The Palace Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire, is an amazing hotel. It is an RAC 4* accredited hotel and my partner and I went on a 2 night leisure break there for Easter. We chose this particular hotel because it has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym and beauty salon. In short, we decided to ... Read review
metres of the town centre and train station. Manchester and Sheffield are within 30 miles, and Derby is at a 35.5 mile distance. Hotel Features. Set amid lush gar...
beautiful national parks Famed for the healthy properties of its mineral water the area offers stunning scenery with dramatic cliffs waterfalls and caves The hotel is ...
A review by Motley on The Palace Hotel, Buxton April 24th, 2001
Author's product rating:
Advantages:
The hotel facilities are fantastic
Disadvantages:
Not much for the kids to do
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Palace Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire, is an amazing hotel. It is an RAC 4* accredited hotel and my partner and I went on a 2 night leisure break there for Easter. We chose this particular hotel because it has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym and beauty salon. In short, we decided to pamper ourselves.
When we arrived in Buxton we drove straight to the hotel. It is a beautiful Victorian building, which stands proudly on a hill at one end of Buxton overlooking the Opera House, the Pavilion and the Pavilion Gardens. It is also adjacent to the Buxton Crescent and so the view from all the bedrooms at the front of the hotel is magnificent. There are revolving doors to enter a vast marble reception. It all looks very grand and first impressions of the hotel are that you will be treated like royalty during your stay.
The Palace Hotel is one of a group of Hotels run by the Paramount Group. They are all 4* hotels and most of them have leisure facilities. They offer 2 and 3 night leisure breaks from £50 per person, per night. This tariff is for 2 people sharing and includes a 3 course dinner and full English breakfast.
The Palace Hotel has 112 rooms and 4 suites. We stayed in a standard room at the rear of the hotel and so had no view. Our room was lovely. Tastefully decorated with satellite TV, trouser press, tea and coffee making facilities and telephone. The bathroom was ensuite and nice, if a little small. To be honest, the room didn't really scream extravagance - I have stayed in Travel Lodges with equally nice rooms.
The thing that did it for me was the hotel itself. We arrived at 6pm, checked into our room and went straight off to the swimming pool. The 14 metre, mosaic tiled, indoor swimming pool is beautiful. The water is colder than you would imagine (the idea is that you get all hot and sweaty in the steam room or sauna and then dive in the cold water to cleanse and tone the skin. Of course, these days you are required to take a shower between the two). The pool itself is within the leisure suite. You enter and are greeted by a receptionist. You are given towels and asked what you would like to use. You can choose to either be largely left to your own devices or to be shown around - it's up to you really. For two people who swim regularly in the local council pool, this was a really nice experience. It was all so clean and the changing rooms were large and pretty. It was the little things that counted for me.
After our swim, I took a nap and then we dressed and went down to dinner. We had a drink in each of the hotel bars, the Derby Bar (which is also open to the public) and the Robert Rippon Duke Bar (which isn't). Neither had many people in them or much atmosphere. We went into dinner and were sat in the middle of the Dovedale Restaurant. The restaurant is amazing. It is all done out in pale blues and pinks with an awful lot of gold. We were offered a wine list but decided not to order any wine as the house red was £11.50 per bottle and a glass was £4.50 on it’s own. We ordered drinks from the bar, like so many of our fellow diners, to keep the extra cost down.
The menu offered us plenty of choice. There were 10 starters to choose from and 12 main courses. A couple of dishes were offered at a supplement. For example, we could have chosen any of 9 dishes as part of the weekend break, or any of 3 for an extra supplement of between £3 and £6. We stuck to the basic menu and the food was wonderful. 3 courses later and we were both too full to do anything other than go to bed and watch TV. Breakfast the following morning was buffet style but there was a lot of food and it was all very fresh and hot. Again, the food was excellent. I have to say that over the course of our 4 meals, the service we received was not excellent. It wasn’t bad, really, but not excellent. Service was slow on the first night and we were horribly rushed on the second. They forgot to bring our drinks during one dinner and then our coffee during the next days breakfast. We were apologised to on all occasions and everyone was very polite. One more mishap, though, and I would have been complaining bitterly.
On our second day I booked a back massage at the beauty salon. For £10.50 I had 30 minutes of back massage and felt it was well worth the money. The salon offers all kinds of treatments including hair-dressing, massage, aromatherapy, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow-shaping ..... You get the picture.
There were lots of children around, as it was Easter, and children stay free. There is a children’s menu available and all you pay for are meals. I wouldn’t really recommend it for kids as there isn’t anything for them to do in the hotel and I saw a lot of stressed parents trying to get their young to behave ‘properly’ during a 3 course, silver-service meal. It’s a bit boring for kids.
I would thoroughly recommend the hotel to anyone wanting a quick break. However, if at all possible I would not include dinner on my stay again. There are lots of lovely looking restaurants and pubs in Buxton and I would prefer to try those instead.
We booked this break through an internet late-break specialist called www.wotif.com at half price.
Advantages: Good food, useful base for exploring surrounding area Disadvantages: Badly in need of a multi million pound refit
...en route was to be the Palace Buxton. From a distance, the grand façade was quite impressive, however, upon closer inspection, it was obvious that the hotel had spent little on it, e.g. the windows were surrounded by flaking paintwork, some of the wood cladding supporting drainpipes were rotting away. This essence of bygone (albeit very bygone) grandeur continued inside the reception. The reception itself was large with high ceilings, supported by ... ...a little too cocky.
The suite I had booked was worthy of that of a three star hotel, not a four star one. The furnishings were cheap, the carpet, along with everything else was in need of a jolly good clean. The view was quite attractive - I could see the parkland and town centre, however, it was marred by more rotting wood supporting drainpipes! The bathroom was not marble (or indeed any other stone) or mosaic tiled (the only two things I find ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
very helpful
14.08.2002
Quick review of The Palace Hotel, Buxton Review ofThe Palace Hotel, Buxtonby
kljo
Well past its best. The bathroom was something out of the 70's and not clean. Food was barely adequate and very expensive considering the quality. A lovely old building but ridiculous that this hotel should be graded 4 stars???
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Front of the hotel, reception area and communal areas, friendly staff. Disadvantages: Rooms, dated decor, bathrooms, dusty artificial flowers.
...for one night, I didn?t use the gym or pool, so I can?t comment too much on those, but I did have a wonder along to have a look, the pool looked nice but rather small, there seemed to be quite a lot of fitness equipment and there was a separate weights room.
The grounds at the front of the Palace were well maintained and attractive, and location wise the hotel was only a few minutes away from the town centre on foot, and very close to restaurants and shops. The train station was right next door to the hotel so it would be very handy if you were arriving by train.
Value for money:
We booked this hotel through lastminute.com and got quite a good deal - £62.50 for the room, although you have to pay £3.50 for parking when you get there. We did enjoy our stay there, but there were a number of little things that let the Palace down, so I...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Very Efficient Booking Good Hotels Disadvantages: Not Many
...The Paramount Hotel Group,part of a Malaysian hotel company,are relatively recent entrants to the British hotel market. They have bought over a number of long established hotels and modernised them,quite tastefully, I might add.
Currently they have some 16 hotels in their "stable" including such outstanding hotels as The Imperial Torquay,one of the best establishments of its type in SW England,the delightful Angel Hotel in the centre of Cardiff,and the excellent Victorian spa hotel, the Palace at Buxton, Other hotels in their group vary in location from Cheltenham, Harrogate, Cheshire and Scotland.
I have stayed at the Palace, Buxton and the Angel, Cardiff on a 5 day,2 night b and b and dinner package. Both hotels were truly splendid. Booking was done by Internet and was promptly confirmed, the rooms I was allocated were first...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Hotels with good service, good food and luxury! Disadvantages: A bit expensive, but worth it!
...Macclesfield and is easily reached from the M56, M6, M62 or M60.
It has 160 en suite bedrooms, including premier rooms, suites and nine four poster rooms. There is also a leisure club with the usual facilities including outdoor tennis courts.
Main meals are served in the Oakridge Restaurant, with snacks in the Courtyard Bar, and the golf club also provides a range of food and drinks.
On again, down to Central England.
The PalaceHotel, Buxton
-------------------------------
This hotel is easily reached from the M6 or M1 and is situated near to Buxton Railway Station.
It has 122 en suite bedrooms and four suites, and a leisure club.
Main meals are served in the stylish Dovedale Restaurant and the Robert Rippon Duke and Derby Bars provide the informal atmosphere.
The Cheltenham Park Hotel
----------------------------------
This...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
28.05.2009
01.06.2002
13.06.2001
