Sketchley Grange Hotel & Spa

The staff were really friendly, and breakfast was nice, with hot food, cereal, fruit and juice. But the lift smelled of burning and sewage, and the rooms were tired and a long walk away. Ours was infested with silverfish. The view was just over a roof, and although the room seemed clean, it badly needed renovation. At first we thought the shower was broken because the water was cold. We worked out that turning it to cyclone made it warm, but then the bathroom flooded. Someone in another room could barely get a trickle.

This was our fifth visit to sketchly, and we've been twice in the last fortnight for my birthday and my husband's. Katie greeted us with a smile and was so helpful. Since we'd been coming so often, she gave us an upgrade as a birthday treat. Thank you so much. We settled into the bar with a drink from the good selection and relaxed in the comfortable chairs while waiting to book in. After finding our room, we used the sauna before dinner. The sauna, dinner, sleep and breakfast were all amazing. It's a relaxed atmosphere every time, and we can't wait to come back lol. Thank you.

We were only booked for one night and had a mixed first impression, but ended up really happy with the stay. Our room wasn't set up for our child, so they moved us to a room with two beds at the same price, which felt like an upgrade. The hotel also gave the child a nice book of extras. Breakfast was great, the staff were always ready to help, and the food was kept topped up with a good choice. The pool was clean, and the sauna and steam room were better than the one at my Bannatynes health club, to be honest. The lockers use codes and the doors don't lock very well, if you know what I mean, though you can use a padlock. It was annoying that booking through booking.com meant we had to pay for pool access. We wouldn't have seen the restaurant view if we hadn't changed rooms, since our first room was at the far end of the hotel.

The massage was good, and the drinks selection was great. The bar staff were really friendly. But the dog show during our stay left the corridors stinking of wet dog, and getting to the spa meant walking through the whole hotel and then outside. The spa was full of screaming children, hardly the relaxing break we'd planned. We booked a spa package with a 3 pm check-in, but they scheduled my massage for 3 pm too, so I couldn't check in until after it. Breakfast was very mediocre, and the place as a whole felt worn and dated, not four-star.