"We recently stayed at this hotel for a special 80th birthday celebration and, unfortunately, our experience fell well below what you would expect from a five-star property.
From the moment we arrived, things started to go wrong. We were told at approximately 2:20pm that all of the rooms in our party were ready. However, my partner and I didn't gain access to our room until after 3:15pm. We were initially taken upstairs after waiting for 30 minutes (despite being told it would be an 10 minute wait) only to find the cleaner still in the room. Rather than apologising, the cleaner rudely said, "I told you the room wasn't ready," while shaking their head - to me! We were then sent back downstairs, where the concierge offered no apology or explanation.
While waiting, we witnessed reception staff openly discussing the situation amongst themselves, with reception blaming housekeeping and housekeeping blaming reception, all within earshot of guests. Not once did anyone acknowledge or update those of us who had been left waiting. To make matters worse, we watched multiple guests who had arrived well after us check in and receive their rooms while we were still waiting.
The room itself was spectacularly disappointing. It was not cleaned to the standard expected of a five-star hotel, with hair on the floor, stains on the carpet, shower skirting falling off and no toiletries provided. When we attempted to raise this with reception, there was nobody available to speak to us, with the explanation being that it was "busy because it's check-in time." While we appreciate hotels can be busy, that shouldn't prevent guests from reporting issues with their room.
The dining experience was equally disappointing. During our private dining event, none of the meals were served hot. Breakfast service was extremely slow, and despite the delays, there was no apology. We were also told we couldn't all be seated together and felt rushed into making a decision on who would sit where. In a hotel of this standard, it would have been far more organised to ask for our preferred breakfast time at check-in and reserve a suitable table for our group.
When the food finally arrived after waiting over an hour and fifteen minutes, it was cold, some items were missing altogether, and some food was undercooked. Throughout our stay there were also numerous small but noticeable service failures that simply shouldn't happen in a five-star hotel. We weren't provided with salt and pepper at dinner, nobody asked whether we wanted sauces, dirty breakfast plates were left sitting on the table for extended periods, and glasses from the previous evening were still left outside rather than being cleared away.
The organisation leading up to our event was also frustrating. Our party organiser experienced constant communication issues with the events coordinator, regularly having to chase responses. There were incorrect invoices, room number errors, charges for a starter that wasn't provided, and our order was incorrect, with only three steaks served instead of the four that had been ordered.
The spa is OK. Not 5 star standard. Men’s changing room was dirty, the outdoor hot tub was very uncomfortable to sit in, the outdoor sauna was not hot enough, and the indoor saunas and steam rooms are separated by gender - no good for couples wanting a romantic spa weekend!
Overall, this experience was incredibly disappointing. The hotel appears to have significant communication and organisational issues across departments, and the overall standard of cleanliness, food and customer service fell far short of what should be expected from a five-star hotel. Sadly, we left feeling that our special occasion had been let down, and we would not return or recommend the hotel based on this experience."
