Denbies Wine Estate Reviews Summary

Accommodation

Pros:

• "The accommodation was clean & easy in the eye. I would say for the UK a very nice 3 star room."
• "The hotel was clean, comfortable and in a stunning location."
• "Room was good, as was the food. The overnight package with dinner does represent good value."

Cons:

• "Had a dinner in the Gallery Restaurant which was dreadful."
• "For the tour itself they shuttle you up a hill and straight back down, without stopping which was odd."
• "Standard check out is at 11am but if you need to get on the road early then maybe no breakfast."
• "But on return our room was locked, key cards not working."

Service

Pros:

• "The afternoon tea was the best I have ever had, and the service was brilliant."
• "The staff are all very pleasant and polite."
• "The staff couldn't have done enough for you and made you feel really welcome."
• "All staff throughout the estate were friendly and helpful."
• "The staff were friendly and very attentive."

Cons:

• "Downside rude lady (wearing glasses) at reception!"
• "Nice wines - however appalling and slow service from apathetic staff who lacked knowledge of products."
• "Went for a wine tasting, although the food and wine parings were nice, the staff seemed to had forgotten us, waiting up to 30mins between wines."
• "Staff were not apologetic about it either and didn't put any signs up indicating items were unavailable even after customers asked them too."
• "The staff serving the wine knew nothing about them, couldn't tell me what grapes were in the majority of them."
• "The staff were extremely rude when we complained."
• "Most peculiar experience. Couldn’t have been made to feel more unwelcome by reception !"

Food & Drink

Pros:

• "Lunch was delicious, beautifully cooked salmon in lovely sauce."
• "Food was good, probably made better by the delicious wines."
• "The wines here are amazing and their wine and sparkling wines are perfect."
• "The food was bursting with flavour, decently priced, and just an all round wonderful dining experience."
• "The wines are of course a must and the Rose was very good with our roast beef."
• "Their wine is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."

Cons:

• "Certainly not worth £25 per head."
• "£4.80 for the teas.. Waste of money."
• "For children you can only spend £6.50 for either a uninteresting meal (fish fingers, chips, beans) or for a lunch box with half a cheese sandwich, three sweet treats (chocolate cake, gingerbread men AND a snowball) and a satsuma."
• "Absolutely shocking customer service."
• "The Conservatory Restaurant for lunch is a basic canteen offering, no kids menu, food and is very average."
• "Whilst the surroundings and service was lovely, this is extremely expensive for what you get."
• "The food is quite expensive but considering the beautiful area not prohibitive."

Venue & Location

Pros:

• "The estate is beautiful, with amazing views, ideal for a walk."
• "The surrounding countryside is lovely, especially when the weather is good."
• "The grounds and walks are beautiful..."
• "A beautiful spot with lots of vines."
• "The venue is superb, beautiful drive up to the main building."
• "Beautiful place for a sunday country walk around this 265 arces vineyard, located near Dorking in part of the stunning Surrey hills with fabulous views overlooking Box Hill."

Cons:

• "It was OK, but expansion has lost its intimacy."
• "This is extremely expensive for what you get."
• "Disappointing. I mean, the estate is beautiful. A gorgeous setting full of amazing vines over rolling hills in England! The experience was not great."
• "Outdoor eating options are slow and have a very limited menu."
• "Not a great atmosphere despite relatively few people and vents in the roof."

Activities & Tours

Pros:

• "We had the wine and food pairing tour and it was amazing."
• "The tour was excellent as was the guide who was very entertaining and informative."
• "The outdoor tour is a land train which takes you up through the estate with several stops for lectures and photo opportunities."
• "Highly Recommend - bought my daughter a voucher for Christmas for two, for the train ride and afternoon tea."
• "Had the tour round the vineyards. Beautiful scenery."
• "The wine tour is interesting, with a friendly, knowledgeable guide plus you can take a land-train tour of the vineyard (or have a leisurely walk)."

Cons:

• "We wanted to do wine tasting but it had been cancelled so we did the land train tour and had a glass of sparkling wine which was nice."
• "For the tour itself they shuttle you up a hill and straight back down, without stopping which was odd."
• "Too many people in the group, around 40, and with children!"
• "The outdoor tour with one glass of sparkling wine is not worth the money."
• "Disappointed by the actual winery tour, as due to covid restrictions you only get to watch a video and taste a few wines."
• "Couple of things could be improved: Would be better to do the commentary over a mic, as there were elderly people on the tour who couldn't hear."
• "However after our tour group of 30 had spent approximately 1500 pounds we were informed that the land train was unavailable to return the group to the coach so they had to walk in the hot sun which was unacceptable for such an elderly group."