Hotel de Vie
22 Firgrove Hill, Farnham GU9 8LQ England
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About
#5 of 19 B&Bs / Inns in Farnham
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Hotel de Vie is a relaxing adults-only Boutique Hotel/B&B with eight luxuriously-fitted bedrooms and is popular for both couples looking for a romantic getaway or for Farnham business travellers looking for a quiet place to relax throughout the week. The freshly-cooked breakfasts and fast, free wifi are included in the room rate. Only a short walk from the historic Farnham town centre and Farnham station, Hotel de Vie regularly wins TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for consistently being one of the highest-rated hotels in Farnham. The child-free policy gives a quiet and sophisticated elegance to the lounge area which is only open to residents, so guests can enjoy the private bar and restaurant and get away from the stresses of everyday life and work.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Free breakfast
Bar / lounge
Baggage storage
Non-smoking hotel
Restaurant
Complimentary Instant Coffee
Complimentary tea
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Room features
Bathrobes
Desk
Housekeeping
Seating area
Telephone
Flatscreen TV
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Bottled water
Iron
Hair dryer
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Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Romantic
Charming
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
69Somewhat walkable
Grade: 69 out of 100
52Restaurantswithin 1 km
16Attractionswithin 1 km
Contact
22 Firgrove Hill, Farnham GU9 8LQ England
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319Reviews3Q+A60Room tips
Reviews
Traveller rating
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Most Recent
We have stayed at hotel de vie a few times before so I didn’t bother to read more recent reviews, I really wish I had. I booked a surprise valentines break for my husband and I but when we arrived the door was locked and could get no response. We tried calling the number but it kept coming up as call failed. We tried to message through Facebook and emails but without success. Only 3 days earlier they had advertised on Facebook that there was availability for the valentines weekend. We returned home and that is when through searching my emails there was one that hadn’t made it to my inbox saying they had cancelled our booking due to maintenance. I only booked three weeks earlier so I’m pretty certain they would have known if they were going to be doing maintenance and there was no sign of any work being under taken yet the lights were on in the bar area. It seems very much like this happens on a regular basis looking at the reviews which is a real shame as we have enjoyed previous stays here. I guess the management have given up. I emailed them as I hadn’t received the refund they had said they would process in their email 5 days before we were due to stay. I did suggest that as they hadn’t received a response to their email which had offered us a drink on them if we rebooked, that they should have called as you have to give your telephone number when booking. Needless to say I still haven’t had a response but thankfully I do have my refund. Not sure if that might be because I said I would action a section 75 claim if it wasn’t forthcoming. No way to run a hotel we certainly won’t be going back…
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
3 Helpful votes
Helpful
Booked a room in July for one off anniversary present for tonight 13th Jan Noticed that the hotel was adults only and had love Swings. Emailed the hotel to ask for reservations in restaurant for evening meal and breakfast. Emailed back, sorry we cancelled your reservation 6 weeks ago due to planned maintenance in hotel. When asked, it that case where is my refund, got told - - - we will sort it out eventually. Keep looking at your bank account and hopefully it should be there within next few months. WHAT THE HELL!!!! Emailed hotel again 4 times no reply Called number on website - - number unobtainable DON'T STAY AT THIS HOTEL THEY ARE CON ARTISTS. Went to hotel to see if I can get money back there and then. Very abusive, rude and threatening. Stay away
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
5 Helpful votes
Helpful
Well where to begin! A Christmas get together with friends Friday to Sunday, 14 of us 7 couples. Booked through AirBnb On arrival the place was not ready, no great issue but perhaps a call to inform us of this. Most rooms did not have toilet rolls, room 5 still had poo down the toilet. The whole place felt grubby from rooms to lounge area. Seats/settees are tired and worn out. Very limited hot water if you were lucky to get any. Being used as Airbnb we had access to the kitchen, umm not to sure I should comment further. I can say if you are using it as Airbnb kitchen utensil are limited and washing up liquid no existent. Only positives on site parking and good location to the town. At best 2 star fortunately for us our friends company made the weekend. I would not recommend and will not return for what was an expensive venue.…
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
I am writing this review as like myself you read reviews of people’s experiences and make and informed choice. I emailed the hotel with the grievance that there had clearly and unequivocally been misrepresentation in what the hotel was offering – namely a fully cooked breakfast (maybe minor to some but a matter of principle and important to me). In this email I also mentioned, in passing, other issues which I felt should be brought to light. Instead of using these comments constructively the manager jumped on them missing my point entirely. He made it quite clear that he had upgraded me, which he offered, very kindly, unrequested - the hotel was clearly very empty. He also said he would not charge me for the one course meal I had the previous night – again offered at the time of me asking if I could order breakfast. What really irks me is the fact that he missed the whole point “misrepresentation” and it is a matter of principle that I am writing this. You may ask what was his response - I would gladly publish this but am sure you have better things to do than read it. Suffice to say his response to me ended as follows:- “you are free and have the right to leave a bad review but remember, we will reply explaining 'the whole thing', so we have the last word” There is no explanation just fact – the item of sale was misrepresented. It was your attitude and your final sentence that encouraged me to review your hotel. Maybe admitting the issue and not trying to use BREXIT as an excuse would have been more gracious.…
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Date of stay: April 2019Trip type: Travelled solo
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
4 Helpful votes
Helpful
Response from HdV_Owner, Manager at Hotel de Vie
Responded 9 May 2019
This guest called and emailed us several times insisting on booking a room at a discounted price. We offered her a free upgrade with a Continental breakfast included, instead of the usual Full English. From the moment she checked in she started complaining about absolutely everything, especially the fact that the hotel was a bit empty (over and over again), despite us explaining that other guests were either out in town or had not arrived yet and we mentioned in passing that we have had less international guests recently. In the morning she complained about the lack of 'Full English' even though we explained to her when she arrived that there would be a continental breakfast available, so we told her we would not charge her for her dinner to avoid confrontation - I actually barely slept the night she stayed because of the stress this guest gave me while she was here and because I knew what I'd be dealing with in the morning. Then she sent us an email, threatening us with leaving a bad review if we didn't give her a full refund, which we didn't, and unfortunately here we are. I'm almost of a suspicion that she was a competitor coming to cause trouble as I've very rarely had to deal with a guest like this in almost 6 years of running Hotel de Vie.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
My wife booked this as a wedding anniversary gift last November. We'd been looking forward ever since. 5 hours before check in we received an automated your room is cancelled email. My wife tried for two hours to get through to them. Eventually a cleaner answered and said the hotel was booked out for a private party. She then gave us the number for the manager. Again no answer so we tried texting. All this while travelling to the hotel. After an hour we received a text saying that there was a leak in the room we booked and it was out of use. Barely an apology and not even a verbal phone call. I said he needed to find us another hotel as we were on our way and currently without a room for the night. He just said there aren't any others like his so that was up to us. What a disgrace. No way to run an establishment and certainly not a hotelier. We ended up at the Princess Royal and had an excellent stay.…
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Date of stay: April 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Response from HdV_Owner, Manager at Hotel de Vie
Responded 9 May 2019
The leak in the room booked by the guests started the night before and could not be fixed before the guest's arrival time so we unfortunately had to send two cancellation emails explaining that we would need to cancel their reservation as we had no other rooms available. While discussing the situation with the guest we supplied the details of two alternative local accommodations which I personally checked had similar-quality rooms available on the day and were a similar price - one of which was the Princess Royal where they decided to book. The cleaner explained to the guests that the hotel was booked out the previous day for a private party, not that day, which seems to have confused the guest. Unfortunately there is nothing we could have done to prevent this on this occasion and the guest did book at the alternative accommodation we suggested. We preferred on this occasion to give the guest a choice of places to book rather than automatically booking them into another accommodation as we knew it was their wedding anniversary and believed it better for them to make the decision of where they should spend it. I understand the guest's frustration at being cancelled on but for health and safety reasons we were not able to accommodate them and alternative accommodation was supplied (which they booked).
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We have stayed at hotel de vie several times before, sadly we won’t be back as our stay last Saturday was very disappointing. We waited for 15 minutes for breakfast, in an empty room, and nobody came to serve us. We rang the bell 4 times. Eventually we gave up and rang the out of hours number, and was told that the receptionist should have told us that only a continental breakfast was available when we checked in. She didn’t and a menu showing a full breakfast was in our room, and advertised on the website when we booked. When I questioned this, the story changed and I was then told that because we didn’t pre-order a cooked breakfast (we weren’t asked to) we weren’t getting anything! The continental breakfast on offer was a joke, there wasn’t even a plate available to use, just bowls. The cheese was pre-packed burger cheese! The bread was wrapped in cling film, completely unappetising so we left not eating anything. The member of staff who checked us in was not friendly. On our way out to dinner the bar was closed and we would have stayed for a drink. No snacks in the fridge were there as advertised. The coffee pods which were advertised in our room were not there. On our way home from dinner (9.30pm so not at all late) the bar appeared closed, although we rang the bell and asked for a drink. We were told that the beer was not cold, and it appeared the fridges were not even turned on. Why not have fridges turned on when you have paying guests and have advertised bar facilities? The toileteries in the room were poor quality, (I recognised supermarket own brand labels) and there was no bubble bath which was a shame when the main selling point for that room was the huge bath. Not what I would expect when paying for one of the best suites. Having been to the hotel before and loved it, we won’t be back, we felt unwelcome and it felt as though the hotel owners had given up. I emailed the hotel as soon as we got home and they haven’t even bothered to reply.…
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from HdV_Owner, Manager at Hotel de Vie
Responded 9 May 2019
We are sorry that these guests were not satisfied on their return visit with us. I checked these guests in, smiling and friendly as always (why wouldn't I?). The bar was open all the time and the guests ordered drinks at 9:30pm which was just after we'd turned the fridges off for the evening. Because they had been turned off we offered to put the drinks in an ice bucket which the guests were happy about and then they took the drinks to their rooms - I don't know why they are saying 'it appeared closed' as they ordered drinks at 9:30pm and could also have done the same before they went out to dinner. Our bar is for guests only and we only have 8 rooms, so it is very unusual that more than 2 rooms are drinking in the bar at one time - this doesn't mean we are closed, it means we are exclusively there for you. I did tell the partner of the reviewer that they needed to preorder the cooked breakfast for the morning, so it seems that he forgot to tell the reviewer in the evening. It is possible that he realised his mistake in the morning but was still happy for us to take the blame. Our story did not change, but we preferred not to tell the guest over the phone that their partner had been informed to avoid conflict, and unfortunately it has resulted in this 1 star review for us. Our continental breakfast is the standard of croissants, yoghurts, toast, fruit, cereals etc (we have recently introduced this due to demand as many guests prefer this option as they either don't like a fry-up first thing in the morning or they are in a rush and don't wish to wait for us to cook food to order). It is included in the rate and for the guests that have preordered a cooked breakfast the night before they are also welcome to help themselves from the continental breakfast and we have had a positive reaction to this. On this occasion our toiletries delivery was delayed and instead of having no toiletries, we ensured that the guests had toiletries available (which actually costs us more than when we have our bulk supplies).
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It served its purpose for an overnight stay when attending a wedding reception locally but was a slightly odd experience. Positives: free on-site parking; reasonably priced; comfortable mattress; good butcher’s sausages in the breakfast; happy to provide glasses and ice bucket if you take you own fizz to drink in your room. Negatives: shortage of hot water; don’t sell any crisps or nuts to go with drinks; while the self-service fridge in the dining room is a practical option, I didn’t expect to be pouring juice from cardboard cartons!
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Date of stay: December 2018Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
It's not a hotel, it's a B&B. I've no idea why it's called a hotel as it's in what was once a house in a row of other houses, the parking being behind it. Drive past on a dark night and you'll miss it. I've no doubt if you stay in one of the top priced rooms you'll have a lovely time but I didn't really. it was just a bit weird with an extremely small tv high up on a wall. The room we had was next to the main road so I wouldn't recommend opening the window because of the traffic noise. Also the decor is a little tired. Breakfast was good though and shower was very good.
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Date of stay: September 2018Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Rooms
Location
Service
Room Tip: try and get a room away from the front of the building
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Visited with my wife for our anniversary and stayed in the Scarlet suite. One big tip is when walking from the station do not trust google maps as it takes you down a busy road with no footpaths. Turn right not left. The room is as described by many others with the large bath etc. It could do with some sprucing up with a lick of paint but as it is always booked it is not straightforward. The bed was comfortable and ear plugs are provided as it is adjacent to a busy road. I do not understand other guest comments with regard to the breakfast as it was excellent and filling. We asked for a bottle of champagne for out room and it was an excellent bottle of Lanson.The bed linen had a really nice fresh smell. The staff were helpful and friendly and overall it was a great overnight break in a chilled out adults only hotel.…
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Date of stay: September 2018Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip: choose the best room possible
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
I have just read a review of the Scarlet Suite and agree with the comments. Uncomfortable mattress and the room, although large was tired. Again sockets in odd places made it awkward for simple things like using the hair dryer or phone charging etc. OK TV but not visible from the bed, so like other hotels with similar accommodation, another screen opposite the bed would be good, with a few more channels too. Breakfast in the room was tasty but not outstanding and the trolley with the food was just pushed into the room so we had to sort it all. It is a hotel with no staff, just one woman who appeared to do it all, hence my title about the establishment being soulless. One more thing, the toilet smelt of stale urine which although wasn't overpowering was a bit unpleasant.
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Date of stay: August 2018Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandSurreyFarnham
NUMBER OF ROOMS
8
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Frequently Asked Questions about Hotel de Vie
Which popular attractions are close to Hotel de Vie?
Nearby attractions include Farnham Park (0.9 km), Farnham Castle (1.0 km), and Farnham Maltings (0.3 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Hotel de Vie?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Hotel de Vie?
Top room amenities include a flat screen TV, a desk, and a seating area.
What food & drink options are available at Hotel de Vie?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Hotel de Vie?
Conveniently located restaurants include Yiayias at The Fox, The Queens Head, and Cafe Piccolo.
Is Hotel de Vie located near the city centre?
Yes, it is 0.7 km away from the centre of Farnham.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Hotel de Vie?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English and Spanish.
Are there any historical sites close to Hotel de Vie?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Waverley Abbey (2.8 km).