Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort

The staff were lovely overall, and dinner the second night came out much faster. Our first evening was a different story: the food was okay, though taste is personal, but we waited an hour and a half between starter and main. People without a starter waited two hours. They gave us a bottle of wine, which helped a little, but nobody checked whether we wanted more drinks. I had to ask how much longer before anyone seemed to realize how long we’d been waiting. They said they were short staffed, but still. The jacuzzi left dirt visible at the bottom after the bubbles stopped, and the spa relaxation room was filthy, especially the badly dirty carpet. Lounge chairs were torn, with dirty cushions and stuffing coming out, and there was damaged furniture in our room too. For the premium price, Slaley Hall needs someone to look it over and bring it back up to standard. We booked the dinner, bed and breakfast deal for our first anniversary and came away disappointed.

We walked the longest of the lovely routes around the grounds, about 3.5 miles. The spa pool area was lovely too, and the food was very nice, if a bit pricey. A really nice family getaway.

The spa was busier than I’d have liked, though that’s understandable on a weekend. We had a lovely weekend here for my husband’s 40th and booked the B&B offer. Our room was beautiful and cleaned every day. I have coeliac disease, and there was plenty of choice. They were great about allergies, checking the information and saying what the food was when they brought it over. I didn’t need to deal with the manager, but saw him in the restaurant and bar keeping things moving, clearing tables and checking in with staff. He seemed like a great manager. A lovely stay.

We’d stayed here twice before for anniversaries with my husband and always had a lovely time, so bringing the kids for our third visit felt like a big mistake. Check-in was friendly, but this time our room was very dated. The spa was full during junior swimming and we were told to wait an hour and a half, something nobody warned us about at check-in. By the time it was our turn, it clashed with dinner. We insisted and they eventually moved our reservation to 7:30. Dinner was absolutely awful. Our drinks took 30 minutes, then my son’s hot chocolate took another 15. The menu said it came with marshmallow and cream, but neither was there. Staff kept saying they’d check and then disappearing. Eventually someone said it wasn’t meant to come with those, and when I pointed to the menu, he said they had no marshmallow. We kept asking for cream and ten minutes later got a jug of single cream. My son was upset because the menu had made him expect something else. Our mains didn’t arrive until around 9, and the order was messed up. My daughter’s sides were missing, and my son’s burger came with sauce despite our asking for none. He waited another 10 or 15 minutes for it to be fixed and was very unhappy. The food quality was poor for such high prices. The charge that annoyed me most was for things I didn’t want. The menu listed non-alcoholic gin at £4.50 with a bottle of London Essence tonic, but the bill said £12. Staff first told me it was a mixed drink. A friendly young woman at the bar helped work out they’d charged for a double, even though the menu showed single prices. Who wants a double non-alcoholic gin? I paid £12 for it and it didn’t taste nice. My husband’s mojito was £12 too, and he said it tasted canned and had no mint. We wanted to give our kids a special experience and ended up disappointing them. We’re not coming back next year.