Chilton Manor House

We really enjoyed the possibility of having the whole family together for a celebration.

Fascinating half an imposing house. The bedrooms were wonderfully spacious, the big living room was welcoming , spacious and cool and the kitchen just seemed to swallow people! Excellent range. It was one of the very hot weekends of the year, the top floor bedrooms were unbearably hot despite open windows, both teenagers decamped to the sitting room. The bones of a lovely sociable outdoor space,

The house is lovely and full of character with plenty of room for a large group and a great garden with a barbecue.

The kitchen is well equipped with crockery but providing dishwasher tablets and an extra tea towel would have been handy. On the first floor, there is a large gap in the beams at the top of the stairs and on the stairs to the top floor, there is also a missing section of balustrade. These could be safety risks for small children.

We stayed at the property 3 nights 2nd Jan.

We appreciate that it is an old listed property with a lot of character, and we wanted to share some feedback in the hope it will be helpful for future guests. There were a few safety concerns we felt were important to raise. The bannister on the stairs is broken and very wobbly, which felt unsafe. On the landing, the gaps between the beams are quite large — a baby or young child (up to around 7 years old) could easily climb through and fall to the floor below. Even placing a piece of furniture in front of the gap could help reduce this risk. In the main bathroom, stepping out of the bath felt quite dangerous, as the steps are very shallow. The back door was also extremely difficult to open — only the men in our group could manage it — which is particularly concerning in the event of a fire or other emergency. The back gate to the garden only has a latch, which could easily be opened by a stranger or allow a pet to escape onto the road. A bolt or, ideally, a lock and key would offer much better security. We also noticed several maintenance and cleanliness issues, including a taped-up broken window in the en-suite toilet, a tide mark around the radiator in the dining room, and décor in that room that could benefit from refreshing. The paintwork and wallpaper felt a bit grubby, and overall the house would benefit from a thorough spring clean. We understand it is an old listed building, but none of the internal doors shut properly, which added to the sense that things need attention. There were also a few practical touches missing that would have improved the stay: No Wi-Fi instructions were left — we eventually found them, but only after a lot of searching. No board games or takeaway menus were provided. There were no suitable tea towels for drying cutlery and crockery. As it was New Year, it would also have been a lovely touch to have some Christmas decorations or a tree. Additionally, one of the neighbours mentioned being frustrated by the directions given to guests, as they are apparently incorrect and people frequently arrive at his property by mistake, requiring him to redirect them. You may wish to consider adding a what3words reference to make the location easier to find. Finally, while the house has the potential to be a really beautiful place to stay if these issues were addressed, we would have been very disappointed had we paid the full price rather than sharing the cost with family. As things currently stand, we wouldn’t choose to stay again, but we genuinely hope this feedback is useful.