“Where do I start. We booked the Cotswolds Club in the hope of a luxury 4-star experience as their swish website and description seems to imply, rebooking my birthday weekend for the third time since November last year. We turned up and with just a quick signature and nothing further than that, we were given our key (complete with broken keyring).
Underwhelmed is an understatement. Four star? More like two star, the whole place feels like a marginally more upmarket motel, somewhere I would expect a cheap room for £40 a night, not £160 a night as we'd paid. The room was dirty, stains on the carpet and flaking paint. We immediately didn't feel happy for the amount we'd paid we expected so much more. We went down to the front desk and politely asked if we could have a refund as it wasn't what we expected for four-star (along with the four-star price tag). We were quickly told by the gentleman at the front desk that they did not advertise as four-star (take a quick Google and it's obvious they do - read some of the other reviews too) and that he would get the manager to come down.
Two minutes later a well dressed gentlemen who looked like he'd come straight out of school was extremely dismissive of our claims, but he did offer another similar room. As much as a different room may have been cleaner, we still weren't happy with the quality of room for the price tag we'd paid, so firmly pressed that we would like a refund. He said there was no refunds as it was an advance payment and that was it. I would have been happy to accept to pay for the first night, but was not happy that they wouldn't refund anything. Even the threat of making a Section 75 claim on our credit card made no difference to their stance. We left disgruntled, checked into a nearby Hilton at almost a third cheaper for a much nicer room.
I engaged in email correspondence with the "Guest Relations Team" who I can only assume was the same guy I spoke to in the hotel. After much toing and froing, the threat of a Section 75 claim, and also that I would contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards for misleading advertising, they agreed to a 50% reimbursement.
If you're after an overprices two-star experience, Cotswolds Club is your place. However, if you are actually after the four-star experience for the same money, do yourself a favour, find somewhere else, there are lots of other nice hotels around the area.”
