Macdonald Bath Spa, Bath

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Poor
Quality of Rooms	Average
Standard of Service	Good
Quality of Food & Drink	Good

Advantages:	Good service, lovely location
Disadvantages:	Small rooms and lack of room preparation

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I recently stayed at this hotel for 3 nights mid week and had been looking forward to the experience for a couple of months (i even searched for a review on ciao and left a comment!)

LOCATION
This hotel is situated about 10 minutes walk outside the city centre. We were very lucky with the weather so it was a lovely stroll to and from the hotel, although in more severe weather it would probably be a bit unwelcome trek! However, in nice weather the walk is beautiful peppered with beautiful parks and gardens and lovely townhouses. The hotel is also situated on extensive grounds which are well kept, as you would expect, and beautiful to wander around.

THE HOTEL
This is a Macdonalds hotel, rated 5 stars. Therefore much is expected. I have stayed at macdonalds hotels before, so had rather high expectations i admit. The hotel is small with only 90 rooms i believe with an incorporated spa area which is open to the public at a charge, as well as residents.

HOTEL RECEPTION
I arrived in a taxi i picked up at the Rail station and upon arrival the concierge took my bags and escorted me to reception. He was friendly and available to assist throughout our stay. The reception area is clean and spacious with a modern feel and plush furniture. The open fire is a lovely inviting touch. Reception was efficient and formally friendly, although not a particularly happy person and it would have been nice to see a smile. Other staff however were friendly and helpful and when my bags were delivered to my room the bell-boy (i'm sorry if that's not his correct title) struck the perfect balance of being professional but chatty and friendly.

HOTEL ROOM
I have to say i was a little disappointed by the room and this was not helped by its location. Situated on the garden level (basement to the rest of us) our classic double right next to the porters corridor and the whole floor had a subtle fishy/rubbishy smell to it. The sound of trolleys being wheeled from the porters corridor to the elevators was also a constant distraction. Due to the location of the room i was also unable to receive any network signal. The room itself was well appointed, although i was disappointed by the size of the room which was rather small. The view out of the window was essentially a set of stairs and the windows did not open. We were, however, very pleased with the bathroom which was lovely with an incredibly powerful shower, heated mirrors and luxurious toiletries.

Once settled i realised we were missing towels, bath robes and the bedside lamp was not working. Whilst house keeping were quick to remedy these faults I felt the room should have been sufficiently prepared and checked before my arrival, particularly since i was not an early arrival.

The noise from the corridor and the lack of signal eventually lead me to request a room change for the next two nights. The reception staff were very helpful and allowed us to change rooms without fuss. We were given a room on ground level so at least we were able to receive and make phone calls. However our new room was not a particular improvement. Again, it was small and this time the room was an adjoining room. The bathroom was not as well appointed and was smaller with less gadgets. The shower was an older model, the heated mirror was only steam free above my head height and the heated towel rail did not work.

In the room itself, the sheets on the bed were a little moth eaten (noticeable when the maids turned down our bed) and the bedside phone did not work. It was also a little unfortunate that we were placed in an adjoining room next to a family with young children.

SERVICE
Despite my gripes with the rooms, the service whilst we were residents was second to none. The concierge was always helpful and went out of his way to find information we required. The staff in and round the hotel were efficient and welcoming and when it came to settling the bill, when i had a query the reception staff were happy to investigate. They had made a mistake and were unnecessarily apologetic when amending the bill. A pleasure to deal with.

FOOD
We had reservations had ALfresco (one of two restaurants at the hotel, the other being Vellore, with ALfresco being the less formal of the two and offering a vegetarian menu). Unfortunately, as my boyfriend was late in arriving at the hotel due to train delays, we had to cancel our reservation and instead ordered room service when he arrived at 9.30pm. Room service were helpful as expected, although we were mistakenly informed that the 'catch of the day' was chicken, but they rang back to amend the information and we were all quite amused. Service was expedient, with it arriving within 20mins of placing the order.

From the limited room service menu, we ordered the angus steak (rare) with chips and red wine sauce and the wild salmon with asparagus sauce, with a chocolate orance terrine to finish. The steak and salmon were perfect and whilst i'm not a huge fan of desserts, really enjoyed this chocolate orange triumph (a tad precocious?? yep, probably)

SPA
Th spa was lovely with a good sized pool, and jacuzzi in one area, a spa area consisting of saltroom, ice room, tropical shower room, sauna and steam room ( although the latter was out of order during my stay). There was also a hot outdoor hydropool complete with spa and fountain area - this was my favourite and i ended up in the hydropool for over an hour! Prune-like probably doesn't describe the result!

The only real down-side to this was the sheer busy-ness of the spa area. It is open to people who pay membership as well as residents, so it can, i'm told, get incredibly crowded.

PRICE
This hotel is not cheap. It cost £230 per room per night for wed and thursday night, with the cost rising to £250 for the friday night. (including breakfast on all three mornings). It is not a cheap hotel and all services are chargeable but this is to be expected. Considering the price, i was expecting a lot more from this hotel. The decor was nice, although the elevators were shabby with peeling paint and stained carpets. As i have said, i was disappointed with the rooms and expected a lot more at this price.

Whilst this hoteI was perfectly nice and in some respects grand and luxurious, for the price we paid I expected a lot more and felt a little let down. I would like to re-visit Bath but will probably not be staying at this hotel again.