The Grove Cromer

We booked a five night stay in The Bungalow. Arriving on Sunday afternoon, first impressions as we walked through the patio doors were of extreme disappointment and dismay. Indeed, had we not had appointments booked in Cromer on the Monday and Tuesday we would have left immediately. The whole place is extremely shabby and grubby and in need of thorough refurbishmnent. I am certain no room in the hotel will be in this state. We left before 10.30am on Wednesday and my husband informed Reception of the reasons for our early departure. Whoever was on Reception at that time made notes of the points raised. No one from the senior management contacted us to investigate the issues raised or offer any sort of accountability or apology, that was until I completed the review form. Only then did The Grove make contact, if you can call two lines making contact, to say the Manager would not be back until Saturday and he would contact us then. I emailed The Grove for the attention of Mr Grayling expressing our disappointment and listing some of the issues. These included: the door to the lounge which cannot be fully closed due to poor fitting, the door to the bedroom only opening about one third of the way due to being restricted by the carpet, mould on the pipework in the kitchen, mould in the bathroom both tiling and the grab handles in the shower, dirt and mould on the inside of the front door, dirt and mould on the patio door, the bedroom curtains which were hung on a cheap plastic rail with too few hooks and when closed were extremely difficult to open. There are other issues and we took photographs of all mentioned here. I eventually received a response thanking me for drawing these issues to his attention and that many had now been addressed. As you can imagine, this is of little comfort to us! It is difficult to believe that management was unaware of these issues as they certainly did not occur between one let and another, these are long standing faults which have never been addressed. There would appear to be no planned refurbishment of any of the self catering cottages, all money and focus obviously is on the hotel. Obviously, the people who choose this sort of holiday are not given the same high standards and attention to detail offered to those who book into the hotel.....if those reviews are to be believed. Despite leaving after three nights, The Grove proceeded to take the balance from my bank account on the Friday. In effect we have paid in excess of £800 for a three night stay in substandard accomodation.....and nobody at The Groves cares or sees fit to think this is unacceptable. Rather, they think it is perfectly acceptable to take people's money regardless of the standard offered. This is the assumption you come to given their response and actions. Obviously, we will not be returning, there are many other cottages in the area of a far higher standard and cheaper. Ironically, I received a marketing email this week telling me that the self cate

Always a pleasure to stay at The Grove. The old-world feel of the place combined with all the modern amenity - what's not to love. It's a beautiful building in a lovely setting. All of the rooms are individual, with their own style. Most importantly though is that feeling that you are expected and welcomed, and that nothing will be too much trouble. The passing conversations with staff do make it feel more like a 'country house weekend' than a hotel stay. Oh, and of course, the private swim...!

One of the best afternoon teas I’ve had. I received a voucher as a gift and decided to use it at The Grove as I’d never been before. Great selection of cakes, pastries and sandwiches. Also had a ‘flowering’ tea which was a nice touch. We were really impressed and would definitely go again