our first stay will be a little like first cruise, though at least we won’t have to fear mal  de mer

 

The ease of cancellation has given me confidence in the company anyway.  Their Covid Guarantee allows full refunds between 28 and 3 days before arrival.  

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

No point in going unless you feel safe. Just for future reference, Cricket St Thomas has separate dining & cabaret rooms I believe. It is only a few of the properties that have the cabaret restaurant - Corton, Lakeside, Alvaston Hall and Studley Castle do - not sure about the others. 

Sinah Warren and Littlecote also have the separate dining and cabaret rooms, which is my preference.

 

I’d be less likely to stay at a property where the dining and entertainment take place in the same room.

 

It’s good to see that Warner’s are being proactive with their cancellation procedures, as it gives their guests confidence. We’ll probably go to Warner’s next year, most likely Cricket St Thomas 

[emam]

We have had an email about our holiday a week on Monday at Nidd Hall.

 

We will be greeted on the drive and checked in from the safety of our car. We will receive our room key, dining times confirmation,  entertainment guide and any other information. They will tell us the best place to park our car for our room. We do have to take our own cases but assistance is there if needed.

 

As mentioned before we book our dining times before we go (or they allocate them on arrival), so that they can manage the space and flow of the guests, with the restaurants opening for longer. They have taken away the buffet and replaced it with plated a la carte service.

 

The tables are set for four people so that anyone in a support bubble or two households can dine together. Outdoors you can sit on tables of six from different households, or if from two households only there can be more people.

 

All guests are required to wear face covering inside the public areas of the hotel (reception, corridors, staircases)  and when having a beauty treatment. They aren't required in outdoor spaces, bedrooms, restaurants,  bars, coffee shops or any other venue while consuming food or beverages. 

 

The hotel has gone cashless and you have to set up an account to be paid by card before you leave. Check in is now from 3pm for everyone and check out at 10.00 am, departing before 12 noon. There will be table service in the bars and coffee shops. No day visitors are allowed, hotel guests only. 

 

I don't  know if they did before but they will have two sittings for the entertainment. For most people on here is sounds like home from home just without the sea.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

The two times that I've been to Warner, they had just the one sitting for entertainment.

 

The new arrangements take away some of the spontaneity, but I think it but for short break type of holiday, I think I'd be fine with what emam has described.

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

4 hours ago, emam said:

We have had an email about our holiday a week on Monday at Nidd Hall.

 

We will be greeted on the drive and checked in from the safety of our car. We will receive our room key, dining times confirmation,  entertainment guide and any other information. They will tell us the best place to park our car for our room. We do have to take our own cases but assistance is there if needed.

 

As mentioned before we book our dining times before we go (or they allocate them on arrival), so that they can manage the space and flow of the guests, with the restaurants opening for longer. They have taken away the buffet and replaced it with plated a la carte service.

 

The tables are set for four people so that anyone in a support bubble or two households can dine together. Outdoors you can sit on tables of six from different households, or if from two households only there can be more people.

 

All guests are required to wear face covering inside the public areas of the hotel (reception, corridors, staircases)  and when having a beauty treatment. They aren't required in outdoor spaces, bedrooms, restaurants,  bars, coffee shops or any other venue while consuming food or beverages. 

 

The hotel has gone cashless and you have to set up an account to be paid by card before you leave. Check in is now from 3pm for everyone and check out at 10.00 am, departing before 12 noon. There will be table service in the bars and coffee shops. No day visitors are allowed, hotel guests only. 

 

I don't  know if they did before but they will have two sittings for the entertainment. For most people on here is sounds like home from home just without the sea.

 

 

That'll do me if they pull it off. 

Thanks for sharing. 

Andy 

[Eddie99]

It sounds do-able doesn’t it?

i got a message pretty much like that before I cancelled, too.

 

Another advantage is that as they are scattered throughout the country, it’s easy enough to get a 3 or 4 break without travelling too far from home.  Different to short cruise breaks, which aren’t great for people who live in the north

[downsmead]

We have booked Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. We have cruised around the world but never visited the Isle of Wight, so saw this as an opportunity to have a short break and visit there.Does the ferry count as a cruise 😂😂😂😂?

We have booked breakfast and evening meal times and there are two performances of the entertainment each evening (7.30 and 9.30 I believe). 
This will be our first time with Warner’s. It is interesting that they seem to have availability whereas most of the good hotels around the country are fully booked for September and October. 

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, downsmead said:

We have booked Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. We have cruised around the world but never visited the Isle of Wight, so saw this as an opportunity to have a short break and visit there.Does the ferry count as a cruise 😂😂😂😂?

We have booked breakfast and evening meal times and there are two performances of the entertainment each evening (7.30 and 9.30 I believe). 
This will be our first time with Warner’s. It is interesting that they seem to have availability whereas most of the good hotels around the country are fully booked for September and October.

I've enjoyed all my stays at Bembridge. It is a lovely situation right on the coast with views out to sea and along the South Coast. I also love the Isle of Wight - it is a bit like stepping back in time. A drive along the south coast road of the island is lovely, and you can go down to the Needles and visit the Old Battery, a National Trust property and get a super view of the Needles themselves - especially if you are not claustrophobic and walk down the tunnel to the gun emplacement. I've been several times in recent years so if you have any other questions, just ask.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Britboys
Typo

[emam]

Our four night stay at Nidd Hall, Yorkshire, sorry it’s long but you don’t have to read it all.

 

First impressions, hotel and gardens are fabulous. The room was clean with nice furniture, tv on the wall, a safe in the wardrobe, PG tea & Lavazza coffee, 2 packs of Border biscuits, white bedding and a bathroom with shower. It reminded us of a Premier Inn room. There were doors leading to a patio with a table and two chairs. Unfortunately for us the sun had passed over where our patio was by the time we arrived and then we had rain for most of the week. The bathroom had a large mirror and muted lights that came on when you opened the door, plus a normal light. There was a small tube of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner (in one) and a hand lotion. There were replenished as needed. Two large fluffy towels, 2 small ones and a bath mat.

Our patio was right next to the restaurant but due to social distancing you had to go in one way and come out another. So we had to go up two flights of stairs (lift available if wanted/needed), along a long corridor and down a flight of stairs (also had a lift). Someone was standing and taking your name before going down the stairs to the restaurant. There was hand sanitizer units at every door in the hotel. At the restaurant they took you name and room number before being taken to your table. The tables were well space out. The cutlery was on your side plate in little sleeping bags with butter and a packet of salt and pepper. The food was fine, nice enough but not as good as P&O’s. A pint of Stella (only a couple of choices) was £4.50 and a glass of wine ranged between £6-£9, but as I’m not a wine drinker I couldn’t tell you which wine it was. If you wanted tea or coffee after dinner you had to buy it, there wasn’t any complimentary.

There was a lady singer and a band on the 1^st night and after those, the in house singers (3 girls) sang some Abba songs. Hubby got a rum & coke £4.50 (a lot better than I was expecting, I read somewhere that someone had paid £11 for a drink). Tables were sanitized with signs on saying I’m clean. There weren’t many people in watching the entertainment due to distancing; it must be hard for the performers to get an atmosphere.  They had various entertainments going on through the day and night, but we didn’t really partake in any of them.

Breakfast was okay but nowhere near as nice as P&O’s or our hotel we normally frequent. Tea/coffee was served from flasks, but you can get teapots if you ask. Eggs Benedict was nice. I asked the waitress one night if they had fewer tables in the dining room and she said they had taken about 50 tables and 100 chairs out and put them into storage.

You could buy a reasonably priced lunch which for the first 3 days it was half price on the eat out scheme. Soup, sandwiches and fries for two was £13 at full price. Cream teas were also available, but I only glanced at those as it’s not to my taste.

So we had some lovely walks around the gardens seeing the wildlife, though some of them wouldn’t be suitable for wheelchairs. We did our bit in rescuing a sheep, which was stuck in the mud in the lake. There was a full size swimming pool which wasn’t used to my knowledge (my niece, a swimming teacher would have loved it). We would say that P&O are a star higher than the hotel, but we still had a nice time. The weather didn’t help, but that’s something we will have to get used to again. We have only done a handful of cruises, but they don’t half spoil you for other things. We found the hotel big, but we don’t have a lot to compare it with and we would go again. The hotel obviously had a reduced number of guests which would have affected the day to day running.

[Eddie99]

Thanks for your review.  As you say, it’s not a cruise but if there are no cruises available, it’s an alternative- hopefully healthy

I think we may have to grow to accept the vagaries of the weather and adapt our outerwear accordingly 

[AnnieC]

Many thanks for taking the time to write a comprehensive review - very thoughtful of you, particularly as I'd been thinking of trying Warner's. Again, thank you.🙂

[emam]

Cutlery in a  sleeping bag, Nidd Hall and one of the garden.

[emam]

8 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

Thanks for your review.  As you say, it’s not a cruise but if there are no cruises available, it’s an alternative- hopefully healthy

I think we may have to grow to accept the vagaries of the weather and adapt our outerwear accordingly 

 

Yes we had taken walking boots and coats. Still enjoyed the walk in the gardens.

[emam]

5 minutes ago, AnnieC said:

Many thanks for taking the time to write a comprehensive review - very thoughtful of you, particularly as I'd been thinking of trying Warner's. Again, thank you.🙂

 

I thought it might be a bit long, but wanted to try and answer some of the questions that have been posted before.

[Britboys]

Glad you enjoyed it and from my experience of a few Warner breaks, I would agree with your summation. One thing I would say however is that Warner's Eggs Benedict are far superior to P&O's...

[ann141]

Thank you for sharing your review.Really helpful

[Dermotsgirl]

Thanks for your review. I’ve been to Warner’s twice, and really like them, so it’s interesting to hear what they are doing in the COVID era 

[happy v]

Thanks Emam. I'm slightly disappointed because when we were last there the food was very good.

I've decided not to go this year now. I can't get away with this mask wearing. Irritates me no end, so I'll have to wait until it is stopped.

[wowzz]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

Having previously lived in both Harrogate and Knaresborough we had been thinking of revisiting  the area, but I can't say we will rush to Nidd Hall, based on your review.

Perhaps we'll go back to the White Swan in Harrogate and eat at  local restaurants. We can probably manage without the entertainment.  

[downsmead]

It’s amazing what we will do in lieu of cruising. We are looking forward to our stay at Warner’s in Bembridge ( many thanks Britboys for your offer of info), and have a Norfolk hotel booked for a couple of nights. I am sad to say we have ‘succumbed’ to a stay at Butlins - because it is our Grandson’s first holiday 😂. We had other trips with him (and his parents) but all got cancelled because of Covid. Luckily we booked November 2021 as his first cruise (Britannia / Caribbean) so that trip should be OK 🤞

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, downsmead said:

It’s amazing what we will do in lieu of cruising. We are looking forward to our stay at Warner’s in Bembridge ( many thanks Britboys for your offer of info), and have a Norfolk hotel booked for a couple of nights. I am sad to say we have ‘succumbed’ to a stay at Butlins - because it is our Grandson’s first holiday 😂. We had other trips with him (and his parents) but all got cancelled because of Covid. Luckily we booked November 2021 as his first cruise (Britannia / Caribbean) so that trip should be OK 🤞

You do realise that you won't be allowed back on here once you've been Butlins 😂. Actually, you should have a cruise on Ventura as soon as possible - you can then tell us all whether P&O is now really like Butlins at sea 🤣🤣🤣

[wowzz]

It's strange how everyone has changed their holiday expectations. 

We are off to a static caravan in Devon in late September,  and really looking forward to it. Our first proper holiday in the UK for 30 years! 

Lady W is talking me into buying a static caravan or a narrowboat. Done the boat previously - loved it, but I'm too old now to jump off the locks onto the boat. 

So, anyone know a small caravan park, less than 50 units, within 150 miles of Lincoln?