Stanley House Hotel & Spa

Lovely hotel and great service

Spa

My wife and I have stayed here a lot. We live about 90 mins away in Chester. Basically we use it as a retreat from the city weekend madness. Tourists, races drunks, noise? Here, peace and quiet. We stay in the garden rooms overlooking the hills towards Blackburn. Gardens are beautiful, lounge small and reserved. Staff mainly Asian are all very nice, respectful, efficient. Breakfast a la carte very good. Restaurant very smart looking over the gardens. Bar area small and quiet. Star of the show is the spa and pool! Won't spoil it for you, but you've just got do it! Not cheap, but me and my wife we book 2 hours, she has a couple of treatments, I just float around in the whirlpool, 5 different saunas and tea and biscuits later. What's not to like! Take your time booking. Weekends not worth staying as being near a major Asian business city, Blackburn, Asian weddings can take the place over and affect service. Personally, we go between a Sun-Tues. Cheaper and quiet. 30 mins drive from Clitheroe, lovely Lancashire town and the Holmes Mill entertainment complex. Cinema, amazing food hall, small bowling alley for the kids, and for me the star of the show...the Bowland Brewery. One of the largest real ale bars in the country. Easily 39-40 beers on regularly. And food all in a renovated mill. Amazing building! Don't wait! Just do it! We do!

breakfast: if only they said you'd be an hour for food I could have came back. would have preferred the honesty.

Not good place to stay please avoid.

Lovely setting and wonderful comfortable room very cosy

All the staff were really lovely, more attention to detail required with outside tidiness and disappointment that we had to wait for breakfast on Saturday; also better selection required at breakfast and coffees were poor

Liked the Spa facilities although very expensive to use. Very small and limited bar area. Fruit was off at breakfast time, tasted fizzy. Very basic accommodation not the luxury the website claims. Comfortable bed and good air-conditioning. Nice views of countryside

Great business trip

Lovely hotel

The room and the grounds were excellent. Evening meal, although the menu was basic and limited, the food was good. Breakfast was chaotic, just given a couple of menus and told to find a table. Shortage of breakfast items with staff not replenishing them. Had to get a chair for my table. Check out was worse, six people waiting to check out with only one member of staff at the desk who was on the phone for over 5 minutes while people were waiting to settle their bills. Lack of staff and staff training really lets this place down.

Upon arrival only one key card offered had to go down to reception to ask for another. No room service offered, this is not mentioned when booking or when checking in. I rang down to order room service and was told this is not available as the hotel rooms are not in the main building. Having stayed at many hotels which always accommodate this despite being in different areas etc, this is a poor excuse for not offering room service and should be made clear at the time. Had to leave a £50 damages deposit when checking in which I am still waiting for days later. I have traveled all over the world and for a hotel of this calibre, I cannot understand why a damages deposit is necessary. The type of clientele it attracts would suggest a damages deposit is not necessary at all. I would not book again.

The hotel is beautiful. The room was great. My only disappointment was that the restaurant was fully booked so I had to go elsewhere for food.

Great hotel and spa in a quiet location but close to M6. Beautiful large room. Possibly upgraded as it was my birthday. Had dinner and breakfast and both were very nice.

Great hotel, lovely room and helpful staff. Bit of confusion on check in with payment however

Check in was easy. Our room was in the Woodland suite and was large and very comfortable with an open view onto the garden. The spa staff were lovely. They asked us a few questions about ourselves, the reason for our stay etc. The only part of the stay lacking was Freds Brasserie. We had breakfast and one evening meal. We never saw more than 3 staff members serving and although they were polite, one of our orders never made it to the kitchen and we had to chase this after a long wait. Nobody came back to check on us. Despite few guests, breakfast service was missing bowls, pastries and juice. Staff had to be asked by different guests for them. The evening meal although nice, lacked attentive service again. The one draught lager had run out so there were only bottles and once we had eaten there was no reason to stay in the small bar area, nor were we encouraged to. The whole brasserie was lacking in atmosphere. It was an eat and leave experience, which is a massive shame as the restaurant and bar have beautiful views and we would have happily visited more if the experience had been better.

How fabulous that the accessible room has two bathrooms, shame there is no shelf for toiletries in the accessible one, and the floor is not slip proof. I could feel that the bath was not properly cleaned when in it. Not enough milk and no choice of teas that I would expect at the price paid. One packet of two biscuits between two! The bed was comfy though and we slept well. The blackout blinds work well, and it was quiet. Breakfast, wasn’t great, had to ask for fruit to be filled up, the coffee was VERY weak, had to top an Americano up with an espresso to taste it. No marmalade, choice of two juices, but no sign to say what they were, not a problem unless you can’t drink grapefruit juice I suppose, but would have been helpful. Had to search for extra cutlery or crockery. Not helped by a spider crawling onto my table from underneath (I realise this was no one’s fault 😊) All in all, I felt somewhat disappointed at the standard, for the price paid of nearly £200 per night.

The location and surroundings are beautiful, the buildings are superb, the room was really nice and beautifully prepared, the gym was perfect. The staff however did not make me feel welcome at check in or otherwise. At breakfast i was told off for entering breakfast at 0658am when it was supposed to open at 0700am. Did not feel a good experience and spoiled my impression entirely. Also, i understand when a hotel takes a swipe of your credit card on arrival to cover any incidentals. In this case, they have actually taken £50 immediately and yet when i checked out with nothing additional to pay, i was advised the £50 may take up to a week to come back to me. That does not feel very professional. Also could not get the printer to work for my bill which i wanted as a print out. Wonderful hotel buildings and peaceful setting but let down by the staff. i think i will use other local hotels next time.

Worst experience we've had in a very long time. Booked 4+ months in advance and pre paid. Had conversation maybe three weeks before arriving about an onsite event... they certainly had the reservation.... but on arrival, they "lost it". The expedia rep got on the phone with them, bit cpuldnt resolve othe than the Stanley House offered us a room at their "sister property"... a highway side Hampton... not exactly simliar to a countryside spa resort and obviously not what a couple is looking for for five nights in Blackburn. They would not process a refund but the hampton wpuld be at "no additional charge" ... so we get to pay Stanley House rates for rhe Hampton how nice... or i am just outbog pocket for the whole thing. There was very little availability anywhere else and we had a friday night evwnt (match).... so, stuck. Further outrage, we got to the Hampton and realized although we were stuck for at least a couple of nights... but no way were we staying five...so within the hour we arrived i was scouring for other options and the first bloody result that pops up is a availability at the stanley jouse from saturday on?!... really felt like a bait and switch because they were busy thursday/friday. Bthey could have at least said that and welcomed us back for the rest of our stay. In any event we cancelled all of our side trips ( at cost to us) and left for manchester (which was cool despite the additional cost). All in all, the most expensive Hampton i've ever stay at

Excellent facilities. Stayed here twice, specifically to enjoy the spa packages on offer, what a lovely way to relax. The bedrooms are very comfortable with bathrooms especially well designed in the Woodlands rooms. Or you can enjoy a more period feel staying in the Manor House. Hotel easily accessible from motorways, in a quiet countryside setting, we especially liked the well designed bathrooms. Restaurant and bar areas relaxing, food very good, especially the vegetarian options. Good walking, nearby. Lovely gardens for outdoor eating/ drinks. Plenty parking. Local village Mellor very short drive away, with an excellent pub / restaurant should you fancy a change from hotel. Hotel staff very friendly and efficient. Breakfast ok, not biggest choice if you don't want to pay extra? Have to make your own drinks? Only minor issues if you're on business I suppose. Spa facilities fantastic. My wife always enjoys the 50 min 2 treatment package when here. Very good value especially as it includes a light lunc a glass of fizz, and 2 hours in the fabulous spa pool and saunas. What a way to charge the batteries! As a friendly tip, during summer months we would stay Mon-Thur as this is a well renowned wedding / event hotel. So weekends could be very busy. Check first! Enjoy!

Upon arrival front entrance had 2 x reindeers with broken heads at the main entrance, the floor was littered with cigarette butts - not very welcoming. Check was nice and speedy, the room was freezing cold as the heating hadn't been turned on, the bathroom hadn't been cleaned properly as there were used sanitary towels in the vanity bin and hair in the shower plus hair grips on the floor. The food in the restaurant that night was pretty bad I had fish pie which had zero fish in it and my husband had a steak that was like rubber with so much gristle it was inedible. We complained but no compensation was offered (a free drink would have been nice). The garden leading to the accommodation was also littered with cigarette butts.

I booked a romantic trip for the only night we had over the holidays we could get away. It was a nightmare. The hotel looks beautiful but in reality is it’s unclean, poorly maintained and a cash cow praying on unaware victims. We booked because this has a spa, after we paid we got a message saying the spa was an additional £29 each, and you be expecting top level for that price. Not wanting to spoil our trip I reluctantly paid and booked some treatments. You get a two hour slot with 12 people in total, there are 4 sun beds, one was broken. We had to ask for Prosecco, the only drink (other than water) available. People were sat in the mild steam room just to sit down. The pool was tiny, for 12 people, one steam room was out of action as was the ice. There was no member of staff with us to order more drinks. Just left to our own devices in a pokey area with 10 other people. The treatments were ok, but nothing special considering the price. As we walked to the spa, we dropped our bags off at the room, saw rubbish outside the building that looked like it had been there all night. Breakfast dishes were in the foyer from the morning, this was at 2pm! We’d booked a luxury room with a bath, we were given the accessible room, no bath and aids in for disabled guests, hadn’t even been removed. No manager on site, later in the evening I moved the TV, it’s at an awkward angle to the bed, the frame fell off on my head. The shower hose leaked and was poor. Requested full refund.

Had to pay £60 to use the pool and sauna

Had to pay £60 to use the pool and sauna

The worst hotel service that I have ever experienced. NEVER AGAIN

The worst hotel service that I have ever experienced. NEVER AGAIN

Very nice hotel for stay in the Manchester and Northwest area. Great setting and very nice facilities. Great breakfast food.

Very nice hotel for stay in the Manchester and Northwest area. Great setting and very nice facilities. Great breakfast food.

Beautiful views and great staff.

Beautiful views and great staff.

staff very friendly especially in restaurant and front desk, Shower in room was poorly designed and unsafe with slippery smooth flooring. Water heating switches on wall badly sited away from shower head and unclear as to adjustment of heat etc. towel drying rail sited in such a way that it was easy to get burned when drying from shower. Toilet pedestel far too low.

staff very friendly especially in restaurant and front desk, Shower in room was poorly designed and unsafe with slippery smooth flooring. Water heating switches on wall badly sited away from shower head and unclear as to adjustment of heat etc. towel drying rail sited in such a way that it was easy to get burned when drying from shower. Toilet pedestel far too low.