Recently, my middle son, Alfie, and I took a trip to Burnley. He had saved up his pocket money and gave me a letter on Christmas Day saying he wanted to spend the money on a night away for the two of us. He said I have had a difficult year and worked hard, so he wanted to treat me and spend quality time together. It was the most thoughtful thing I have known an 11-year-old child to do. Alfie chose The Oaks in Burnley because I was born in the town, and he liked the photographs online. Here is our review of The Oaks in Burnley based on our stay in February 2023.
Where Is The Oaks? Details for The Oaks in Burnley
- Address: The Oaks, Colne Road, Burnley, BB10 2 LF
- Telephone: 01282 414141
- Website: https://lavenderhotels.co.uk/oaks
- The Oaks in Burnley is part of Lavender Hotels
The Rooms at The Oaks
We stayed in a family room with a double bed and a single bed, which was ideal for people visiting Burnley with kids. However, various room options are available, including single, twin, double, king-size, family rooms with an additional single bed and rooms with four-poster beds. All rooms at The Oaks have an ensuite bathroom.
I liked the décor, which included white and sage green walls with white and aubergine bedding. Upon inspection, the rooms were clean, tidy, and fresh smelling, as was the bathroom. Some of the room’s features included a kettle with a beverage tray, a hairdryer, and a wall-mounted television.
Does The Oaks in Burnley Have a Restaurant?
Yes, there is a restaurant at The Oaks in Burnley called Quills Restaurant. We ate both our breakfast and evening meal in the restaurant. Both are served in a double dining room with beautiful period features, including coving and fireplaces, and with large windows overlooking the garden.
The breakfast at The Oaks in Burnley includes both continental and hot breakfast options. We started with some cereal, fruit, and yoghurt from the continental food selection, and my son also had a croissant. We then both chose the English breakfast from the hot menu, and there is the option to leave off any items you choose to customize the breakfast to your taste. There are also some other hot options on the menu, including smoked kippers.
In the evening, there is a good selection of food on the menu at Quills Restaurant to suit all tastes. My son opted for the gourmet burger, which he said was delicious. I chose the steak with sides of peppercorn sauce and onion rings. My steak was cooked to perfection as per my request of medium rare. I was also pleased to discover the onion rings are homemade. Reformed onion rings are a pet hate of mine.
We decided not to have a starter to save room for the dessert. We both chose the same dessert, the chocolate brownie with rum and spiced cherry compote. It was nice enough, but nothing spectacular.
There was also a negative element to the food experience at the hotel, as it is not open for lunch service. We arrived hoping to eat lunch before heading out to the local area, but only a bar menu is served between 2.30 pm and 6 pm. It offers some cold sandwiches and a few hot snacks, but nothing to suit us, so we had to find somewhere else to eat in Burnley and opted for The Palazzo Italian restaurant in Burnley.
Other Facilities at The Oaks in Burnley
There are multiple facilities at The Oaks in Burnley for customers to enjoy. These include:
- Massage therapy
- Indoor swimming pool
- Two jacuzzies
- Sauna
- Gym
- Various fitness classes
- Free parking
- Free Wi-Fi
We used the swimming pool and Jacuzzis. Our only issue was the changing rooms. Some of the lockers are broken or difficult to unlock, and the air conditioning blowing into the room is freezing cold when you leave the pool area. I used the excellent massage services during a previous stay at this hotel.
Review of The Oaks Customer Service
Overall, the customer service at The Oaks was fine but a mixed bag. The two women in reception when we arrived were very helpful with our various enquiries and demonstrated a good sense of humour. Our waitress in the restaurant in the evening was excellent, as was another waiter who cleared our plates and chatted with us during service.
There was another waiter on duty, a teenager, who was dealing with a middle-aged group of four who had clearly started drinking on arrival. The drunker they became, the louder and more obnoxious they were, but the young man handled the situation brilliantly. We were quickly seated at breakfast by the fireplace, and the waitress was friendly and helpful.
The downside was the checkout experience. After breakfast, we went swimming, and my son took a towel from the room. The previous evening, there had not been a member of staff on the desk in the leisure club, so we were unaware there were towels available for guests in the leisure club.
Following our swim, I told my son to take the towel back to the room and leave it on the side of the bath. When he came back down, he said the cleaners had already cleaned our room, even though we had not yet checked out.
During checkout, I let the receptionist know that the cleaners had finished our room and that we had left a used towel in there. Her attitude was not great, rolling her eyes and complaining that now she would have to run around looking for someone to deal with the situation we had created. She couldn’t understand why we did not just leave it in the leisure club, but we didn’t know if the towels were the same or if the leisure club operated separately from the hotel.
I offered to go up and retrieve the towel to resolve the matter. The receptionist declined the offer but said she did not have direct contact with housekeeping and reiterated she would now have to waste her time running around the hotel looking for someone to move the towel. That is not the guest’s issue, and we offered to retrieve it ourselves. It wasn’t a big task to go and collect it herself. Her attitude put a bit of a dampener on the end of our stay.
Our Overall Experience
- The look: 5/5
- Cleanliness: 5/5
- Facilities: 5/5
- Rooms: 4/5
- Dining: 4/5
- Customer service: 4/5
Our scores reflect why The Oaks is one of the best hotels in Burnley. During our stay at The Oaks in Burnley, we also enjoyed some of the things to do, such as bowling, shopping at Burnley market, and a visit to Towneley Park. We then called in at Turtle Bay restaurant in Preston on our way home for some lunch.
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