Torrington Hall

What a beautiful stay a few weeks ago. My other half suprised me for a weekend away in St Albans to go the hot air balloons in the grove hotel. 💜❤️ Old beautiful building ideal location with a great warm feel to it. Walking distance to St Albans centre. Free car parking for guests. Hosts provides detailed instructions to contactless entrance. Tea/coffee supplied in room and kitchen provided on 1st floor for all guests to make food and drinks if they need to. The bed was so comfy, such a great sleep. Thank you so much highly recommend 💜 Ps. The hand lotion was amazing loved every minute

Felt like student accommodation. Took several tries to open front door Cupboard with keys to room in really stupid place and difficult to access Kitchen on first floor . Bed very soft and uncomfortable and mattress and cover badly stained.

It gives me no pleasure to write this... Very friendly when arranging 2 rooms for a special visit...a lovely, grand house if a little 'tired' outside. Free parking and a great location. Yes, the self check-in a bit fiddly but no big deal...but... When we arrived one of our rooms hadn't been 'serviced' since the previous 'occupiers' who had clearly had a great time : bin full of booze bottles, dirty towels over the bathroom floor and the bed unmade & clearly 'used'. Grim. We called the emergency number : the lady was clearly horrified, and offered to send someone round immediately but we had a dinner appointment : we couldn't even shower : the room felt 'soiled'. We went out and the room was 'ready' when we got back but the evening / stay was already ruined. Although things can / do go wrong with anything, anywhere, not cleaning / servicing a hotel room after a stay is like a new car being delivered without wheels. Worse, when I wrote after a few days (I'd waited for a mail with an apology / some sort of gesture) suggesting some degree of refund....no response. Both our room (and our friends) were generally 'dusty' and ours even had a large light where the plug had no 'back' on : totally exposing the mains wires! Again, it saddens me to write this : I stay in hotels every week and have never had a room 'unserviced' : how can that be missed? Basic. And no sort of gesture for a ruined evening / stay? Come on! Sorry....in many ways.

Since some of the negative reviews on this site were published, Torrington Hall has been completely refurbished, and we found it excellent. The rooms are beautifully decorated, spacious, clean and comfortable. Don't be put off by there being no bar or restaurant - there are plenty of alternative choices just a few steps away in St Albans. We booked three of the rooms, using it as a venue for a family get-together to celebrate a special birthday. It was ideal for this purpose. Access instructions, which have previously been criticised, were concise and easy to follow. No problem at all. We were delighted with the arrangements, the ambience and the whole experience. I am happy to recommend it without any concerns.