This imaginatively named pub, situated just around the corner from Freshfield station and the…read moremillionaire's row of the area, Victoria Road, is cosy and offers a great selection of guest ales to accompany the usual draught lagers. The food there is very nice and not particularly expensive and the pub itself, whilst on the small side, makes up for it in comfort and with a friendly atmosphere. They also hold regular comedy nights that are always worth attending if you fancy trying to spot the next big thing or, more realistically, you want to see someone crash and burn horribly. Another popular night is the monthly open mic night, which plays host to a number of talented musicians from around the local area. I have also attended many functions in the back room of the pub and have found it to be a very good venue for occasions such as birthdays and football dos, including use of a disco system playing all your cheesy favourites. Think cosy pint beside the fire rather than the pre-cursor to your messy night out.

The Freshfield is located, appropriately enough, in the Freshfield side of Formby which is like the…read moreBeverly Hills to the rest of the town's Compton, being home to Steven Gerrard and other footballers who I am absolutely aware of, being a manly man and all. It's a traditional little boozer, and I do mean little - it might be the smallest pub in these parts, but it's always popular and you can usually find a variety of regulars and visitors (who have come to find red squirrels down at Formby Point -a largely fruitless activity of late) sat around the selection of small tables. They serve draught lagers and ales (with a favourite, Greene King, on tap here - nice) and a small selection of wines at fairly reasonable prices, think around £15 for a round of 4-5 drinks, so far so what, eh? Well the Freshfield is a dark horse; not only does it do wonderful homemade food (the steak and ale pie, one of the finest I have ever had the pleasure to sample) but also they possess a function room at the rear of the premises that plays host to live music and comedy nights where the likes of Alan Carr and Sean Locke have played before (in their pre-primetime days, of course) - also a great place to hire out should you have a birthday or special anniversary to celebrate.

What a stunning location! Set in the Welsh countryside, this hotel is housed in a building that was…read moreoriginally built in the 1500s! The rooms are nice and comfortable, particularly the bed. I liked that the bathroom has a bathtub - was exactly what I felt like after a long day of travelling. The check in process is simple and the staff are lovely and polite. The restaurant has a great menu and the food is very good. The rooms and the hotel are a whole was very clean and well presented. I would certainly stay there again.

Really enjoyed our meal at the crown! Very generous with the portions. The service was incredible…read moreand the staff were so pleasant! I would recommend either the margarita pizza or the pork roast. Highly recommend and will definitely be returning.

We were really surprised by this place when we stayed here. From the outside it looked fantastic,…read morewith its low roof, and authentic black and white beams. Inside was still traditionally maintained but looked a little tired. The food in the italian restaurant next door was really tasty and surprisingly reasonably priced. The main bar area was quiet for a monday night, but there was a pianist in the corner and the atmosphere was really cosy, not to mention a good range of real ales that the barman informed me were all local. The room we stayed in was clean and tidy and the staff were all excellent, couldn't have asked for more.

I looked at staying here but it was a tad too expensive. Apparently Samuel L Jackson stayed here…read moreyou know. The building lives up to its name and is certainly grand! It really stands out on the seafront. We popped into the bar for drinks. The inside was nice but wasn't quite as stylish as I'd expected. I liked the big windows and round bar. Apparently they used to do cocktails but have replaced them with grand gins. Grand gins are popular at the moment and they suit the name but it seems a shame to completely get rid of cocktails. There was a good variety of gin available in the Spanish style, in a large glass with lots of ice and suitable garnishes. Mine was lovely and cost around £8.

We stayed at the Grand last christmas, we got a very good deal on the internet and we had a lovely…read morestay, the room was beautiful with 4 poster bed, wide screen tv and jacuzzi bath. the breakfast was nice but you did have to pay extra for a full english. They did have a little fridge in the room with drinks, chocolate bars and nuts etc. but remember to read the price list before you are tempted to eat any as it was about £1.50 for a mars bar and £2,.50 for a pack of biscuits. They have some lovely function rooms, we have been to a wedding reception here and it was fantastic, although the drinks were a little expensive. The views from the hotel window looking out across the sea were lovely and the we had a peaceful nights sleep with no noise from other guests Would definately stay there again

great value food, very accomodating staff, very clean toilets an food area would highly recommend…read morethis to anyone, and the children get a colouring book an pens to keep them occupied.

Great food and selection of drinks that are fairly priced. The pub is spacious and comfortable…read more They usually do offers for 2 people dining which are worth taking advantage of if possible. It's in a prime location, close to local transport and also not far from the motorway (M53), so it's easily accessible. The food is always preapred to a high standard and everything I have tried there has been delicious. The food is brought to the table relatively quickly aswell.

Great food at very reasonable prices. They hire out the room above for functions. Ideally situated…read morenear to bus stops, motorwayplenty of car parking etc. Waiting on staff are friendly and service is fast.

Staff is super friendly here. Rooms are clean and comfortable. I asked for water, front desk person…read morewent to the restaurant next door, grabbed and filled a glass water pitcher and brought it to my room. The staff here is great!! Room amenities are plentiful, linens are clean and fresh. Bathroom is spacious with a perfectly hot water. I like it!

We stopped at this restaurant purely by chance, and were happy they could take us, as several other…read morerestaurants were booked. The staff was very pleasant, and served us promptly even though there was a huge table full of old people (probably a tour.). Haha, they were about our age. I ordered the smoked hake and chorizo risotto, because I usually love chorizo. But I ended up fishing it out and stacking it on the side, as it was so spicy AND gristly that it overpowered the dish. With it out of the way, the rest of the dish was quite good. My husband had the cow au vin, which was outstanding. I'd return just for that. I was jealous.

Centrally locates, friendly staff, free parking and great food. Very walkable within the walled…read morecity. Definitely worth a splurge to make things easy. The on-site restaurant and bar offer really good food options, special desserts and decent cask beer offerings. The B for breakfast is quite good and plentiful. Rooms are unique but modern and offer what you would expect. I would return to this place

Luxurious spa & fantastic restaurant for an excellent price…read more I was invited to join a friend here for the 'fantastic Friday' deal in June. I hadn't heard of this place before and when my friend described the deal to my on text message it sounded a little too good to be true. £99 for spa use (aqua thermal journey) on the Friday then dinner in the restaurant followed by an overnight stay. Breakfast was also included plus the use of the spa again on the Saturday morning until 11. I wondered if it was a mediocre location - I couldn't have been more wrong! We arrive at 2pm on the Friday on a gloriously sunny day. The hotel and spa are very new and look stunning. The staff are all friendly and very polite and attentive. They offered to carry our bags to our rooms and made every effort to help us. Due to booking quite late we were in a disabled access room on the ground floor but this didn't change anything regarding how lovely it was. Large, light and well furnished with a fridge, drink making facilities, a tv and everything we needed for a great stay. I had such a good nights sleep in the bed. We had treatments (paid for separately to the package) on the Friday. The spa is luxurious and brand new. One of my favourite parts of this experience is that you can wear the robe and slippers they provide all the time (apart from the evening meal) so the whole day and even at breakfast! Heaven. Every part of it is gorgeous and just being there is relaxing. My Swedish back massage was heaven. We then headed into the aqua thermal journey which consists of 7 rooms and experiences throughout the spa. There is also an internal pool and an external hot tub where we sat in the sun. We then relaxed on sun loungers in the Zen garden with gin and tonics. They have waiter service from the bar. The evening meal was sublime. Two courses were included but we opted to have dessert as well at an extra cost. Each part of the meal was perfect. We had goats cheese mousse and crackers as a little amuse bouche which was delicious then I had asparagus, artichoke and radish salad while my friend had the duck egg starter. Both beautifully preserved and the taste was exceptional. Our mains were beef and duck. Again the presentation and flavour was excellent. We had the same dessert, chocolate fondant with cherries. Amazing but I was quite full so couldn't mange the last mouthful. The service was faultless. I cannot recommend this place enough, every element is wonderful and I felt completely renewed after my visit here.

A Spa Weekend to refuel after a long hard working Christmas. I am going to break down my review…read moreinto different segments to make it easier for myself to review it, so here goes.... Booking... I saw billboards for this new luxury spa hotel in Lancashire whilst driving to our Manchester Markets every day, so looked it up on't tinternet. Turns out it's not too far away and reasonably priced. So I rang up to book two rooms on the Spa Break Package that includes dinner, bed, breakfast and use of the 'Aqua Thermal Journey'. Priced at £110 per person, this seemed like a good buy. At the time of booking I requested a treatments menu for the spa to be posted out to me so my folks could pick what luxuries they would like to indulge in during our stay. Unfortunately I never received this menu so I printed one out myself. When we had decided on our treatments I rang up again to book them only to be told there was no availability for any treatment during that weekend! I think not. So I emailed them and after a few concerned phone calls all our treatments were booked in. The hotel... The hotel itself is situated at the far end of a holiday home park, which I was not expecting! This however, did not affect the hotel one bit. It is amazing. Brand spanking new, great spacious rooms, comfy beds, good bathrooms, Molton & Brown toiletries to use (or bring home), the staff couldn't have been more helpful (with the exception of one woman I spoke to on the phone) and the service was overall top notch. The food... We had dinner and breakfast included in our package and I must say I am super glad. The food was like nothing I have ever experienced. I have never been one for fancy food where you get a little bit nicely arranged on a plate that costs a bomb, but this may have opened my eyes a little wider. The food was beautifully designed on great plates (or slates) but also there was enough on the plate to fill you up. They obviously have a very well trained chef. During our evening meal we were presented with canapés which were unexpected but brill. We enjoyed three courses, all of exceptional quality. Breakfast is the same story. Great selection of continental foods and also a choice of hot foods all beautifully presented. Afternoon Tea was our last treat whilst at this hotel, priced at £12.50 a head it was the perfect ending to our weekend getaway. The spa... WOW. 1st class. That is all. Visit it (and don't forget to use the outdoor hot tub!). The only concern I have to mention is to check your bill upon check out. All of our treatments were put on the bill twice, and the room rate was wrong. Good job I checked!