The Salthouse Hotel

The lodge was lovely and the views were stunning. Reception staff were very friendly too. We had a nice stay, but a few details were missing: no hand towels or bath mats, a wobbly leg on one dining chair, and the big floor lamp by the table wasn’t there, so we couldn’t see well enough to play board games. At this price and standard, even one dishwasher tablet would have helped.

We arrived on time for our 7.15pm table and ordered at 7.30, but were still waiting at 8.15. I think my daughter’s rib-eye steak order may have been forgotten. When it finally arrived, it was sitting in a pool of blood and clearly hadn’t been rested. It was listed as charcoal grilled, but didn’t seem to be, and she’d been given the wrong sauce. She had to ask for it to be changed, so it was around 8.45 before we could eat.

We booked a lodge with a hot tub, and the night was a really poor stay. There were several problems in the lodge: the downstairs toilet was missing its flush button, one bedroom bed hadn’t been made and had no pillows, a decorative pillow had a big stain, and the key lock box didn’t work properly. The hot tub took hours and wouldn’t heat above 34 degrees. We contacted reception, and manager Satish came out, but said there was nothing they could do and it should heat up. After discussion, they agreed to a £100 refund. We tried to enjoy the tub anyway, spending the next hour boiling kettle after kettle of water to warm it enough. It only stayed warm enough to enjoy for about an hour before cooling again. In the morning it had reached 40 degrees, but after two of our party got in, it had dropped to 37 by the time they got out 30 minutes later. Guests shouldn’t have to spend half an evening pouring kettle water into a paid-for hot tub just to enjoy it. The spa was also disappointing: just a few heated loungers and one thermal suite, less than you’d get at a leisure centre spa. At checkout, we found the duty manager had reduced the promised £100 refund to £50 without discussing it with anyone, apparently on the assumption that because he saw us use the hot tub, it had been up to 40 degrees that morning. That was shocking behaviour from the manager at salthouse. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as a staycation destination.

This was far too expensive, especially since the view from my room was just plywood on a fence and construction. The restaurant view is amazing, but that alone doesn’t make it worth the money. Breakfast was good, though. There’s also misleading information online: use of the hot tub and sauna costs an extra £20 an hour. That defeated the purpose of my stay. They said a spa treatment would include a complimentary hour, but their treatment prices seemed much higher than others in the area. My room also had no mini fridge as advertised, and the curtains weren’t proper blackout curtains. A green light above the door stayed on for safety, they said, so it wouldn’t have been completely dark anyway. Since I booked through expedia, they wouldn’t let me check out early. Staff didn’t care about my concerns, though I imagine they hear the same complaints a lot. Happy birthday to me, what a waste of money.