This is a review for food only…read more We came there after spotting the offer on groupon, and on paper it looked good. However, actual experience was a bit underwhelming. My mushroom risotto almost didn't contain any mushrooms, was more like a rice with a rare veg. To be fair, non-veggie dishes seemed to be better, and my starter (fried hallumi) was of a decent size.

I have no knowledge of the facilities while staying there, but have experienced the hotel as a…read morevenue for a private function today. This was the gathering after the funeral of a friend and we were a party of 50+. The foyer is now completed and is very impressive. On arrival in the decent-sized car park, one is struck by the proliferation of contemporary sculptures. These are continued inside, in the commodious and welcoming entrance, with automatic doors. We were given a large room very near the entrance and treated to ample supplies of tea and coffee with a bar in the room. There is no real ale on offer, but they do have a good selection of malt whiskies if one asks for them. The buffet provided was excellent and served by a wonderful staff. We were allowed to conduct a series of songs, dances and music (being mostly folk performers) and had a very enjoyable afternoon in the circumstances.

I stayed overnight on Valentine's weekend 2014 and I have to say despite the car park being…read moreincredibly busy I hardly saw anyone! It was incredibly quiet given the fact it's next to a busy A road which is a bonus after a long journey to get there. Checkin was relatively painless and the receptionist was helpful. I have to knock marks off checkout as another receptionist was on the phone sorting out someone's booking for a wedding and another member of staff who could've helped us blatantly ignored us. The room was excellent. Clean, warm and inviting. Plenty of towels and pillows (and storage space.) The inclusive WiFi was fast which was excellent. Didn't have breakfast here but it smelt inviting. There's also a mini gym on site but we didn't make use of these facilities.

This is a lovely hotel I have been to many weddings here but I also had my son's christening here…read moreand it was wonderful. The food was excellent and the staff could not do enough for us. We even hired a bouncy castle for the children to play on. There is not a great deal of placed to have decent wedding photographs but the hotel is still great.

Great hotel! This is…read moreactually probably one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at in Europe. My only downside is the fact that you could tell the building used to be used for something else and it shows in the rooms. The way the rooms are designed and painted kinda looks dingy in some areas, at least mine did. That said, I was very satisfied with the size of them. I also have to thank the hotel for helping me ace my Spanish exam, I had to take a spanish exam via skype to graduate from Glasgow uni and their wifi came in clutch. I just wish breakfast was included for everyone. Especially given my mum is a platinum member of BW

This is a fantastically located hotel - The World Museum is 5 minutes walk away, one of the best…read morebeer pubs is 2 minutes away (Ship & Mitre) and 5 minutes from main city centre. Beware that there is major construction taking place beside the hotel (student accommodation i think). Our view was of a building site which made my heart sink when we arrived. We were awoken at 7am with lots of hammering and drilling. Really unimpressed and disappointed that the hotel had not tried to place us in a room away from the construction. It was a Sunday night so assumed it wasn't too busy to do this. Luckily I had ear plugs as we didn't have the energy to phone and argue with the staff to get moved. The room was very spacious but to the point it felt a bit empty and souless. Gaping spaces in the room just felt unwelcoming. Plain decor with the exception of the bright carpet and bed head. Comfy bed and non-feather pillows which we prefer. Don't try checking in early as we discovered they turnaround the rooms very late. I arrived back at my room around 5.30 and the cleaning service was only then leaving. Very unusual. The air con was good as we stayed during unseasonably warm weather so nice to sleep in coolness. In terms of service, the staff seemed a bit distracted and didn't seem particularly helpful. My favourite part of the hotel is the spa which is located in another building opposite - very hot jacuzzi, with a cool small pool, and a warm small pool, with sauna, and steamroom. The sparkly lights were not on when we visited which i was disappointed with as the pictures on the website make it look really pretty. Also, they don't seem to have many padlocks for their lockers. My husband and i had to share a locker which was inconvenient being in separate changing rooms. It was a reasonable hotel but i wouldn't rush back and would certainly avoid until construction of student accommodation is finished!

I stayed for the weekend for my birthday and despite covid, it was a pleasant stay even though the…read moregym was closed. The staff were friendly and the breakfast was nice. No buffet, you have to book a time and order but there was a good variety. Rooms are very big with both a shower and bathtub, bed was very comfortable. The downside is that they do not clean your rooms daily, so you have to use the same towels and make your own bed unfortunately. I think this is due to covid, but was disappointed by it as I like a fresh towels and my room cleaned. Also no mini fridge in the room, but there is kettle, tea/coffee, safe, hairdryer, ironing board and free WiFi. Overall a nice traditional countryside English hotel with large rooms. Friendly staff and pretty gardens to sit outside.

It was that time of the month where I needed some chill out time…read more Situated two miles away from the city centre of Chester lies this gem. This building like many others in this city is stunning and full of character. Dated from 1779 this country house is still lavish, with antique rugs, dark wooden furnishings and stairwell..the floorboards give that satisfying creak when you step on them. Anyway having checked in, the receptionist also takes £50 off your card, whatever you don't spend within the hotel they reimburse you..watch out for that. Each room is stunningly decorated, you can even watch tv while you have a dump :p we left the robes and slippers and walked down with our towels to the spa. The reception here provided us with towels and offered spa treatments ranging from £30 a back massage. We were here for the pool. ChAnging rooms were fabulous and spacious. With lockers, hair dryers and decent showers. Only dispute were old towels left behind..they should place a laundry basket here. Entering the pool was idyllic..the sun was just setting through the large conservatory windows. In the corner offers a Jacuzzi in which you activate by the switch..the pool was of decent size, overlooking the gym and the steam room was sufficient. The dry sauna was under construction though. Getting changed for dinner , we were led to a cosey room where a gent at the bar brought us our wine and a menu over. I believe it was three courses for just over £25. Bargain for Rosette quality food. Amongst the wood pigeon, I had the ricotta cheese bread crumbed balls,and mushroom risotto for main My friend ordered the pate and salmon for mains. A complimentary bruchetta was provided..making me first think the portions were going to be small. However food was spot on in quantity, and what I could taste (with a sinus cold) was divine. The waitress was very attentive, although we had to ask for butter for our bread. Overall a gorgeous hotel with food and service to match. I will be back.

Only went here for a Christmas party with work. The food was quite nice, and the staff friendly,…read morebut everything else looked a little tired and old fashioned, and the entire bar and reception smelled of the swimming pool, plus all drinks were very expensive. A cup of standard tea was £2.95.

Don't let the name confuse you, this isn't a pompous exclusive private gentlemen's club, at least…read morenot anymore. These days it is a small independednt family run hotel, bar and restaurant. The restaurant which comes with a rather cool name, "Ziba" caters for all your boutique hotel dining needs. The produce is locally sourced from a farm owned by the same family and the menu is described as English with a modern twist. I am yet to dine here but have frequented the bar lounge for a few at a birthday bash. There are also gym and spa facilities and for art lovers they also have a gallery room where local artistic talent is shown off from time to time. All in all a very hospitable destination, whether it is for a night's stay or a nice meal. An independent family run business always carries browny points from me as I always feel they are more welcoming. Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself.....los gentes

Continuing my reviews from last Thursday when I took Australian members of my family for a whistle…read morestop tour of some of the restaurants, bars and cultural hotspots of this great city of mine... I wanted to take my uncle and his girlfriend to The Racquet Club as I have always had a very soft spot for this incredibly elegant venue in the heart of the business district, having been to a couple of beautiful weddings here and also having produced a tea dance event there myself several years ago which was just lovely. I also wanted to take them there as I was looking for somewhere classy that did cocktails (our first choice, Panoramic, was fully booked with afternoon tea takers). I remembered the stunning tea inspired cocktails the bar staff had created at my tea dance event so I thought this was a great second choice. Sadly, what I had forgotten was that The Racquet Club only does cocktails for special occasions and not during normal service as their bar is not set up for it! We were so disappointed! However, having had to go down the route of more standard drinks I must say we were very pleased. My uncle loved his half pint of Bombadier (they don't get beer like that in Australia!) and the glasses of wine his girlfriend and I had (a French Rose and a white) were chilled to perfection and delicious. The only other thing I would say is that even though the surroundings of the Racquet Club are beautiful and quietly elegant I do think they could get away with playing some classical music or other quiet, appropriate music if only to give a little atmosphere and cover the noise of the girl cleaning the glasses behind the bar! I will continue to have a soft spot for the Racquet Club but I must remember that they don't do cocktails and that it can be VERY quiet at times!

I'm only writing this review because Abode have just sent me and email asking me to... something I…read morehope they'll regret. I visited last Saturday night in a party of 6, eating at 8pm. we arrived slightly early so as to have a drink before dinner, first impression wasn't great as there were a huge collection of dirty glasses on the bar, oddly despite the fact that various members of staff were milling about, no one seemed to be that interested in moving or cleaning them. We took a table in the corner of the bar and were immediately aware of a gale force wind emanating from the air conditioning vent above our table. We asked for this to be turned down, the staff member informed us that it would be taken care of - it wasn't. Not until the we asked for a fourth time did the wind cease. Venturing out of the bar and into the toilet area, a general level of untidiness was again obvious. The used towel bins were completely overflowing and there was no toilet roll - I'm reliably informed that the situation was mirrored in the ladies toilet. It was around this point that we released the time had moved on towards 8:30 and we were yet to be taken to our table. upon inquiry we were informed that the table was indeed ready... why we hadn't been informed is anyone's guess. We were taken to our table a young man who immediately informed us that he didn't have enough menus, so we would have to share... he went off to look for more but never returned. This all seemed very odd given that the restaurant was little more than half full (lucky for us, how much worse could it have been??). Once again some time passed until we flagged down a passing waitress, she fetched a wine menu which the previous waiter had failed to provide, she was also able to hunt down additional menus with little trouble. The lady proceeded to inform us that she was very busy running two sections and wouldn't be able to give us too much attention. Given the incompetence of everyone we'd deal with thus far, this didn't seem like a bad thing, although it's always nice to know as a paying customer that there are other people somewhere else who are a higher priority that you - the true essence of good service and why people are happy to pay inflated prices at restaurants such as this (no.. wait a second?). Clearly noticing that our spirits were at a low ebb, the waitress decided to really lock in the bad feeling by giving us what could only be described as a 'warning' not to order the tasting menu unless we all wanted it. It sounds like I'm going over the top but we really were made to feel like naughty school children - crazy! The next disappointment came only moments later when the waitress returned to take our orders. Given it had only been about 60 seconds since we'd received our menus, it was unsurprising that no one was ready to order. I ordered some wine but was amazed by the waitresses complete lack of knowledge on the subject, especially considering the wine list contains little more than 20 different bottles!! This was highlighted when rather than repeating my order in confirmation the waitress quoted back the reference number from the menu - as if I were ordering food in a Chinese takeaway! From this point on I was continually irked throughout the meal as every time I ordered wine it was taken to another member of our table. We were only offered the opportunity to try the first bottle, I suppose all subsequent bottles were assumed to be in a suitable condition based on my review of the first. To be fair the wine was excellent, but credit here should go to the supplier rather than the restaurant. After an inordinately long wait our food arrived. before we could start a young man gave us a verbal overview of our dishes, I can only assume from his stuttering delivery that this was indeed his first night on the job, if so then it seems to unfair to criticise too much. When the food finally did arrive it was the absolute definition of mediocrity. Remarkable for nothing more than the stingy small portions and distinct lack of either quality ingredients or creativity. Vanilla is the word that springs to mind. The Peanut Parfait and Espresso Martini deserve a special mention - the former was rock hard to the point where it was impossible to eat and the other was simply disgusting - undrinkable. Cheese get an honorable mention - very pleasant... although once again, credit to the supplier rather than the restaurant. Throughout the meal the air-conditioning saga continued. it was eventually resolved shortly before we left and a comfortable temperature was restored, albeit a little late. The final insult was the bill, weighing in at a budget busting £420 - not including drinks in the bar. We paid and left... never to return. This place was more fun when it was a police station, and the food was probably better too.

If fine dining and a great view to go with it are what you are after, then head to this restaurant…read morein Chester! It's situated on the site of the old police head quarters and is a great improvement to the area- with the addition of the hotel, cafe bar and outdoor seating too. Beautiful outlook over the racecourse makes the whole time there all the more pleasurable. That said the food is ofcourse the main attraction. You can choose up to 5 courses, which I would call starter-size. Its not quite tapas or a taster menu, but is an interesting idea. There are plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and a wide selection of spirits and wines too. Unfortunately on this occasion we were on our own in the dining room (Sunday dinner) which was a bit strange and also the wind was howling round the building and the heavy rain did not help (hence not decent pictures as the room is quite dark), but i would come back again. You can also hire out there private room for £75 per person, up to 24 people.

The most prominent hotel on the beach location big place , nice staff , had a flood from room above…read more, all responded and sorted , very quickly , get top floor or bottom floor , always busy , golfers, wedding , etc , which adds to the character of the place , in nice or bad weather , a good place to stay , good bars , good food