Our 2024 comparison of prices, location, reviews and facilities at the 15 Warner Leisure Hotels and Coastal VillagesThere are 15 Warner Leisure Hotels around the UK. They're only for adults aged 21+ and are mostly popular with older customers who want a hotel with lots of activities and entertainment from a brand they trust. We’ve been investigating which Warner Leisure Hotel is best by digging out review scores, comparing prices and looking at facilities and location. Before we move onto the detail, my summary is that:
Which Warner Leisure Hotel gets the best reviews?The two main review sites which have a useful number of customer opinions on Warner Leisure are TripAdvisor and Google Reviews. We added together the two scores to come up with a rating out of 10 and ranked the Warner Hotels from first to last. 1st: Sinah Warren Hotel in Hampshire - 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor plus 4.4/5 on Google Reviews - total of 8.9/10 2nd: Studley Castle in Warwickshire - 4/5 plus 4.5/5 - total of 8.5/10 = 3rd: Alvaston Hall Hotel in Cheshire – 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales – 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Littlecote House in Wiltshire - 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Nidd Hall in North Yorkshire - 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire - 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Bembridge Coast Hotel on the Isle of Wight - 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 3rd: Corton Coastal Village in Suffolk - 4/5 plus 4.4/5 - total of 8.4/10 = 4th: Holme Lacy House Hotel in Herefordshire - 4/5 plus 4.3/5 - total of 8.3/10 = 4th: Gunton Hall in Suffolk - 4/5 plus 4.3/5 - total of 8.3/10 = 4th: Lakeside Coastal Village in Hampshire - 4/5 plus 4.3/5 - total of 8.3/10 = 4th: Norton Grange Coastal Village on the Isle of Wight - 4/5 plus 4.3/5 - total of 8.3/10 5th: Cricket St. Thomas Hotel in Somerset - 4/5 plus 4.2/5 - total of 8.2/10 6th : Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds - 3.5/5 plus 4/5 - total of 7.5/10** As you'll have gathered, there's remarkable consistency between the Warner Leisure Hotels. Half of them score exactly the same with customers and there's barely anything between third place and last place. Sinah Warren Hotel in Hampshire is the winner with customers. However, TripAdvisor only scores in halves so it may not be quite as far ahead as the numbers suggest. After all, Studley Castle in Warwickshire actually gets a better review score on Google Reviews. **Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds was previously Heythrop Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club before being bought by Warner Leisure in 2018. Warner spent about £40 million on it. Most of the reviews you find online are actually for the old hotel which used to be there. Which Warner Leisure Hotel is in the best location?There are a few ways to figure out which Warner Leisure Hotel is in the best location. Six of Warner Leisure's resorts are in coastal locations in Suffolk, Hampshire or the Isle of Wight. The other resorts are inland and are described as country hotels. Of course, that may narrow your choice down right away. If you want to be able to see the sea then there are only really three locations to choose from - Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Suffolk. However, you might just be thinking of convenience and a short journey. To get you started, we'll look at journey times from big cities around the UK. Nearest Warner Leisure Hotels from LondonFrom Central London there are four Warner Leisure resorts which about 1 hour 45 minutes drive. The two closest country hotels are Heythrop Park or Littlecote House Hotel whilst the two closest coastal resorts are Lakeside Coastal Village or Sinah Warren Coastal Hotel. If you want to visit Bembridge Coast Hotel on the Isle of Wight then it is a similar length journey to Portsmouth. However, the total travel time is longer as you then catch a 40 minute ferry (sometimes included in the cost of the hotel) and then drive for about 15 minutes on the Isle of Wight. If you don't want to drive, then you can reach either Heythrop Park or Littlecote House Hotel with a train journey from London which takes about 60-70 minutes followed by a 10 minute taxi ride. Lakeside Coastal Village and Sinah Warren Coastal Hotel are both about 90 minutes on the train followed by a 15 minute taxi. Nearest Warner Leisure Hotels from ManchesterAlvaston Hall Hotel is the closest Warner Leisure Hotel to Manchester by car. It'll take you about an hour to drive from the centre of the city. Bodelwyddan Castle is also quite nearby at about 1 hour 20 minutes drive. It's closer to the coast but not right by the sea. There isn't a Warner Coastal Village near to Manchester. You'll need to trek to Suffolk which is about four hours in the car. If you're travelling by train then you'll need to head for Crewe railway station which is about 30 minutes from Manchester. You then get a taxi to Alvaston Hall Hotel which is about 10 minutes. Nearest Warner Leisure Hotels from BirminghamFrom Birmingham, it's only a 35 minute drive to Warner's Studley Castle Hotel. Holme Lacy House Hotel and Heythrop Park are also quite convenient at around 1 hour 20 minutes drive. Getting to Studley Castle Hotel is a bit trickier by train from Birmingham. You'll need to get a train from Birmingham to Redditch which takes about 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute taxi journey. As you may guess, getting to a coastal Warner hotel takes a bit more determination from Birmingham. Your shortest drive will be about three hours to Sinah Warren Coastal Hotel or Lakeside Coastal Village which are both in Hayling Island in Hampshire. What's the difference between a Warner Leisure Hotel and a Warner Leisure Coastal Village?You will have noticed there is some difference in how the 15 Warner Leisure locations are described. Some are hotels, some are villages, some are castles . The difference between them might help you decide which type of holiday you want. Warner's Coastal Villages have lots of separate accommodation units which are described as chalets and lodges. You still have access to shared facilities but it is more like a holiday park or lodge park layout with a range of accommodation depending on your budget. For example, at Norton Grange Holiday Village on the Isle of Wight you can choose from grades of accommodation with names like 'Standard Chalet' (£) 'Premier Chalet' (££) and 'Garden Suite' (£££). The chalets are on a single storey, so if you want a sea view then you need to study the maps on the Warner Leisure website. For example, at Corton Coastal Village in Suffolk the best views are from the 23 Deben Clifftop lodges whilst the Waveney Suites are further back. Warner's Hotels are large buildings with lots of rooms (you probably guessed that much). However, it's worth realising that you may not actually be staying in the historic building shown in the brochures. Instead, you may well be staying in other accommodation around the site. This is made clear when you choose your room. Littlecote House Hotel for example is more than 500 years old and is Grade I listed. Only 12 of the bedrooms are within the house itself whilst there are about 200 rooms in more modern buildings called Kennet Hall and The Stables. If you want to stay in the older building, look for rooms described as 'historic'. Which is the largest Warner Leisure Resort?The size of a holiday resort isn't necessarily relevant, as it's more about the facilities on offer. However, it may be a factor in your decision making. You may prefer quieter and smaller resorts or you might prefer the atmosphere and buzz of a larger Warner Leisure Hotel. We've ranked them in order of how many rooms they have, from highest to lowest.
It's interesting that the biggest Warner Leisure Hotel by far is also the newest - Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds. Which Warner Leisure Resort has the most facilities and activities?We've attempted to pull together the main facilities and activities at all the Warner Leisure Hotels into a handy table:
What can we take away from this great big list of information? There is admirable consistency at Warner Leisure Hotels. Whichever resort you choose, you will be able to do things like archery, crossbow, croquet and rifle shooting as well as some indoor activities. However, there are some notable differences:
Which is the cheapest Warner Leisure Hotel/Coastal Village?Here's my favourite part of the blog! Inevitably, a price comparison throws up some oddities and isn't 100% helpful. We are just looking at one set of dates but it's still interesting nonetheless. We searched for a seven night break for two people in early July 2024. We looked for the cheapest room available including dinner, bed and breakfast as well as access to the facilities and all entertainment. From cheapest to most expensive:
*At the time of typing, this includes free Isle of Wight ferry travel which is worth about £100-£200 depending on the time of year. So, based on our limited price comparison we can see a pretty wide range in prices at Warner Leisure Hotels. We searched about a year in advance and found that the two Suffolk resorts were about £700 less than the newest resort (Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds, which appears to be a flagship). A big group of resorts are in the £1100 - £1400 price range for the dates we looked at. Which Warner Leisure Hotel has the grandest building and the most interesting history?Part of the appeal of a Warner Leisure holiday is that they have some impressive old buildings amongst their hotels. There are five which are particularly historic and have either a Grade I listing or Grade II* which means it is more important than a Grade II.
There are four other Warner Leisure Hotels which are Grade II listed.
As I mentioned earlier, there are usually a few rooms in the historic house and then further accommodation in the grounds surrounding the properties. Bembridge Coast Hotel on the Isle of Wight is a bit different as there are more than 200 rooms in the main house. Conclusion - which is the best Warner Leisure Hotel or Coastal Village?On reviews alone, there isn't much between the Warner Leisure Hotels...but Sinah Warren Hotel in Hampshire is the winner and it's also good value.
Heythrop Park in the Cotswolds is the biggest and most expensive resort in our comparisons. It currently scores a little lower in review scores. Reviews are certainly not the only thing you should look at though when choosing a Warner Leisure Hotel. None of them get poor reviews and there is only 0.3 points between 2nd place and 14th place in our review comparison. There's a much greater range in prices in our comparison of a week's holiday for two people in July. Of course, we only looked at one set of dates but the difference is notable. Studley Castle in Warwickshire came second in our reviews ranking but it was also the second most expensive Warner Leisure Hotel. You might be tempted to save yourself hundreds of pounds to stay somewhere which is slightly less grand. Sea views are a big factor for me. If you are looking for a coastal village then I would start with either Corton Coastal Village in Suffolk or Bembridge Coast Hotel on the Isle of Wight. They tied on reviews but Corton Coastal Village was a little bit cheaper in our price comparison. Bembridge Coast has a couple of extra facilities onsite, but otherwise they have quite a lot in common. Proximity may be the deciding factor for you. Of course, the novelty of a ferry crossing and a holiday on an Island may also be appealing.
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