Great Place to Stay Date Of Visit - Feb 03, 2008 Date Of Review - Mar 27, 2008 My husband and I chose this resort due to its location so we could take day trips to other areas. We had intended on traveling with another couple and wanted a unit that would be big enough for 4 adults. The A Frame we stayed in was quite large. There were 2 large bedrooms and 2 large bathrooms on the main floor and 2 smaller rooms up stairs with sinks in each room. There was a third toilet down stairs also. The kitchen was well layed out and had 2 sets of dishes and cultery, one for everyday and one for special meals. The only thing I found lacking was enough frying pans to make a proper breakfast. It took a while to figure out how the oven and microwave worked even using the directions. The lounge and dining area were quite large and comfortable. The grounds are beautiful and in warmer weather would have had enough activities to keep a family busy. We had one meal at the dining room/ bar area and the food was very good and very reasonably priced. The staff were very helpful and polite. There are several small villages in the area plus some larger towns. My husband even managed to find an internet cafe so he could check his email. We would love to return to this timeshare and bring our grandkids with us. There was one major problem we encountered. The time share is called the Barnesdale Country Club in all the RCI communications, but it has been renamed the Barnesdale Hall Hotel for some time and that is what the signs say on the main road that indicate where to turn off to get to the timeshare. We drove by it 3 times before we figured out where to go. samstan 1

Beautiful location Date Of Visit - Oct 14, 2007 Date Of Review - Oct 29, 2007 We stayed at the Barnsdale Country Club for the week of October 14-21, 2007. The resort is located on Rutland Waters, a man-made reservoir. The resort surroundings are breathtaking. We stayed in Unit 24, which overlooks the water. The unit was a detached A-frame, with a large master bedroom and second bedroom with twin beds downstairs, and two small bedrooms with single beds upstairs. There were two full baths downstairs, and an additional small toilet facility downstairs, and a wash basin upstairs. The tubs had jets, and a relaxing soak at the end of the day was a great refresher. There was a sleeper/sofa in the large living room. Four adults could easily fit into this unit, but more than that would be pushing it. Two adults and several children could easily fit into the unit. The unit itself was nicely furnished with a full kitchen and plenty of plates/silverware, etc. There was a washer/dryer in the unit. The appliances were not intuitive. We spend an hour trying to figure out how to use the microwave. The unit has instruction manuals for the appliances. The restaurant on the property was surprisingly good. I would highly recommend the duck spring rolls. The bar restaurant was not so good. The resort had a Monday morning meeting to advise people about events occurring at/near the resort. We did not attend, though, as our week was pre-planned. The staff was very efficient. There was a weekly electricity fee of 30 or so pounds. A car is a must, as the resort is located four miles out of town. Oakham is a beautiful village. The great hall of a castle remains, and the church is beautiful. I highly recommend the Barnsdale Gardens. Oakham is small, and can easily be toured in a morning. In fact, most of the little towns in the area such as Melton Mowbray and Stamford can be seen in a day. Beside these towns, there is not a lot to do in the area if you do not like nature walks and cycling. You can, however, easily venture out on the train for day trips, as we did. We went from Oakham to Chester (hard to do, and I would not recommend it), York, Cambridge, and London. All but Cambridge require a change of trains in Peterborough. If you don’t mind train travel, it’s a nice way to see this part of the country. sugar314 2

Roomy unit and great location Date Of Visit - Apr 30, 2006 Date Of Review - May 25, 2006 This resort has been reviewed a lot, so I'll keep this short. This was our second stay at Barnsdale. We were in unit 26, a large A frame with 4 bedrooms and 2 & 1/2 baths. (RCI lists it as a 3 bedroom). Well equipped. Well maintained. We used this as a base for day trips of which there are plenty of choices in the area. A daytrip I haven't heard mentioned before was to Foxton Locks. We'd just finished a week on a narrowboat so were interested in the staircase locks and canal museum there. We did London as a day trip, driving to the Stanmore tube station and riding in from there. Was an easy trip on the weekend, with plenty of parking at Stanmore. Even though we've spent two weeks there, I think we could go again and not have to repeat any day trips. The area is rich in history as long as you are willing to drive. Tom Gorham 3

A great location in a rural setting where you can easily access many of England's great sites Date Of Visit - Mar 18, 2004 Date Of Review - Nov 06, 2005 We stayed in a "three" bedroom A-frame only steps away from the main lodge and dining room and overlooking the beautiful Rutland Waters lake. Our unit was immense, with three bathrooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen and living room on the first floor and two cute little twin- bedded rooms on the second floor. (Our exchange claimed it was a three bedroom, but to me it was actually four.) We also had a washer and dryer in the unit. Not only did we have an every day set of dishes and flatware, we had a second "company" set and a full set of crystal stemware. The A-frames are ideal for a family. The setting is idyllic and the surrounding area very rural and beautiful. Oakham is about 2 miles away, and unless you have a car, the cab ride is seven pounds (about $14) one way. The train station in Oakham hooks you up with the main rail lines of Britain, so armed with a Britrail Pass, you can easily day trip by rail to most of England. London is a 1 1/4 hour train trip, York is 2 hours. We explored the Cotswolds one day by car, which is a fantastic daytrip. Driving in the countryside around Oakham is a real treat. Every few miles, another picture perfect village pops into view, perhaps with its own castle! Shakespeare's Stratford and Warwick Castle are 1 1/2 hours away by car, Robin Hood's Nottingham is only 45 minutes away. It's hair raising to drive in England, but we did survive. The food in the dining room was very good although we only ate there twice, both times for breakfast. We were almost always on the go, day tripping all but one day of our stay. It was very nice to come home at the end of each day to our very peaceful and incredibly beautiful Barnsdale home. Barnsdale Country Club comes very close to being a perfect timeshare experience. The only reason I didn't give it a "10" is because the rating guidelines say to receive that rating means it is World Class resort with everything included and the best timeshare I have ever stayed in (I can't say this, because they don't have every amenity imaginable, but they do have all the important ones to me!). A "9" rating means it is between the 2nd and 4th best I have ever stayed in. Since I have been to an enormous number of fabulous timeshare resorts all around the world, it's hard to say which of the tremendous resorts is 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. So I gave it an 8 1/2, which only means that it is way up there with the best of the best. Stay here. I promise you won't be disappointed. Susan Speak 4

a beautiful location and area, resort lets itself down. Date Of Visit - Jun 19, 2005 Date Of Review - Jul 01, 2005 Previous reviews cover a lot of information. Our experience was in unit #31, a small A-frame they say is for four people. Well four adults just cannot fit in the sleeping areas. Two adults and two kids would be ok.(an adventure for the kids). The upstairs "bedroom" is in the top of the "A" so standing up is impossible. The beds are very small up there and there are two small washbasins only. To get upstairs requires mountaineering skills and ropes!. The stairs are very steep and only 20 inches wide. Half way up they turn 180 degrees with nothing to hold on to. Coming down to use the bathroom in the night would be a tough proposition. We were four adults and two wound up staying at the hotel because of the restricted second "bedroom", and severe climb. The groundfloor master bedroom is fine, and living area and kitchen are adequate. The china( Royal Doulton) and glasses are superior quality, and the kitchen has everything, but the washing machine is very complicated. The furniture in the living room was very comfortable, two large deep chairs and sofa, but the TV was small. The exterior of the unit was dirty with cobwebs, flies and dirt all around doors and windows. The deck was very dirty. Unit #31 has no views of Rutland Water, and is close enough to the main road to hear the traffic (no air conditioning means open windows). We did not use any facilities, but checked out the recreation club and swimming pool..looked very nice. The landscaping is beautiful and well maintained. We had a lunch across the road at the Barnsdale Lodge and it was superb, with excellent service. Everything in England continues to be expensive, relative to US. and Canadian dollars. Gas is twice the price and restaurants can be an adventure for your Visa card, but excellent quality food. Rockingham Castle, Belvoir House (Beaver House) were both visited and are recommended. There are so many places to visit and admire; with a fantastic thousand years of history and beyond in this very small county. The scenery is beautiful, don't avoid the small country lanes, you will see villages and rolling hills to rival anywhere in England. John Alden 5

The unit was very nice except it was noisy Date Of Visit - Jul 07, 2004 Date Of Review - Jan 01, 2005 We stayed in Unit 77 which is a 1 bed in the stables. This unit was upstairs and tended to be a little warm even with the windows open. The kitchen was very small with no dishwasher but there was an all in one washer/dryer unit which took forever to do a small load of clothes. The bedroom was large with a double bed and included a small TV. The living room had a sleeper sofa and 2 large stuffed chairs and a TV and VHS. The unit was very nice except it was noisy. We could hear the people downstairs and the band from the reception hall where a wedding was taking place. The grounds were very beautiful with a golf course, bowling green and playground and there were bunnies everywhere. There were no screens on the windows but they do not seem to have a bug problem like we do in Idaho. The condo was in a pretty good location to see a lot of sights. I would rate this resort an 8. Deette Thomas 6

The location was in the country quite picturesque. Date Of Visit - Sep 09, 2003 Date Of Review - Jan 01, 2005 Our family of 5 exchanged into a week at Barnsdale. Although advertised as a 3 bedroom unit it was actually a 4 bedroom set-up with 2 small loft bedrooms and 2 large bedrooms on the main floor. The carpets were a bit worn and the unit was a bit dusty but for UK standards it was 1st class. The location was in the country quite picturesque. We took one day trip into London. We took the train out of Peterborough (30 minute drive) and the trip to London was 1 hour. By travelling just after rush hour (9:05AM) we managed to have the five of us travel to London return for about £30.00. Other sites in the area such as Warwick, Stratford and Nottingham were worth the visit. We would recommend this property for a vacation to the UK but not if one is planning to spend more than a day in London. The Gauthiers 7

Standard of service was inconsistent. Date Of Visit - Sep 09, 2003 Date Of Review - Jan 01, 2005 Two couples stayed in unit 25, one of the A-Frame houses scattered about the grounds of Barnsdale. We had a tremendous view of the lake from that particular unit. We let the other couple use the master bedroom as the twin beds in the second ground-floor bedroom were so narrow that the male of the other couple could not possibly have rested at night. The two twin beds upstairs were also very narrow. They were in separate rooms, each room with a sink, but no other facilities. The two downstairs bedrooms both had full baths, including a tub-shower combination. The refrigerator was a "mini", with only one ice tray, making it difficult to keep sufficient ice on hand for drinks. The washing machine was somewhat complicated to use, but we finally mastered it and washed several loads of clothes. There were sufficient supplies of wash detergent, as well as dishwasher detergent furnished. There is one hair dryer furnished for the master bedroom. We brought an adapter, but the hair dryer we brought tripped the circuit breaker, as its 220 volts overloaded the circuit. I finally figured out how to re-set the 220 for both sides, as only half the electricity was on in the unit after re-setting the tripped breaker. There is a key in the locked door of the main unit, and one simply turns the key clockwise, then counter clockwise. A good thing that I figured it out, as our call to the front desk to have the electricity checked was never answered (as was our call for towels on the posted towel exchange day). Service was definitely spotty. We were always assured that whatever we requested would be promptly taken care of, but that was the end of it- no one ever showed up. Internet service is available at no cost the Oakham library. Turn left onto A606, proceed to Oakham, then take a right at the first roundabout, then notice the library on your right at the corner of the second roundabout. The best place to purchase groceries is at Tesco, a supermarket in Oakham. Very simple to find. Take A-606 into Oakham, go right at the first roundabout, left at the second roundabout (where the library is located), then right at the first stop light (which is about two blocks from where you made a left). The Tesco is on your left, and you turn left after passing the building and go into their parking lot. The best place for breakfast is also the Tesco Supermarket. They have fried eggs, sausages, bacon, croissants, etc. You can get any six breakfast items for £1.49, which is pretty much a bargain. If you like boiled tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, or beans with breakfast, these are available as a breakfast item. I stuck to eggs, sausages and bacon. The area is filled with friendly people, hamlets with good pubs, and many places to visit and to take pictures of. Odile Churchward (listed under members help) is an excellent source of information, and will go to great lengths to assist you in any way she can. She can be contacted by e-mail, and is usually there on the Monday orientation for further assistance. September turned out to be a great time to visit. The weather was perfect, though there is never any guarantee that this will be the case. Melvin Henley 8

Recommend this resort to any adults wanting to explore this area of England. Date Of Visit - Jul 07, 2003 Date Of Review - Jan 01, 2005 We traded for a 3 bedroom/ 3 bath unit at Barnsdale. The unit had two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths on the lower level and another bedroom along with the kitchen/dining/living area on the upper level. The unit was well kept, though the balcony with a view of Rutland Water and a picnic table and bench on it needed some TLC. The 3rd "bathroom" was really a toilet room with a miniature almost unusable sink. The washer was on the top floor in the kitchen area and was a typical European washer. Use cold water only, as even colourfast clothes can bleed with any other temperature, as we found out the hard way when we used one of these washers the first time in London. The dryer was on the bottom level in a closet buried under cleaning supplies, but once unburied easy to use, although it was annoying to have to carry the wet clothes downstairs to dry. The kitchen was well equipped and convenient to use with enough dishes for a banquet. The beds were comfortable. The second and third bedrooms had two twins each. I don't recall whether the master had a king or queen, but it was ample sized. The two main bathrooms were fine. If you want them you need to ask for wash cloths, as they are not normally provided.[Ed - Always bring your own flannels to Europe. These are not provided as they are considered a personal item] Windows do not have screens and there is no air conditioning. Thankfully, we were not there during the heat wave that came a few weeks later, so it was not a problem. We're not fans of duvets especially in the summer, but you get used to them. If you want a bed sheet that you can tuck in instead of a duvet, you need to bring one with you. There were no organized activities that we saw. There is an indoor pool, a billiards/snooker room, fitness centre, a lawn bowling court, and a croquet court with an outstanding view. There was, however, no croquet set as it had been broken sometime before. They finally replaced it by the last day we were there after several requests, but unfortunately that was the only day of rain we had. There is a restaurant on the premises but the food was mediocre and the service pathetic. The resort staff was efficient and helpful and check-in was easy. Oakham is a nice little village [Ed - Oakham is a county town, not a village] with an excellent grocery store, shops, and a few restaurants. The restaurant in town we tried to eat at had service so poor we walked out before ordering. The restaurants seem more geared towards people who came to drink than those who came to eat. We ate elsewhere or in the timeshare the rest of the week. This is a timeshare to use as a base for exploring the countryside, and you definitely need a car. We took day trips to Cambridge, York, castles, great houses, historical sites, nearby villages, the beach where they filmed "Shakespeare in Love" in Norfolk, and Stratford-upon-Avon (on the way there from London). We also walked on the footpath near the timeshare around Rutland Water. The countryside and villages here are exceptionally scenic. This is not a resort for children unless they like going on day trips as described above or can entertain themselves with the amenities listed above. I would rate the unit as a 7.5 because of the lack of a bathroom on the upper level, the washer and dryer being on separate levels, and the elfin sized sink in the third bathroom. I'd rate the resort as a 7.5, it's beautiful location being tempered by the lack of organized activities/outings for children, the poor restaurant facility, and the croquet court with no equipment. That being said, we had a fabulous time and would recommend this resort to any adults wanting to explore this area of England. 9

Nice resort in a nice area. Date Of Visit - Apr 04, 2003 Date Of Review - Jan 01, 2005 We stayed here Easter Week in Unit 49, a 2BR/1 bath, flat in the Uppingham Building. Good size unit, with a nice view of the lake. Several steps in and out, but the unit all on one level. We had gone here planning to take longer day trips (Lincoln, Stratford, etc.) but really enjoyed the Rutland area. The towns and villages there really rival the Cotswolds for "cuteness". We had great weather for the week so probably helped out outlook. Agree with most of the previous reviews. Nice resort in nice area. Would go there again. Tom Gorham 10

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