Know Before You Go: Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection (Ascot, England)
This place was pure bliss and perfection. We simply cannot say enough good things about our stay here. The beautiful property and grounds, horse stables, spa, kids club, attentive service, and the dining and wine program were all notable highlights. Booking through Lartisien provided Dorchester Collection Diamond Club benefits at the same price as direct booking with extra value (also available when booking through select other travel specialists). We can't wait to return and are already enthusiastically recommending this property to family and friends.
OVERALL RATING
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Exceptional
Overview
At-a-Glance
Date of stay: December 2018
Length of stay: 4 nights / 5 days
Trip type: Historic luxury countryside hotel catering to adult and family guests
Property type: Family trip to the English countryside during festive season
Tailor-made for: Weary bodies and minds in need of restoration, active legs in need of a good stretch, and hearty appetites
Highlights
Gorgeous property, grounds and setting — the kids just romped around endlessly
Exceptional and attentive staff service - having complimentary popcorn delivered to the room from the The Bar when a team member overheard us raving about it before dinner
Family-friendly amenities -- fully supervised kids club, indoor pool, horse stables
Afternoon tea with live piano accompaniment with lounge decked out to the nines for festive season
Top-notch spa and Spatisserie
Every. Single. Thing. We. Ate.
Good to Know
Accommodations are divided between the Manor House and the Stables (not the actual horse stables) — the Manor House has a more convenient, central location while the Stables offers more privacy and convenience to the casual restaurant
Many room categories list a maximum occupancy of 3 people but can really accommodate 2 adults and 2 children (based on age) — check with the hotel directly before booking a room
If you want to explore the area, you will need a car — but during our 5 days here, we had zero desire to leave the property (might be different with older kids or longer stays)
Kids Club starts at age 2, which is nearly unheard of — no reservations are required, but recommend checking with the hotel directly in advance before your stay to confirm availability
The property is quite large and the facilities dispersed, but team members drive around with buggies constantly and you will never need to wait long for a ride, if needed
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Location & Setting
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The first of countless awe-inspiring moments at Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection, was the drive up the main road to the property. The grounds consist of 240 acres of rolling green English fields accented by mature trees, well-manicured gardens, and polo fields, while the property itself consists of several pretty building enclaves housing the Kids Club, Equestrian Center and horse stables, Spa with indoor pool, the 18th-century Georgian-style Mansion House, and The Stables rooms and cottages located just past the Mansion House.
On the 30-minute drive from Heathrow (transfer booked through the hotel), our driver described Ascot as "The Hamptons of the UK," and it didn't take us long to discover why. The town was peppered with hidden estates, revealed only by their gated entrances, and protected parkland. For followers of the British Royals, there are a few ties between Coworth Park and the British Royal Family, given the proximity to Windsor Palace. Princes William and Harry have been featured in polo tournaments here. Coworth Park is also where Prince Harry stayed the night before he wed the now-Duchess Meghan Markle.
We arrived at Coworth Park early morning. The bellman whisked away our luggage while we were warmly greeted by the front desk staff. Though our room was unavailable due to our early morning arrival, we were invited to take breakfast at the main dining room, where we found a handful of other couples and families enjoying an early breakfast in a relaxed atmosphere.
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Property & Grounds
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Although the Mansion House, along with the rest of the property, was beautiful and formal in appearance, the demeanor of the staff and other guests created an ambience like a cozy country home. Guest attire seemed to be mostly casual, with the exception of dinner at Restaurant Coworth Park, the Michelin 1-star gourmet restaurant located in the Mansion House, where guest attire ranged from smart casual to cocktail elegant.
Breakfast options at the Mansion House included healthy and hearty fare, and both the food and service were executed with great precision and care. After breakfast, our room still not quite ready, so we decided to explore the grounds a bit. Our girls loved running up and down all the paths through the gardens behind the Mansion House. Although the property was expansive, the hotel staff were quick to arrange buggy (weatherized golf cart) rides, or to stop and offer to pick us up if it looked like the little ones were losing steam on longer treks.
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Room
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Photo courtesy of the hotel
When we came inside to warm up from the brisk December morning, though it still well before our designated check-in time, our room was ready. We were eligible for an upgrade due to having booked our stay with Lartisien — which included free breakfasts, early check-in, late check-out, a property credit, and Dorchester Diamond Club status which included other perks noted later in this review -- but the hotel was fully booked, so no upgrade. We had booked a Mansion House Junior Suite, which we found to be a good size for a family of four.
The room setup came with a rollaway bed for G, our 4 y/o, set against the window in the sitting area, and a crib for V, our 2 y/o, set near the foot of the four-poster King-sized bed. Really the only drawback to the room layout was that there was no room divider, though this is certainly standard for Junior Suite room categories at most hotels.
There was a glass table in the sitting room with a detached top, but housekeeping was kind enough to take it out so it wouldn’t be a hazard with young children. Although we were happy with our room overall, we had booked it hoping we would get the upgrade included in our package, if available, which we didn't. In retrospect, the 2-level Cottage Executive Suite at the Stables was probably a more ideal layout for a family of four, and we will likely aim to book this room category on future visits.
Photos courtesy of the hotel
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Service
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Truly above and beyond, as if the staff are gifted with ESP and premonition. They read our minds and anticipated our needs in virtually every way throughout our stay.
There were three extra-special touches during our stay that made a lasting impression on us. The first was when we had a room service lunch at one point and, since we had requested the glass-top table be removed due to safety reasons, had been telling our children we would be having an indoor picnic. When lunch arrived, they told the young man on staff who brought our meals that we were having a picnic (we had set out napkins on the floor), and he promptly ran out and came back with an actual picnic blanket to make it feel more authentic.
The second extra-special touch was when we went to dinner at Restaurant Coworth Park while the girls were upstairs with a babysitter, arranged by the hotel. While we were having a pre-dinner drink at the hotel bar, which came with snacks of sweet and savory gourmet popcorn, I made an offhand remark to my husband about how much the girls would love that popcorn. When we returned to our room after dinner, there was a bag of each type of popcorn in the room with a hand-written note saying they had overheard us mentioning that our children would enjoy this and took the liberty of sending some up to the room so the kids could have some.
The third was during the checkout process, we had taken the children swimming the morning of checkout. The hotel gives guests a large cloth pool/spa bag for use while staying at the hotel. I was at the front desk transferring our wet pool clothes over to a plastic bag and the gentleman at the front desk insisted I keep the bag, as a gift for being a Diamond Collection guest.
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Dining
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We ate most of our lunches and dinners at The Barn Restaurant in the Stables area of the property. This two-level gastropub-style venue has a full bar upstairs and a small restaurant downstairs, each accessible from the outside but connected inside by a staircase. The restaurant has about 10-12 tables, and open kitchen and a large hearth, which was decorated for the festive season.
At The Barn Restaurant, they kept a roaring fire going in the hearth every night of our stay, making the tables near the hearth the best spots. Given the small size, it is advisable to make reservations for lunch and dinner to avoid having to wait, especially during busy times. The food was delicious and the kids enjoyed watching the chefs prepare the meals since all tables have a great view of the kitchen. The regular menu and kids menu options were all great. No one ordered a bad dish and we tried most of the dishes.
Most of our breakfasts and some lunches were ordered via room service. We found the room service food to be on par with the high-quality food we had in the restaurants. The service was prompt and courteous.
We had dinner, just the two of us, while the children were upstairs with a sitter arranged through the hotel, at Restaurant Coworth Park. We thoroughly enjoyed the fare and ambience of both the restaurant and the restaurant bar before dinner. The sommelier, in particular, went above and beyond to make our dinner special, and was even kind enough to pour each of us small glasses of a very good wine that we had not ordered but the sommelier was excited for us to try based on our choice of wines throughout dinner.
We booked an Afternoon Tea for the whole family in the Drawing Room during our stay. The room and tea service were outstanding, and the pastries were particularly notable. There was live piano music in the Drawing Room during tea service, as well, which our children particularly enjoyed.
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Family Services & Amenities
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Coworth Park has a Kids Club that is free of charge to guests with morning and afternoon sessions available. They do encourage advance bookings during school closing times, but evidently we just missed this time so they told us we could just drop in.
Our kids did two separate sessions during our stay and they had a blast. In one session, they decorated ceramic glazed snowman mugs and got to keep the mugs, as well as hot cocoa kits decorated to look like red-nosed reindeer. In the other session, they went on a scavenger hunt around the property, and we were even able to see them running around in the distance from the spa relaxation room at one point.
Each Kids Club session only had a couple of other kids and there were two staff members (great staff to kid ratio).
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Activities
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One afternoon, we scheduled a pony hack (short riding lesson) for G at the equestrian center. Although V was too young to partake, the front desk staff were kind enough to give her a bag with apples and carrots to feed the horses while her sister was on her pony ride. This was a family highlight.
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Wellness
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We each booked a 60-minute massage at the hotel's award-winning spa during one of the Kids Club sessions. We both felt it was a great experience and the facilities were top-notch. The spa's relaxation room is a destination unto itself, with unobstructed views out over the property's vast countryside. The spa also has a pretty little Spatisserie.
The hotel's only pool is located indoors as part of the spa. The pool has designated kid swim hours, and hotel staff are strict about abiding by these hours. Case in point: one swim session, our 2yo was taking a little bit extra time to get out of the pool and a staff member came down a few minutes past the hour to sternly remind us that kid swim time was over. So be extra-mindful of the kid swim hours as you plan your activities.
The spa pool does provide kid-sized bathrobes and slippers on request, and they keep flotation wings and kick-boards in the pool area for guests to use. The pool area also has a sauna and steam room. Perhaps the most unique feature of the pool is the underwater music that you can only hear when submerged in the pool. The hotel's small fitness center, fairly typical by European standards, was located adjacent to the pool.
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Wow Factor
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The sheer beauty of this place and the consistency of execution on every cylinder — the property and amenities, dining, service, wellness, family-focus, etc. — were what really wowed us here. It was difficult to find any notable faults, and the length of our stay and depths of exploring this property gave us ample opportunity to find them.
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Value
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Overall, we felt the value for what we paid was quite good, especially with the package we booked, everything available on-site, and the kids club. The rates for this property can vary widely depending on where you book, so we recommend price shopping around a bit. Booking through Lartisien got us the best price and great value: daily breakfasts, £100 incidentals credit, guaranteed room upgrade, plus other Dorchester Collection Diamond Club benefits / recognition (which is also available through select other luxury travel specialists).
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Overall
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Coworth Park set a new level for us for elevated family vacations. We could easily spend a full week here, never leave the property, return year after year, and never run out of diversions. Aside from the staggering beauty of the property and grounds, what really set this place apart was the above-and-beyond service from every staff member we encountered and the truly excellent food, all of which exceeded expectations in every manner and at every turn.
Rating Legend*
💛💛💛💛💛 Exceptional
💛💛💛💛 Notable
💛💛💛 Standard
💛💛 Substandard
💛 Unsatisfactory
*All ratings are relative to similar-class properties
