Jo Ansell

Only happened on this venue by accident one lunchtime, what a lucky find! To the casual passerby it looks like an upmarket garden centre. .. but it's an unmissable, eccentric experience. A large airy cafe stuffed with extraordinary furniture and quirky lighting, this place is an absolute one-off. The garden looked beautiful too, but being was a stormy, rainy day it was viewed from the cosy indoors. The atmosphere is incredible, calm and welcoming with two super-chilled friendly cats and and a sweet elderly dog, all accompanied by mellow jazz and the the soothing percussion of the rain on the roof. The food was great, which led to buying cakes to takeaway - they were exquisite.What a great place with lovely friendly staff. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Was delighted to have found such a beautiful and quirky place this morning after being let down at another place for breakfast…. Found Bloomsbury’s by chance. We ordered coffees and breakfast… waited over half an hour for our coffee. There were a handful of other people being served so not overly busy. We then heard a few whispers from staff that our breakfast had gone to another table yet no one actually come to tell us. The table opposite us had paid another parties bill, the table next to us left and the ladies over in the corner who had been in there just as long as ourselves, had still not received their drinks. My husband went to find out what was going on only to be told that what I had ordered was the last of what they had!The staff were friendly enough but very poor communication, very unorganised and super slow!It’s a shame as I was impressed with the surroundings and had just sent my friend a photo thinking that she would also like it. I’ve told her not to bother and we won’t be going back.Maybe the tables could do with numbers, the staff should write orders down and a bit of communication if there’s a problem? More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

The staff were friendly and fantastic massage. It was a beautiful setting. Food was lovely and felt relaxed. Few things to be tweaked. New, long fluffy robes. It was cold during my massage and throughout my stay. Showers in our building did not work well. Bigger and bubblier hot tub. I wd def go back. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We booked our wedding with Bloomsbury’s at the beginning of 2020 for August that year. Sadly due to Covid we weren’t able to go ahead. Between March and July we emailed and called the Bloomsbury’s owners, Russell and Claudia, numerous times for updates. We requested updates on our options for if we wanted to go ahead with a very small wedding or if we wanted to postpone, but rarely got any responses. Even before Covid hit, we tried to contact Russell and Claudia on many occasions to organise parts of our wedding, including food arrangements, but rarely got any responses.Sadly, in the end we had absolutely no confidence in Claudia and Russell to organise our wedding, and the fact that we were paying them to do so, yet having to chase and chase on everything, just made us feel like they didn’t care about our special day, and we were wasting our money.We therefore decided to cancel our wedding with Bloomsbury’s, despite loving the venue and location, as we could no longer trust the owners. We endured 7 long months of trying to reclaim our deposit from Bloomsbury’s through emails, going back and forth. We had to quote the CMA Government guidelines and laws around deposits being refunded in Covid circumstances numerous times to Russell and Claudia, as they were outright refusing to return our deposit, despite these laws. They never provided us with a correct breakdown of their costs incurred, as evidence for withholding our deposit. Most of the time, Russell and Claudia did not bother replying to us, or worse would send disgraceful, rude, bullying, intimidating, personally insulting emails to us. Their behaviour, particularly that of Russell has been absolutely abhorrent.From the moment we booked with Bloomsbury’s, we were never made to feel like their customers – we had to do more work than they did!Eventually Russell and Claudia took advice from their solicitor who advised them that they were required to return our deposit to us in these circumstances. However, they have kept £300 for “reasonable expenses incurred”. They quote refurbishments to their venue and staff time for these, as part of what they have withheld this for. We sent them government guidelines which state that they are not able to withhold our money for those reasons. They ignored us.Eventually we had to accept their refund minus the £300, which we class as theft. We just could not bare to continue communicating with either Russell nor Claudia. We lost so much time trying to reclaim our costs from them and had our wedding at another venue booked in for this year, which we needed to focus on. We’ve now realised how awful Bloomsbury’s is as a wedding venue since booking with another – the customer service and support is day and night! Numerous other venues and vendors shared our views of Bloomsbury's too unfortunately.I would hate for anyone else to be subjected to what we went through over the past year. It seems that a lot of reviews about their glamping and about Claudia and Russell’s customer service are also very negative, so we certainly aren’t the only ones to have been subjected to this behaviour unfortunately, which is just unacceptable.I’m sure that Russell will say that this is all lies, make excuses, and be abusive as he was to us in our private messages, and as he has done to every other person on here that has left a negative review of them. We wish we had taken notice of those negative reviews when we booked!Please don't put yourself through the experience we had. There are numerous other glamping sites and beautiful wedding venues with fantastic customer services in the area, which are far superior.We are currently in communications with local councils and national organisations regarding Russel and Claudia's behaviour to ensure no-one else is subjected to it.I just want to make an important note that The Heritage Kitchen have now taken over the café / restaurant at Bloomsbury’s, so this review is nothing to do with them, and by the looks of it they are doing a fantastic job! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We booked last minute as a little break as part of our honeymoon. It was beyond perfect and we could not have wished for more. We have never stayed anywhere quite like it before as it was do quirky and really quite unique. We will be returning as soon as we can. We booked the Wild Rose Retreat as it sounded like just what we needed after a busy time planning our wedding. The lodge was amazing. Warm, cosy and very private. The wood fired hot tub is the icing on the cake and really not that difficult to get the hang of as long as you keep stirring the water, while it is heating.Thalia was an amazing host and responded quickly to any questions or requests that we had. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and the restaurant was a great addition for breakfast.We walked into The village a couple of times which only takes 10 minutes and had a couple of trips out during the day.I am so happy that we found this place and will be back as soon as we possibly can. We really didn’t want to leave. Recommend 100% for complete relaxation. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

This place is absolutely beautiful. Thalia met us in the carpark on arrival and showed us to the cabin. Both the grounds and the inside of the accommodation are very quaint and stylish. The restaurant manageress was very professional and couldn't do enough to help. Will most definitely be returning in the future. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Had to wait for to long for the food, but it wasn't very nice! I was hoping for money off the bill but that didn't to ahead, felt a bit sick after, but nice interior decorations.

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Delicious, fresh salads in a beautiful setting. What a relaxing lunch venue. Will definitely return

Reviewed on Google Maps

Beautiful setting with bees & butterflies & very relaxing outdoor tables. Unfortunately we found the food to be very basic & very expensive. We’re both vegan - my husband had the vegan breakfast for £12. It honestly wouldn’t have satisfied a toddler & was unimaginative. 2 sausages, small pot of beans, half of a small avocado, some tiny roasted tomatoes & a very thin slice of sourdough toast. We were told there were no mushrooms to be had. Disappointingly, he was given a dairy butter packet for his toast ☹️They could do sooooooo much better, we really wanted to enjoy our meal but we wouldn’t eat here again. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Lovely birthday spa day and cream tea at Bloomsbury’s , a gift for a friend. Beautiful garden, lovely food, fantastic facial and massage with friendly and professional staff. Such a lovely day, thank you!

Reviewed on Google Maps

Another wonderful Erving at Bloomsburys,great music....Tony o Malloy and backing group. Good food lovely people great atmosphere.

Reviewed on Facebook

It was so beautiful and peacefull and everyone was so friendly ❤️

Reviewed on Google Maps

The buildings are in need of quite a bit of repair. The food was mediocre, drink prices seemed very high considering the state of the place. The staff were very friendly and made up for the other negatives. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Quirky and novel (of you like that) but grumpy staff and suicidal music! Food good and fresh but a bit pricey

Reviewed on Google Maps

Sadly we did not get a very warm welcome in the cafe. We were told that they were closing soon (20 mins) in a way that did not encourage us to stay. A strange attitude when running a business! Would not go back. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Not what I expected for a wedding venue ???? the food wasn't great and neither were the toilets ????

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Booked last minute as we were in the area - quite a limited sunday lunch menu, hence did not expect much but the pork sunday roast dinner was lovely! It also looks like a great place to have tea and cakes - would come back again if we were in the area again. More...

Reviewed on Opentable

Great atmosphere, excellent food.

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

It was a lovely place staff was lovely and good food and atmosphere.

Reviewed on Facebook

The owner (middle aged lady) may be the rudest and most simpering, obnoxious person I have ever had the displeasure to be served by. …MoreThe owner (middle aged lady) may be the rudest and most simpering, obnoxious person I have ever had the displeasure to be served by. Upon arrival we were immediately greeted with the question "why are you here?". She had no record of our booking despite having received email confirmation from the husband during the week prior. All of the tables were nearly as dirty as the tatty rugs they sat on. 6 drinks (2 coffee, 4 juice) took over 30 minutes to arrive at the table. Having reminded the owners that we had ordered drinks we were informed that they were 2 staff down, hence the delay. Food took another 30 mins to arrive and the order was wrong. No apology was offered - In fact, the attitude of the woman owner was that it was our fault. The bill also took a very long time to come and was incorrect. Again, the lady owner felt that this was our fault for not tracking what we had ordered! Their dog was allowed to roam freely around the establishment and decided to bite my shoe as I tried to pay. Again, no apology given for lack of control over their pet. Ultimately, you could not pay me to go back - the entire experience was infuriating fom start to finish. I am not the least bit surprised that they were understaffed as working for someone like that must be an absolute nightmare. A real shame as the setting is great but I could never reccomend the place to anyone until there is a change in the management or a paradigm shift in their attitudes. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Very friendly, food was delicious and love the laid back vibe!

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

On my post round a lovely place

Reviewed on Google Maps

Magical location. Highly recommended for wedding and glamping.

Reviewed on Google Maps

Lovely people a little gem in the kent countryside.

Reviewed on Google Maps

Absolutely loved staying here for a relaxing girls getaway. Beautiful surroundings, yoga in the grounds, beauty treatments, amazing food. Claudia, Russel and the rest of the staff couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming if they’d tried- fantastic hosts. We can’t wait to return xx More...

Reviewed on Facebook

I was lucky enough to have my wedding here At Bloomsbury’s and was not disappointed, it was by far the best day of my life, they were super helpful and nothing was to much, the staff went above and beyond to make me feel relaxed and happy and the food was AMAZING. The atmosphere is relax and friendly and I can’t thank each and everyone of them for making it so fantastic. A special thanks to Claudia and Russell for co-ordinating everything and making the whole day run smoothly and to Stan who is most definitely the man! Thanks again, Bloomsbury’s will always have a special place in our heart ❣ xxxxx More...

Reviewed on Facebook

The Staff and amazing Claudia couldn't have done more to make my daughter's wedding totally awesome ❤️ this place is magical as a venue for important moments or a sandwich and a cuppa stunning place ❤️❤️

Reviewed on Facebook

Second visit to this magical place, beautiful setting and all the staff are amazing !!! Will be back for sure ❤️❤️❤️

Reviewed on Facebook

The perfect wedding! Can't thank everyone here enough for making our day so special. It's an amazing place, truly unique. x

Reviewed on Facebook

Great service and atmosphere. Needs a better range of food.

Reviewed on Google Maps

What an amazing place ,it's got a beautiful garden area and overall good day out for the family

Reviewed on Google Maps

Brilliant glamping venue for all the family. Good BBQ kitchen area for gathering and restaurant on site. Enjoyed evenings around the fire pit baking potatoes and warming marshmallows. .. Great for children and adults with lots of room to play all those ball games. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Fun

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Reviewed on Google Maps

Just fantastic, service & food

Reviewed on Facebook

Great food and friendly staff, love the decor and dog friendly too

Reviewed on Facebook