Goodstone is an old estate, and there is a wonderful vibe of former luxury to it. The staff are very friendly and helpful, but there are not enough of them (or their management is lacking) to make your stay as luxurious and seamless as they would clearly like it to be, or as the price would suggest it should be.
Some things we noticed:
- delayed check in due to there only being one person available to show you to your cottage (most of the rooms are in small buildings you must drive to)
- prix fixe menu at the restaurant was fine, but didn't bear comparison to other multi-course fine dining in the area
- AC was broken in a 3rd-floor room, making it unusable
- the room we were moved to was positively dowdy in decor, and also not modernized (not enough outlets, bad wifi, small vintage double bed, nails sticking out of antique dresser drawers ....)
- lots of peeling paint and cobwebs, especially around windows
There's no question that the estate has a lot of charm, but it's too obvious that the upkeep of it is a challenge. We had a perfectly nice time (the bar in the carriage house is fun, with elegant board games for your amusement), and it was neat to stay in a museum-like accommodation - we enjoyed exploring. But it was not the superlative experience you'd expect for that kind of property and that price.