Macdonald Berystede Spa

The pool was a highlight, especially the outdoor jacuzzi, and it stayed open late enough for me to enjoy it after work. Dinner was simple but nicely cooked. I chose the fish and chips shown in the photos. My room had a good amount of space and most of the basics I needed, including a safe, iron and toiletries. The tea tray was well stocked, though there was no water. There were no sockets by the beds, so anyone with medical needs should bring an extension lead. Reception had only one. A generator was noisy enough to disturb my sleep after I woke during the night. In the morning, reception said they would have moved me if I had told them, but getting up in the middle of the night to change rooms isn't very realistic. They weren't full, so I think the noisy rooms should be the last ones filled.

It was a mixed stay. The spa facilities were great, and the WiFi was OK. The food was hit and miss: breakfast was better, though I would have expected black pudding at a Scottish hotel. Dinner felt old fashioned in a bad way. The chicken wings were good, but the rest wasn't. The staff were lovely throughout, from check-in to check-out. The spa reception team were especially helpful, and housekeeping were lovely too. Our suite needs updating. I understand the building may be listed, which could make that difficult, but the bathroom was freezing because the windows wouldn't close. The bath was damaged around the plughole. There was a good range of bathroom products, and the hand wash smelled amazing.

The spa was peaceful, and we really enjoyed the hydropool. My mum and I came for a spa break, and had a lovely facial. Marriana was friendly and polite, and gave her a fantastic treatment. The staff were lovely, and our spacious room looked out over the restaurant terrace and garden.

The treatments were the best part of our weekend at the berrystead. My friend and I had three different ones, and all the women who did them were lovely and did a great job. The salt scrub was especially good, and we both came away feeling relaxed and pampered. After checkout, the staff kindly kept her belongings in the office so we could spend longer in the spa. Our twin room was clean and tidy, with plenty of space for us and a selection of teas and coffees. The one real disappointment was the restaurant's main courses. My friend said her sausage and mash wasn't great. I had the rigatoni atta bolognese, which was probably the worst meal I've ever had. It looked like a child's microwave penne meal, had no flavour, and the pasta was still hard. At £19, it was shocking. We plan to stay again, but definitely won't eat there.