Charmaine Swann

Review of Donnington Valley Hotel and Sp...

Stayed here as a base camp for a UK autumn break. ...

Stayed here as a base camp for a UK autumn break. Lots to see and do in the area - would recommend the local walks and museums, the windmill theatre and the living rainforest for a decent day out.

Felt very safe at the hotel with proper restrictions in place such as face coverings, sanitising stations and the removal of room servicing however felt things could be improved for example by having an 'order at the table app' for food and drinks to take the pressure off the waiting staff and improve social distancing.

The Spa facilities and staff were excellent with the sauna, steam room and aroma room all being open but unfortunately the jacuzzi was closed for maintenance. Nice big pool with loungers to relax in. At one point during our stay we witnessed a customer being rude and abusive to a member of the reception staff due to a mistake with booking which the staff member handled very professionally but it was unfortunate to hear from her that she was "used to it". Perhaps a sign stating expectations on customers to not be abusive towards staff would help with this issue.

The food could be improved as it was very much hit and miss dependent on what you ordered. The fish supplier seemed to be excellent so would recommend along with anything deep fried which tended to fair well with the chips being a winner over the fries for us. The steak was cooked as requested and good value with the deal for 2. Unfortunately two things let the food down: the bread was extremely stodgy and tasteless whether that be in the breakfast muffins, the burger buns or the bagels and hard to digest; the meat patties were poor quality, tasting bulked out with flour as the burger and breakfast sausage were very chewy and glutenous so steer clear of these foods if you can. The 'breakfast in a bag' was perfectly fine and an innovative idea. Some things could be improved such as swapping the fruit salad for fresh fruit or swapping the bagel to a bread roll with individually wrapped cheese and butter and maybe some fresh coffee bags to help with the habitisation from the usual bar breakfast.

The rooms were bright, clean and large. We stayed in a superior room which came with a separate shower and bath. I enjoyed a very comfortable bath in the large tub however the noise of the decommissioned speaker that buzzed when the light was on became irritating after a while. The heated towel rails could not be turned on which was a shame as it meant drying your swimming costume was a tricky task especially as the changing rooms with air dryers were closed to hotel guests. The bed mattress was very comfy although could do with two pillows per person rather than the 1 to reach that 'I have arrived' feeling (especially given there were none provided spare in the wardrobes).