DevereAvis 

What an Amazing venue , Sam and team on the floor and Sumit and team in kitchen made sure my sons birthday party becomes a great memory for me and all guests
Every single guest complimented the venue , delicious and generous portions of food and specially the team who worked very hard in kitchen and floor to deliver an outstanding excellent experience

I am very Thankful and will recommend this place to everyone 🙏

We had a wonderful experience working with the Team at the De Vere Estate Horsley for our Wedding last month - wonderful communication from Katie and her team in the lead and from Tina in reservations who managed bookings for all of our guests! The team on the day and the suppliers they booked for us (Toastmaster Steve and our DJ) were also wonderful which led the whole day to flow wonderfully! All of our guests had a great time and were well cared for. Thanks so much!

Loved my night at Horsley Estate but found a way that the group could be much greener and it has been ignored

This hotel was recommended to me by a friend who visits regularly and I decided to investigate a possible visit. The website was ambiguous in places and it was challenging to determine the features of the rooms and suites as I had specific requirements. I reached out to the hotel via its messaging service and asked very specific questions. No response was received. I followed up with a telephone call the next day but am unclear whether it was to the hotel (my preference) or to Central Reservations. The call diverted to voicemail, advising that calls were not being accepted at present.

This reviewer finds this to be evidence of a weak commitment to customer service and is not the standard I expect when considering a venue. I spend well over 100 nights a year in higher class hotels around the world and have specific expectations. Devere Tortworth Court has lost my business

How complex investment products can leave ordinary people paying more to own wealth than they ever earn from it.

There is a quiet scandal in personal finance that rarely makes front pages, partly because it is difficult to explain and partly because the paperwork is usually thick enough to bury outrage.

It does not begin with dramatic fraud. It begins with trust.

An adviser tells a client they need a long-term plan. There is talk of discipline, diversification, professional management, tax efficiency, and growth. Six percent a year sounds plausible. The language is polished. The charts rise neatly upward. The client signs.

Years later, the investor looks at the numbers and asks a question so basic it feels almost childish:

How did the companies involved make more money from my money than I did?

That question is not naïve. It is the question.

Because buried inside many complex investment structures is a feature many consumers do not fully understand when they buy them: returns may be uncertain, but fees often are not.

There may be an upfront charge. Then a management fee. Then a discretionary portfolio fee. Then a platform fee. Then underlying fund fees. Sometimes charges described as “marketing” or “establishment” costs continue long after the product is no longer even marketed.

Each fee may have a justification.

Together, they can hollow out performance.

And this is where the problem stops being merely mathematical and becomes moral.

Because most consumers do not think in layers of cost. They think in outcomes.

If they are shown a product that appears designed to generate long-term growth, they reasonably assume the structure is intended to help them build wealth, not steadily transfer a significant share of it to intermediaries.

Yet many investors only discover the full economics years later, when they calculate that their net return—after all charges—was little better than cash.

Sometimes worse.

And then comes the second shock.

The law may not call it theft.

The documents may call it suitable.

The disclosures may exist—somewhere.

But ordinary people often discover too late that legality and fairness are not the same thing.

This is the uncomfortable truth financial culture often avoids: a product can be compliant, expensive, poorly understood, and deeply disappointing all at once.

And when consumers object, they are often told they simply misunderstood risk.

But what if the deeper issue was misunderstanding cost?

What if the real risk was not market volatility, but fee drag so severe it quietly consumed the future the product was sold to create?

This matters because the problem is not one angry investor. It is systemic incentives.

When advisers are rewarded for distribution, providers are rewarded through assets under management, and consumers bear investment risk, the structure can function exactly as designed while still producing outcomes many clients would never have accepted had they understood them clearly.

That is not necessarily fraud.

But it may be something more troubling:

A system where opacity does the work transparency should have prevented.

And perhaps that is why these stories often sound less like financial disputes and more like betrayals.

Because they are not really about percentages.

They are about consent.

Would a person have agreed if they understood that a projected 6 percent might become 1.7 percent after costs?

Would they have chosen a discretionary portfolio if they did not understand what “discretionary” meant?

Would they have stayed if they knew fees over time could exceed their gains?

These are not technical questions.

They are consumer questions.

And they deserve consumer answers.

Because when ordinary people repeatedly emerge from sophisticated products saying, “I still don’t understand what I paid for,” that is not merely a problem of financial literacy.

It may be a problem of product design.

And perhaps the most unsettling question is not whether authorities should investigate more aggressively.

It is why a person must become half accountant, half lawyer, simply to understand whether their own investment ever made sense.

That should not be the price of trying to save for the future.

Stayed March 2026
We had a mixed experience. On the positive side, the grounds are beautiful and the Penhaligon’s toiletries were a lovely touch—definitely in line with what you’d expect from a hotel of this level.
However, we were extremely disappointed with the handling of a lost item. After leaving the property we realised that we accidentally left an expensive jacket and cap in the wardrobe. We called the hotel immediately on the same day - check out day - and we were on our way back to retrieve them, but were told Lost & Found wouldn’t open until 9 AM next morning. I then returned in person the next morning and waited around 40 minutes, only to be told that nothing had been found.
We made multiple attempts to follow up—calling reception several times (without success) and submitting a message via the website contact form, which also went unanswered. The lack of urgency and communication regarding high-value lost property was frustrating and concerning.
There were also some comfort issues. Our room in the mansion had noticeable noise from external ventilation, and the windows were too thin to block it out, which impacted our stay.
While the setting and some details are impressive, the customer service and handling of situations like this fell well below expectations. We understand that items can sometimes go missing, but the response and lack of follow-up were disappointing. Guests should take extra care with their belongings.

We stayed at De Vere Tortworth Court as a group (two rooms booked) and left feeling the hotel has huge potential, but some basics weren’t delivered consistently. One room was in the old main house and the other in a newer-feeling annex, yet the issues below were experienced across both, suggesting they aren’t isolated to one area. The building, grounds, and surrounding walks are genuinely lovely, and the setting could be outstanding with more attention to detail.

It’s also worth framing this in the context of what De Vere presents itself to be: “a collection of country estate hotels and modern executive centres,” which naturally sets expectations for both leisure guests and business travellers. De Vere also places strong emphasis on events and leisure/spa experiences, which makes consistent standards in public areas, service, and operations especially important.

The most significant concern was cleanliness in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Both rooms had visible dust in areas that should be covered by routine housekeeping checks, including dust in the wardrobe and bathroom areas and on/around the bathroom extractor fan (photos available). In addition, the toilet near reception (a high-traffic area) was in an unacceptable condition. This was reported to the front desk, yet it remained in the same condition more than 24 hours later.

The newer annex room also had a serious noise issue. The room did not appear to be adequately sound-insulated, and there was loud, clear footfall noise from the room above throughout the first and second night. As the hotel was fully booked, one of our group was unable to move rooms and suffered sleepless nights. While the hotel did apply a 20% reduction to our friends’ booking (not ours), which was appreciated, this does not change the underlying issue.

Temperature and comfort were also recurring problems. Several public areas felt uncomfortably cold (lounge, library, and restaurant spaces), to the point that guests were wearing coats indoors. There also did not appear to be enough heaters available, and the oil-filled radiators in use were not sufficient to keep areas consistently warm.

Service felt inconsistent, and the team appeared overstretched. Bar service alternated between self-service and table service without clear guidance, and it was common to walk into the bar and not be greeted or directed. In the library bar, we were served dirty glasses with visible lipstick marks; when raised, we observed glasses being inspected and put back rather than removed for washing, and at least two other customers reported the same issue within around 30 minutes.

One member of staff, (name supplied to Devere by email), was absolutely incredible. She was consistently professional, warm, and proactive, and she immediately took ownership when the glassware issue had not been handled appropriately by others—making sure we received properly clean glasses, a free round of drinks and restoring a sense of genuine hospitality. She is a real credit to the hotel.

Communication before and during the stay also needs improvement. We only received an email after check-in explaining that the pool/spa required pre-booked time slots; receiving this before arrival would have been far more helpful, as many slots had already gone by the time we were made aware. We also emailed twice before our stay to ask about adding two people to our dinner table (to make four) and received no reply; at check-in, we were told a reply had been sent, but nothing was received (including after checking junk/spam). Either way, our pre-arrival questions went unanswered until we were at reception.

Positives are absolutely worth mentioning: the food was good quality and served hot, and breakfast quality was also good. However, when busy, breakfast becomes unnecessarily chaotic because the food is crammed into one area with no crowd management. Alcohol hand sanitiser stations were positioned throughout the hotel, which was reassuring. The gardener working at the front formal gardens was also extremely helpful and, like the named employee above, a genuine credit to the hotel.

Overall, at around £100 per night, it could represent decent value for the building, setting and food, but we wouldn’t choose to stay again unless improvements are made. It currently feels like a 4-star property with 3-star service delivery, despite 5-star potential. We genuinely wish the hotel well and hope it takes these comments in the constructive way intended, because with consistent housekeeping standards, better warmth in public areas, clearer service procedures, stronger pre-arrival communication and improved night-time room comfort, it really could be stunning.

Stayed at the Devere Horsley on 14th and 15th November 2025.
From the moment we arrived we were made to feel welcome. We were upgraded from a superior room to a deluxe room in the Towers. My 5 year old autistic son loves staying in hotels especially ones with history to them. Staying in the tower was an amazing experience which he enjoyed looking around the corridors, at the artifacts and learning about the building.
Our room (125) was amazing with windows on 3 sides giving us stunning views. House keeping were really sweet and left a welcome card, bar of lovely chocolate and a key ring for my Son which he loved because it will be a memento of his stay. Thank you so much Monica for not only that beautiful touch but also for taking the time to meet Logan and having a chat.
The rest of the staff were attentive, polite and helpful especially in the dining room for breakfast.
The grounds are beautiful, the staff outstanding and the extra touches go a long way in making a stay memorable. In my opinion the staff go above and beyond to make your stay a fantastic one.

My older son also stayed with us in a separate room which was upgraded from a guest room to a superior room. He and his boyfriend had a relaxed and restful stay.

Everyone was very happy with our stay and would absolutly stay here again.

Thank you for a wonderful weekend and see you again.

Just spoke to Tej on the phone at Wokefield Estate reception. He was so helpful and answered all our queries. Nothing was too much for him. Fantastic service. Thank you!

We had booked 3 rooms for a family birthday, at the Wakefield hotel. The experience we had was awful. There was a religious conference being held there we not told of this before hand. A huge amount of people there not much for the hotel in my opinion. We could not use the pool was it was reserved for ladies only. We paid a lot of money and can't use the services. Not going to use this group again.

Dreadful hotel. Poor quality food, not enough staff, noisy room and no air conditioning. There was also an Islamic convention on that was not publicised. The whole hotel was taken over and turned into a tacky bizarre. No staff in the bar area so had to go to the Elm Tree pub for Sunday lunch. They show pictures of the lovely Manor House but you actually stay in a dreadful hotel next door which is more like a Travel Lodge - avoid this hotel it is awful.

Devere water park Hotel! Poor customer Service both in the restaurant and reception , didn’t realise that none of the rooms have air con didn’t even offer a fan due to the heat , no information in the rooms about the restaurant or breakfast , disturbed at 9.00 by the maid and we wasn’t due to leave until 11. Food for evening meal no better than a Wetherspoons over charged on the bill so had to query that, wouldn’t recommend and certainly wouldn’t go back

Had the worst experience extremely rude restaurant manager when he asked about the food I told him it was cold and mediocre . He wouldn’t allow us to sign the bill to our room told me I was rude tried not to apply the 10 percent discount as a member stomped around table service disgusting never opened the bottle of wine we purchased and told as 60 plus person to leave his restaurant when I said about the poor experience so rude was he .i never went back for breakfast that we paid for as did not want to encounter any further verbal abuse . Terrible staff Devere Carnage

I booked a room at this hotel 10 months ago to make a weekend of a nearby wedding. I paid in full and even called a month ago to confirm the reservation, after hearing rumours that other guests’ bookings were being cancelled.
Yesterday, just two and a half weeks before the stay, my room was cancelled due to an “exclusive, large-scale event taking place at our venue.”
They did, however, inform me to “please rest assured that this decision was not taken lightly.” (!!!)
Apparently, long-standing, fully paid reservations can be discarded at short notice, so long as someone at the hotel says this wasn’t “taken lightly.” Good to know!
Deeply unprofessional. Would not trust this place to honour a booking.

Booked their mansion house - the evening before I was involved in an accident that left me in the hospital with broken bones. The booking was “non-refundable” which is fair enough for typical things eg change mind, but I called the reception, booking team and upper management in that order as it got escalated upward. Explained my situation and how I can’t drive for months now etc. Their response on the call was incredibly cold and dismissive, completely refused refunding and said I should either do my best to get to the hotel or accept the loss. How utterly shameful. It was a few hundred quid, pennies compared to the reputation damage you’ve caused and future income. As you also provide corporate meeting rooms - of which a few are on our internally authorised list I will not only be sharing this experience but pushing to strip you of all future funding for events.

FATHERS DAY MEAL THAT DIDNT HAPPEN

Booked in online for a roast for Father’s Day AS STILL SHOWING ADVERTISED so you assume there still doing them or the New Place Devere

Booked in at 6pm waited all day to be told they don’t do roasts DONT ADVERTISE ON YIUR WEBSITE. We’re now nowhere to go we won’t get in anywhere or want to be driving around

The limited menu they do I or my son wouldn’t have eaten (fussy eaters)

Ruined the evening!!!!

Me, my partner, and our dog stayed at De Vere Latimer Estate for one night on Sunday 25th May 2025, and honestly, I wish we never bothered. It was supposed to be a nice little bank holiday break – instead, it was a complete disaster from start to finish.

We paid to upgrade to a room with double doors and a balcony – we got the doors, no balcony. The room itself was tiny – barely any space to walk, just the bed squeezed in and a ridiculously cramped toilet. Definitely not what you’d expect from a supposedly decent hotel.

We also paid £30 extra to bring our dog, which was meant to include a dog bed and water bowl. Surprise – none of it was there when we arrived. What was there, though? Two half-drunk bottles of water stuffed in the wardrobe. Disgusting.

We went downstairs to complain, saw a queue, so figured we’d grab a drink and something to eat first. Went to the bar – and I still can’t get over this – they had NO bottled water, no sparkling water, no Appletiser, nothing. Just tap water. The barman acted like we were asking for something outrageous. What kind of hotel bar doesn’t have any bottled drinks?

We went back to reception to report everything – missing dog stuff, dirty water bottles, no drinks in the bar – and to be fair, the guy at the desk looked just as shocked. He gave us a crate of bottled water and said we could help ourselves, and someone went to put the dog stuff in our room.

When I went back to check the room, I could hear the maid inside, on the phone, slagging us off! Saying things like “it’s not our fault” – clearly moaning about us. She saw me, apologised awkwardly, and left.

Tried again at the bar to get food. Ordered two club sandwiches on brown bread. Waited 50 minutes. Nothing. Then a waiter finally came over and said, “Sorry we have no white bread.” I said, “Well, I asked for brown.” His response? “Oh, I meant brown.” What?! Took them nearly an hour to realise they didn’t have the right bread for a sandwich?

At that point, we’d had enough. I asked for a refund and headed to reception where my partner was already speaking to the manager, Carina. Let me tell you, she was beyond rude. Not even a sorry. She stood there, listened to the whole story, then just walked off. No apology, no explanation – nothing.

Honestly, I wouldn’t stay here again if it was free. Between the filthy room, the missing dog stuff, the useless bar, the hour-long wait for sandwiches that never came, and the rude staff and manager – the whole place is a joke.

Save your money and your sanity – avoid this hotel like the plague. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

I stayed at Waterhouse for a 3 day conference:
What was positive.
- The staff.
- The location.
- The grounds.

What could have been better:
- Keeping reception staff on site would have been great. Instead for anything and everything ( fan, toilet paper etc etc) one has to walk to main reception and join a queue.

- The food was pretty bad. Not vegan friendly. Macaroni cheese and inedible Thai vegetable curry amongst others. Breakfast was the only decent meal.
- The flush gets stuck and flushes intermittently. However, I couldn’t face the walk to main reception. So I managed as best as I could.
- The first night was hot. So I requested a fan. Needless to say, it never came until the day before I left.

It’s such a pity as the location is beautiful.

I’m writing this review to share the horrifying experience my partner and I had at this hotel, which exposed serious safety risks, a complete lack of basic first aid support, and appalling negligence from hotel management.

While taking a shower, my partner hit his head on a poorly placed & turns out sharp soap holder inside the bath. The impact was severe enough to cause a deep wound and heavy bleeding.

In a panic, we called reception—no one answered. I ran downstairs to ask for first aid. The hotel staff member had no idea how to stop the bleeding. When we asked if he had any medical knowledge, he openly admitted he didn’t—and even said that it wasn’t required for his role. He then called to 911.

After 911 guided us through stopping the bleeding, we were advised to go to the nearest medical center, SouthMed. Since my partner was injured and I don’t have a driver’s license, we needed help getting there.
The hotel said that it is better if we call an uber. We were left standing there, trying to arrange our own transportation while my partner was still bleeding. This level of disregard for a guest’s well-being is shocking.

After waiting at SouthMed for 3 hours with no immediate help, we have been told to wait 7 more hours. We decided to return to the hotel and sanitise the wound ourselves. We asked for sanitising liquid to properly clean the wound—they didn’t have any. The best they could offer was sanitising wipes.

when we got back to our room, we found that nothing had been cleaned. The bloody towels were still there.

The following morning, we went to another emergency, where medical professionals finally cleaned and dressed the wound properly. When we returned to the hospital & were checking out, we’ve been told the manager wanted to speak with us.
All we got was a half-hearted apology and a vague promise to “investigate.”
Frankly, we don’t believe they will do anything. And even if they do, it’s too late—our experience proved that this hotel has no system in place to protect guests in emergencies.

This hotel also hosts weddings and large events, which makes their complete lack of trained medical staff even more concerning. If they couldn’t handle a single guest’s head injury in a quiet hotel setting, what happens if there’s a medical emergency at a crowded wedding or corporate event?

In a hotel of this size, with events involving hundreds of people, this is a massive liability. If you’re considering hosting an event here, ask yourself: What happens if a guest collapses? If someone has a severe allergic reaction? If a child gets injured?

This situation isn’t just about poor service—it’s about clear negligence and failure to meet basic legal obligations. The hotel has likely violated:
Health & Safety Regulations – failing to ensure guest areas are safe.
Occupiers’ Liability Laws – failing to provide a hazard-free environment.
Duty of Care Obligations – failing to assist a guest in a medical emergency.
We will be raising this further, including filing complaints with health and safety authorities and consumer protection agencies. We are also consulting legal counsel regarding potential action against the hotel for negligence and the distress caused by this entire ordeal.

Trying to book a room for easter wknd at the de vere beaumont but have got a voucher to use and the only way I can book a room is by email apprantely which I sent nearly a week ago (surely it dosnt take nearly a week to book a room for a customer that is spending money) and still no booking has been made after phone calls and emails still no reply and everytime I speak to someone they say I will have confirmation email by the end of that day.

I was told a manager had to authorise the voucher and I would get a reply on Monday 24th Feb (today) 7pm and still no reply have sent another email and still no reply.
For a high end hotel chain this is a very bad way you have to book a room.
Glad we have got vouchers to be used otherwise we would never use this hotel chain