The Langley, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Buckinghamshire

My husband and I booked two nights at the Langley to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I informed the hotel prior to check-in that this was special occasion but no acknowledgment was made throughout our stay (despite us having Bonvoy Platinum status). The hotel located in a beautiful countryside and the hard product is fantastic. The outside of the hotel is simply stunning and it is clear, no expense was spared to decorate the rooms. What really lets this hotel down, is the service, from the front desk to the bar and breakfast, all staff look and behave like they would rather be somewhere else. This put us off eating in the hotel and we chose to dine elsewhere. Breakfast is limited; continental or cooked option. A single dish has to be selected, basket of rolls and pastries is brought to the table. It was obvious on the second day (Sunday) that the bread was bought the previous day and simply reheated in the oven before serving. What was advertised as freshly squeezed orange juice, was clearly just a juice from a carton. I do have to complement the concierge, who helped us with our luggage delivered by BA to a wrong location. He organised a trusted driver to bring the luggage and kept us informed throughout. This is much appreciated. Overall, the hotel has a huge potential but let’s itself down but simply not caring about customer experience.

My wife and I recently finished a one night stay, an overdue escape from the kids after over two years of constantly interrupted sleep. We booked using Bonvoy points, which confirmed into a classic room (the lowest category; the only one available for points booking), situated in the Brew House (separate annex building). I made two requests of the hotel. First, to give us a room in the Main House (the spa is situated there, and it’s freezing outside: there’s nothing less conducive to a relaxing trip to the spa than having to run a gauntlet between buildings in a bathrobe). Second, to give us late check-out (to make the most of a rare stay without the kids). I didn't have high expectation that my requests would be approved as this is not a huge hotel (big plus for us) and I lost Ambassador status when our little one arrived due to medical complications (having been on it since it was launched in 2011), so am only a lowly lifetime titanium. To my surprise, the first request was confirmed by email a few days before check in. The second was confirmed within hours of arrival. To my even greater surprise, and despite no mention of it at check in, when we were escorted to our room, we’d been upgraded to a junior suite - room 16 (one of three bedrooms which, together with a living room (not provided to us), makes to the Duke of Marlborough (Presidentlal) Suite. We were very appreciative of this. We settled in and then went for dinner at Cedar, the hotel’s restaurant. I have severe (anaphylaxis) allergies to shellfish and had advised the hotel in advance. All staff knew about this and we were assured all food would be prepared separately, with no risk of cross-contamination. In fact, the F&B manager came out to see me with some menus and asked for my meal preferences so things could be organised in advance. As a severe allergy sufferer, this is amazing and I'm so appreciative of the efforts. Needless to say, I had no allergy problems! The food in Cedar was out of this world. The wine (a very good bottle of Pommard) was delicious and the service absolutely faultless. It was one of the most enjoyable meals we’ve had in a hotel, and put us in a really good mood. On return to the room, it felt rather chilly. We tried adjusting the temperature but the panel was unresponsive. I was very reluctant to call down as they’d treated us so well, but it was cold and, with draughts from the huge Georgian (single glazed) sash windows, it would only get worse during the night. Someone came up and tried adjusting the temperature, to no avail. They then tried adjusting the temperature from reception and the night supervisor (a very nice gentleman) told me it only changed it by 0.3 degrees Celsius. Oddly, he didn’t offer us an alternative room (I assume the hotel was fully booked), nor any practical solution. So I requested some extra duvets. First a child’s duvet was delivered by very friendly housekeeper, which wouldn’t have made much of a diffe

I only review experiences that are so very bad or very good as to motivate a review. This experience was VERY VERY GOOD! The hotel is beautiful- even more beautiful than the pictures (also rare). The interiors have been sensitively renovated to offer the best of modern comfort, while celebrating the heritage of the place. Spectacular grounds and lots of activities (walks, cycling, horse riding, tennis, swimming…), the food is delicious and the cocktails, served in the atmospheric Churchill Bar, are a delight. All superb, but the real distinction that sets the Langley apart is the service and amazing staff. So charming and helpful and thoughtful, with special mention of Idil at the reception who has got to be one of the nicest hospitality talents ever! We were traveling with our children The staff were all tuned in to ensuring that they had the best time, with a wonderful kids program run by “George & Sharky” who had the kids outdoors, building bonfires, feeding goats and meeting the local rabbits. The location- just 18 minutes by taxi from LHR and a 20 minute commute by train to central London would make this a perfect spot for a weekend escape from the city or even a base to combine country days with some London tourism - that’s our plan for next time because we intend to be back, next time for longer!