Reviews of Shrigley Hall, Macclesfield
Review by Paul Wright on 19th March, 2009
Add your review Date visited: Oct 2008
My partner and I wanted to book a weekend break to celebrate our recent anniversary in style. We thought we had found the perfect solution when we found the Barcelo website and the hotel that we eventually chose. Everything about the hotel on the website looked fantastic and we thought that we were going to have a ‘stress-free’, romantic and relaxing stay there. During the booking process the lady on the telephone (Lindsay) was specifically informed that our stay was for a special occasion. This was acknowledged more than twice and we were told that a note had been made and we would be allocated a room suitable for the occasion in the hotel.
How wrong we were!!
We arrived at the Hotel at around 3.00pm to be greeted by a rather busy and overworked receptionist. We were given our room key and left to our own devices, which was not a good start. The room was situated at the far rear of the hotel and was approximately a 10 minute walk from the reception which is a long way with heavy baggage for which we had no assistance.
Upon arrival to our room our first impressions were far less than perfect. The room was small and dingy and the view was of some temporary porta-cabins. There was also some damage to the bath enamel, in the form of chipping, roughly about the size of a 5 pence piece. To add to this there were also holes in the bed sheets, which we discovered later that evening at bedtime. A double room had been booked for our stay but to our dismay our bed consisted of two single mattresses. This surely equates to a twin room.
In the meantime, we decided to explore the leisure complex at the hotel. On the way there we passed a member of staff who was presumably a caretaker of sorts who was swearing in to her radio. Upon arrival at the leisure complex we were met by a friendly member of staff who informed us that we would have to pay for use of towels. However, our experience at the leisure complex was again unsatisfactory. I was greeted by a dirty changing room with mud, grass and used towels on the floor. The ladies changing rooms were in a worse state than the men’s with a significant leak in the ceiling with buckets in the middle of the floor to catch the water. This changing room was also dirty with mud, grass and dirty towels left on the floor.
The swimming pool, steam room and sauna room seemed to be in reasonable order. However, the Jacuzzi did not work fully and the water jets only functioned on one half.
Earlier that afternoon we had booked our evening meal for 9.15pm. When we arrived at the restaurant we were left waiting for 5 minutes until a member of staff finally showed us to our table. This was unacceptable as there were no other guests waiting to be seated and no less than 3 members of staff standing around idle.
We ordered starters which were ok but nothing special considering the price shown in the menu. For our main meal my partner ordered Duck in plum sauce and I ordered the Rib-Eye steak. On observing the other guests in the restaurant I think they were having the same sort of problems as numerous guests left without finishing their meals and a party of guests informed us that their turkey was severely undercooked..
We were also not informed by any member of staff, prior to our visit to the restaurant that there was a limit to what meals we could have. If I remember correctly this was £29.95/pp and had we exceeded this amount we would have been charged for this. At no time in any hotel I have stayed in have I experienced this when a half board option was booked in advance.
My partner was very upset about this and the catalogue of other problems so we decided to make a complaint to the Duty Manger called Emma. She was very understanding and offered to reimburse us for the cost of the meal. She also said that she would upgrade our room for the second night of our stay but not the first night as there were no rooms available. We duly accepted this offer thinking that we would be able to enjoy the rest of our stay in a more acceptable room on the second night. Shortly after we had made the complaint my partner needed to visit the toilets situated near the restaurant as she felt unwell from the meal she had ordered. She was horrified to find faeces spread over the floor of the ladies toilets. We then made a second visit to the Duty Manager to inform her of this.
However, we still had to stay in Room 241 on the first night. The room was situated in very close proximity to a wedding reception that was being held at the hotel. Unfortunately, we were ‘blasted’ with loud music until 1.15am and then woken up every half an hour throughout the night with inebriated wedding guests returning to their rooms. The use of foul language was appalling. I was later informed that this section of the hotel was reserved for members of the wedding party, so why were we given this room?
By the next morning we were very tired and exhausted after having very little sleep. As my partner was unwell during the evening she could not face another trip to the restaurant so we arranged to have our breakfast brought to our room via room service. When it arrived it was cold and almost inedible. After all that had happened we just wanted to leave the hotel and return home.
Therefore, we checked out on Sunday 12th October at around 1pm. This was overseen by the Duty Manager named Derek.
I must say that this is by far the worst hotel my partner and I have ever stayed in. I regularly visit hotels and guesthouses of all grades throughout the U.K. and abroad and have never experienced anything like the stay we had in Shrigley Hall. Although we were not charged for the full amount at time of checkout we have incurred many expenses due to petrol costs, kennels, catteries, and childcare as these all had to be arranged prior to our stay.
This was meant to be a very special occasion for my partner and I but it was completely the opposite. It was the most stressful and unpleasant hotel experience we have ever had. And to add insult to injury we were called by the hotel informing us that we had not checked out and that we owed £124.00 for the second night’s stay and meals. However, I was given the final bill by the Duty Manager (Derek) at the time of our checking out. I paid the invoice in full by cash, and kept a copy for my records.
This final piece in the large catalogue of problems indicates that there are some very severe management issues at the hotel.
Review by Mr D Evans on 30th October, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 11th Oct 2006
over the past year have spent several evening at Shrigley I am delighted to say that the money invested into the hotel is amazing - the new bedrooms are some of the best that I have stayed in, the restaurtant is outstanding and the quatity of the food memorable. Shrigley has now becom a member of Paramounts "signature hotels" and truely can offer that little bit extra - and I feel the hotel now stands well above the rest in the area - and is well worth traveling out of Manchester for.
Review by Anonymous on 26th August, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 2006-08-26
Good Points: very pleasant stay in a lovely location.
Bad Points: nought!
General Review: very pleasant stay in a lovely location
Review by Rosalind, Farnham on 8th August, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 2006-08-08
Good Points: The setting is beautiful and the swimming pool is lovely.
Bad Points: My bedroom was poky and very noisy late in the evening.
General Review: The disco from one of the wedding receptions kept me awake at night (however I did receive a discount on my room charge when I complained) and my sister and brother-in-law who were in another room was woken by revellers outside in the courtyard in the early hours. The hotel was crowded so there were queues for a table for breakfast on Saturday morning. Many rooms in the hotel are currently being refurbished - hopefully these will be brighter and better sound-insulated! I imagine that guests staying mid-week have a much quieter and pleasanter experience than we did!
Review by PETER, NEWPORT on 8th July, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 2006-07-08
Good Points: OLD BUILDINGS SYMPATHETICALLY CONVERTED
Bad Points: FOOD NOT AS GOOD AS REST OF EXPERIENCE
General Review: COMFORTABLE
Review by Pamhidzai
Add your review Date visited: 01/10/2004
"Top quality 4 star hotel, its conveniently close to Manchester, but still gives the impression that you have 'got away from it all'",Insist on a room with a view
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