Sophia Woodman

Review of Macdonald Berystede Hotel and ...

On the 26th or August we checked into the MacDonal...

On the 26th or August we checked into the MacDonald Berystede hotel with a spa package. What we actually experienced was in no way what was advertised as a spa break. We completely understood the terms and conditions due to covid with the sauna and steam room not being open which was stated at the time of booking. However upon arrival were told there was no jacuzzi, no relaxation room and you had to book the pool. Booking the pool was never part of the information given prior to arrival, then when we asked to book the pool we were told it was fully booked.

We thought we d make the most of it and order room service and ordered a bottle of Prosecco however when the drink arrived we had to go to the bar and pay as we were told it could not be added to the room bill and there was no facility to pay there and then, we were told we had to go down to the bar and pay immediate so what is the point in providing room service?

Also we were not told that we had to book dinner reservations which were part of our pre booked package, so reception were very hesitant to give us a table, When we eventually had dinner there was a choice of 4 options none of which really appealed to me however as we both needed to eat we had to make do with something.

When we eventually went down for our treatments expecting to slip into our swimming costumes and our robes.. which is a normal part of receiving treatments, I was made to hop onto the bed for my facial fully dressed and my friend to just leave on the bottom half of her clothing. How would you be expected to find this relaxing?

I am unsure how this was advertised as a spa package because it was far from that. No sauna and steam which is fine, we were aware of that. No jacuzzi and no relaxation room? This is false advertisement and quite frankly money making.

Was hoping to get away for the night for some relaxation but I felt even more stressed and upset that we travelled all the way here for a facial I could of had at home. The only staff member that looked like he even wanted to be here was the guy on the bar! The rest were very stand offish and miserable

Attached in this email is all the information we were provided which did NOT state we needed to book the pool only our treatments and also did not state facilities such as the jacuzzi would not be open. That s the only reason we booked!

Extremely disappointed that this was sold to us as a spa package when there was no spa. I ve been to this hotel before and absolutely loved it, hence why I was so excited to come back however from the minute we arrived it was constant disappointment.

Just when we wanted to go for a nice relaxing dinner, we were made to feel uncomfortable from the minute we walked in. At the reception earlier that day we were told we had been booked in for 7pm for dinner (after a lot of huffing and puffing from the receptionist), when we arrived to the restaurant there was no booking for us (even though our spa package included dinner) and in the mans words we ll have to find a space for you somewhere I guess . Once we were seated he came over to place our cutlery and napkins and made an unnecessary comment of we shouldn t have booked you in today as we re fully booked which as you can imagine, made us feel very uncomfortable. I then ordered a disaronno and coke and received the wrong mixer, I was left without a drink even when my food arrived. There was no one to ask where my drink was so I ate my steak with no drink. The men who were serving us then started to look and point at us which again, made us feel very uncomfortable.

We both decided to leave the hotel that night and find a bar nearby as the service we had received that day was appalling and we couldn t stand it anymore. We woke up early the next day and checked out at 9am (our checkout time should have been 11am) and we went elsewhere for breakfast even though it was included in our package , we couldn t stand another hour in that hotel.