De Vere Cranage Estate

The lounge areas let things down, with dirty plates, cups and cutlery left there for long stretches. Bar and food prices were exorbitant. Otherwise, it's a really good hotel, with plenty of parking and good facilities. The front-of-house and housekeeping staff were wonderful.

We came with my seven-year-old for our trip to the new Lapland UK Manchester, and Rachel at the front desk made him feel so special. Her care and attention made the hotel stay feel as magical as Lapland. The hotel is beautiful, and our room was large and well maintained. The bar food was faultless, the children's menu was brilliant, and breakfast was excellent. Staff there also treated my son exceptionally well. The whole team has a level of class I admire. I can't see how anyone could be unhappy here.

A big thank you to the hotel management for handling a very sensitive issue involving an aggressive guest. We also found the location great, the staff really helpful and the rooms nice. Breakfast was self-service, standard fare you'd expect at a large hotel. It was just OK, nothing fancy.

The staff on the phone were very helpful when we needed to change a booking we'd made for the wrong date. Once there, though, the room felt dated and was disappointing. The spa fire alarm went off for about ten minutes as it was closing, and while I was showering, my towel was taken away. The pizza was only just edible and seemed partly frozen and poorly cooked. The vegan burger fell far short too: basically an empty bun with two meat substitutes. When we sent it back, it came back as the same bun with just one extra piece of lettuce and two pieces of tomato. We couldn't order a vodka martini because it wasn't on the cocktail menu, and our Hendrix gin and tonic had no cucumber. Staff seemed overwhelmed and weren't up to standard. When we asked for a few drinks, including Hendricks and bear and a whisky, the server acted as though we were bothering her. The takeaway breakfast was meant for a 7 am departure but wasn't ready until 7:10. It consisted of a banana, an apple, a muffin, yoghurt, a snack and water, with no substantial food. At first they offered us a frozen taco and vacuum-packed taco meat in a bag, so clearly breakfast wasn't ready to go. When I asked for a breakfast refund, I was told it was included in a package price and couldn't be refunded. We've stayed at many De Vere properties, and sadly this one didn't meet the standard of the others we've visited.