Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort

The staff were lovely overall, and dinner on the second night came much quicker. The first night was a different story. The food was okay, though taste is subjective, but we waited 1.5 hours between starter and main. Guests without a starter waited two hours for food. We were given a bottle of wine, which helped a little, but nobody checked whether we needed drinks. Only after I asked how much longer it would be did they realize how long we’d waited. They said they were short staffed, but still, it was frustrating. We booked a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast deal at Slaley Hall for our 1 year anniversary and left a little disappointed. For the premium price, the place needs someone to look it over and bring it back up to speed. The furniture in the room was in disrepair and needs replacing soon. In the lounges, the chairs had rips and tears, with dirty cushions and filling coming out. The Spa relaxation room was filthy, especially the carpet, and it was hard to relax there. After the jacuzzi finished its bubble cycle, there was clearly dirt at the bottom that looked like it had been there a while. I wish I’d taken pictures, but the worn condition was plain to see when sitting in the lounges.

We had a lovely family getaway, with nice food and a great spa pool area, though meals were on the expensive side. There are walks of different lengths around the grounds, and we did the longest, a 3.5 mile route.

The spa was a bit busier than I’d have liked, though that’s understandable on a weekend. We had a lovely B&B stay for my husband’s 40th. Our room was beautiful and tidied each day. I have coeliac disease, and the staff were brilliant about checking allergy details and being careful when serving food. I also noticed the manager keeping things moving in the bar and restaurants, checking on staff and clearing tables. He seemed like a great manager and deserves a raise.

The check-in staff were friendly, but our room this time felt very dated. This was our third visit: the first two, for anniversaries, had both been lovely. Bringing the kids along turned out to be a big mistake. The pool was full during junior swimming, and we waited an hour and a half without being warned at check-in. Our slot then clashed with dinner, and only after we pushed did they move our booking to 7:30. Dinner was awful, especially with two young children. Drinks took 30 minutes, then my son waited another 15 for his hot chocolate. The menu promised marshmallows and cream, but neither came. Staff said they’d check and disappeared. Eventually someone told us those extras weren’t meant to be included, and after we pointed to the menu, he said they had no marshmallows. We kept asking about the cream and got a jug of single cream ten minutes later. My son felt misled and was really upset. Our mains didn’t arrive until around 9, and the order was still wrong. My daughter’s sides were missing, and my son’s burger came with sauce despite our request for none. He waited another 10 or 15 minutes for a replacement and was unhappy. The food itself was poor for the high prices. My husband’s £12 mojito tasted canned and had no mint. The bill was another problem. I was charged £12 for a non-alcoholic gin and London Essence tonic, though the menu showed £4.50. Staff first called it a mixed drink. A friendly young bartender later worked out that they’d charged me for a double, even though only the single price was on the menu. Why would I want a double non-alcoholic gin? I paid the £12, and it didn’t taste good. We wanted to give our kids a special experience and ended up disappointing them. We won’t be back next year.