OK, so I'm telling you up-front that I'm picky so you decide but here are my thoughts on Barnsley Gardens in no particular order....Stayed here in April, 2010 for 3 nights.
Staff......very kind people very anxious that I have a good time. That makes up for a whole lot of stuff.
Room....OK, clean I guess but got here and the frig and one of the phones was broken. They do have turn-down service but not like I'm used to since no one tidied up the bathroom or cleaned out the wine glasses we had used. Oh and what you've all heard about the way hotels clean the glasses...well they did it here. We watched them just swish them clean with their hands. Ugh!! Fireplace caput for the year so we had that chimney smell in the living room. Also had to rearrange the furniture and move the rug in the living room in order to uncover the heating/cooling vent. A little air movement helped a lot.
I did like sitting out in the evening and having dinner on the porch but had to tussel with the outdoor furniture which needed a serious hosedown. They do have bonfires set-up throughout the property with chairs in front. Anybody can go out, light the fire and sit for a spell. We did and really enjoyed it.
Things to do....walking around is beautiful. The grounds are pretty. Don't miss the fir tree collection. For two high-rise city dwellers it was great to get back to hearing the birds and the rain coming down. I figure you've got about 2-4 hours of walking on groomed trails that you can do on the property without seeing anything twice. That's fun. There is also golfing, horseback riding, skeet shooting, canoeing and other stuff, none of which we did.
Now we get to the biggest disappointment. The Food. Service, excellent. Generous staff and management with wine tasting. Thanks Aaron. Food just OK or, if I wanted to be more complimentary, spotty. We're talking calamari that was cold ( so obviously not fresh) and swimming in a bottled sauce that just needed to be sprinkled on top. Had scallops the next night. They were nicely done but the dish was really kind of bland. Me lives 1 hour away in ATL and am lucky to eat out at the best and this was definitely not one of them. On top of that, since you're kind of out in the middle of nowhere, they take advantage of that and charge top dollar. Don't mind paying it, just want it to be worth it and it wasn't. Bottom line....if I had to find one big fault....and when I travel, food is a big part of the mix....it was the food. That's about the only reason I don't think I'll be coming back. Oh...make sure you look at the food bills. They add 20% gratuity onto the check for you so you don't need to tip.
So---to close-----I'll ask the same question I always ask myself. Would I come here again before I try some other resort. Nope. I'm still looking for something better.
Pros: Great walking tours
Cons: Need to spit and polish the place a bit
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