We stayed at Blakeney House for four nights. While the accommodation is comfortable and generally of a good standard, several minor points did not accord with our expectations of “luxury 5 star” accommodation or the previous excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.

We had been asked to confirm our arrival time, and I did this by return email, stating that we would be dining with a friend at Brancaster and arriving between 10 and 11PM, and that I would phone on the evening during dinner just to confirm this. When I made that call, the response seemed rather frosty, as if we had been expected earlier and had prevented the person we spoke to from going out. On arrival, we introduced ourselves but never found out the name or position of the person we dealt with.

As we planned to be out and about for the days, we had booked one of the relatively cheaper rooms rather than the suites that were mentioned when we first enquired. It was made clear that our room would be at the top of the house.

The weather was quite wintry and the room was cool when we arrived as the heating had gone off some time earlier.

The room was better than many I have stayed in. Both bedroom and adjoining bathroom were spacious; the bedroom could easily have accommodated a king-size bed, rather than the double. There was a wardrobe and plenty of drawers, three comfortable chairs, and a digital television with DVD player.

Everything was very clean, except for the outlet grid of the bathroom extractor fan, which was thick with an accumulation of dirt and grime. The towels were very large and fluffy, and we were provided with the usual small bottles of shampoo and body-wash (One of each between the two of us, and not replaced during our stay). There was a box of tissues on the bedside cupboard.

The main lighting was bright throughout the L-shaped room area, but was controlled by a single switch. This meant that it was not possible for one person to have a rest or to go to bed earlier than the other unless they could tolerate bright ambient light or the other person sat in the dark. A standard or table lamp in the sitting area could solve this problem.

Breakfast, in the elegant dining room, started well. There is a fresh fruit salad, timed prunes and grapefruit, bowls of yogurt and cereals and milk. I asked for decaffeinated coffee and was surprised to discover that only sachets of a very weak instant coffee were available. I really like to start my day with fresh coffee and I can’t drink regular. Nearly all ‘5 star’ establishments these days provide fresh decaff and I hadn’t thought to take my own in-cup filters or ground coffee. As I politely indicated my disappointment, I would also have thought that some could have been purchased for subsequent mornings, but this did not happen.

I also tried asking for tea with lemon, but the lemon had run out.

We had both ordered a selection of cooked items including bacon. Unfortunately, the bacon had a strong rancid fishy taste. Either the meat was tainted or it had possibly been fried in some rancid fat. We left the bacon and explained why, but did not receive any real apology or explanation. You’d think a proprietor would be mortified to discover they had offered a guest such sub-standard fare! Other breakfast items were fine and the serving staff was pleasant.

Another minor problem was that on windy nights the door of the unoccupied room next to ours rattled and banged through the night; I propped it open to avoid the banging disturbing us.

There is ample parking within the grounds and no doubt it would be pleasant to sit outside on one of the benches in the summer. However, on our third morning, we woke up to find several inches of snow on the ground and appeals on the radio for drivers to avoid non-essential journeys. We asked if the heating would be left on if we were unable to go out and were told that it went off at 9.30 although a fire would remain in the private lounge, which we could not use (there is no lounge for visitors). Surely the right answer at a ‘5-star’ establishment in these circumstances would have been ‘If your room gets cold, let us know and we can put the heating back on’?

On the plus side, the gardener had cleared a little path through the snow around the parked cars.

Blakeney House is not at all a bad place to stay, but on this experience falls short of being 5-star. That said, the "5 star" was awarded by the AA, whose ratings I have found seriously awry on some past occasions. A lesson there, perhaps.