Well, I say follow-up. This was the four day break we had booked on our previous Warners trip to Thoresby Hall back in July. Studley Castle was the venue on this occasion, again with our friends and as you can hopefully glean from the pictures, it was indeed another imposing building. Images can be deceiving however, as Studley Castle was only built in the 19th Century and was more akin to a country house, albeit a large one. Perfectly pleasant and Grade II listed, but not in my opinion a patch on Thoresby Hall.
WE broke up the journey on the way over to Warwickshire with an overnight stay at Barton Hall Hotel & Spa just outside Kettering about a mile off the A14. Lovely stopover and an excellent Sunday Roast as an added bonus. Bit disconcerting to go to the room and not see an ensuite, only to spot another door, which led to a sitting room and then through to the bathroom. (The top two in the collage are the Barton hotel and grounds). After breakfast, onwards to the Castle and, despite an interesting approach over the last mile or so (clearly not the desired way in), we arrived there safely.
Back to Studley Castle now, please keep up.😉 Other opinions will differ of course, but my view is also coloured by the ‘old castle’ grand rooms non existent heating, which meant that although the rooms themselves were quite attractive, in the four days we were there they remained empty, save for the occasional couple braving the cold to sample the afternoon teas. A cynic might suggest that this is the Warners way, as this was another lovely building where virtually all the activities, food and entertainment took place in the new modern ‘extension’, which is where the majority of rooms were also sited.
We were in a castle room (deliberately chosen) which was a very pleasant room with a quirky and visually enticing shower room, housed in the turret of the old castle. No lift and two flights of stairs to get there though. The other problem was the shower was always freezing and made the early morning ablutions a bit of a chore, rather than a relaxing start to the day. I know we were hit by a cold spell (note the collage snow no less) whilst there but I can’t believe they hadn’t had complaints before, unless they normally rented to the Inuit people of Arctic North America!! Anyway, enough of the griping….
We ate in the Market Kitchen, which is their term for the self service restaurant. We would have booked for at least one meal in Brasserie 32, but is was fully occupied and on seeing it we didn’t miss out too much. Not a patch on Thoresby Hall, where of course it was positioned in one of the grand rooms of the Old Hall. Opinions again varied on the food (even at times at our own table) but I always found something to enjoy and thought both breakfast and evening meal were of a reasonably high standard.
We had booked, as last time, for both the archery and rifle shooting, and I believe those that actually participated enjoyed it. I went to the archery, but ‘retired unhurt’ when a combination of the cold weather and over abundance of left handers made it a little too uncomfortable to hang around and wait endlessly for my turn on the one bow available!
All the above might suggest a reluctance to repeat the experience. Of the four of us, I’m probably the only one with most misgivings. Indeed, our friends have already booked for Heythrop Hall in March 2025. I think if you can accept the Warners way (along the lines of the Ford axiom ‘you can have any colour as long as it’s black’) then you will enjoy yourself (as I did, despite the aforementioned drawbacks). I would indeed return to Thoresby Hall, where the building and grounds were superior and, more importantly the grandeur of the Old Hall was more fully realised. Overall though, I would have to pass on a Studley Castle return and I also can’t help feeling that the Warners ethos is a little lacking, given their price point.
Notwithstanding any of what is quite a lacklustre review it is never less than a delight to meet up with our friends and to top it all off we managed to find the more straight forward route for our return journey and arrived home safely and in good time.