Just noticed that I'm almost at the 100-review mark - whew!
You might have come across me (as ...
Just noticed that I'm almost at the 100-review mark - whew!
You might have come across me (as cswann) on dooyoo
Member since:12.10.2000
Reviews:100
Members who trust:12
Buxton is a picturesque town, clearly a place for holidays for the well-off in days gone by. The PortlandHotel is located near the Opera House, and opposite the Pavilion Gardens (but with a view of the car park, rather than the gardens), and may have been a decent hotel once, but not anymore. It's a medium sized, with 22 rooms, and it definitley looks like it may have seen more affluent times in years gone by. All rooms are en suite. However, our room had an extremely small en suite… erm, I can't call it a bathroom… toilet with a shower in. Our room was nicely decorated, but somehow felt like a very standard B & B room - possibly because of the smell of smoke which was lingering on everything in there. The publicity states that you have Sky TV - in our room that seemed to be restricted to one sports channel and 2 radio channels.
We never intended to eat at the restaurant, but ended up doing so, mainly because the Park Restaurant there gets a fantastic write up all over the place: "the finest cuisine, served by our friendly and attentive staff", and "the high standard of cuisine offered by our brigade of chefs". Also, in a general leaflet on Buxton, it's recommended as an "award winning" restaurant. First problem seemed to be that there was just a 3 course evening meal, with a set price of £18.00 per head. We had checked with the reception staff, saying we didn't need to have a full 3 course meal, did we, and were told no. On seeing that there was no other menu except the one for the full 3 courses, we again checked with the waitress, who said no, we didn't have to have the full 3 courses. What we didn't realise was, what they meant was, we were going to be charged the full £18.00 whatever we ate. As we soon began to realise… Well, that might have been fair enough if the food was good, but I really was not impressed. The starter, a broccoli and almond soup, was alright. From then on, though, things went downhill fast. My choice for main course featured scallops and mussels, and some prawns, all of which were fine, although in a strangely curried sauce, but it all came in a horrible filo pastry case, which tasted like it had been dunked in some heavily chlorinated swimming baths. The accompanying vegetables were dry and overcooked. My partner's choice (the only one, as a vegetarian, that she could have), pasta with cherry tomatoes and asparagus, was unspectacular, and again, overcooked. We gave the desserts a miss, and a gave the cheese and biscuits a try, but that was another disappointment. The coffee was fine; the tea, when it came, was ordinary tea, not the Earl Grey which we'd asked for (and which we knew they could do, as we'd had it at breakfast).
Usual price is £75.00 for a double room, £55.00 for a single room with breakfast. It's a bit of a rip-off, overall, I'd say.
The town can get very busy in the Summer, and especially in July (Buxton festival), but even if all the other hotels are full - don't stay at the Portland if you can avoid it, and definitely don't eat there.
Portland Hotel and Park Restaurant 32 St. John's Road Buxton Derbyshire SK17 6XQ Tel 01298 22462
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Thanks for the warning. I tend to stick to the Jarvis Hotel or Milton Hotel groups when I travel within the UK, which tend to be really good value for money.
LICARUS 16.10.2001 17:06
Couldnt agree more, I stayed here when attending a wedding and to say they couldnt organise a knees up in a brewery is an understatment. They gave us a playpen to use as a travel cot, despite us telephoning 3 weeks in advance ot ensure they had a proper cot and being assured they had. The waitresses were clumsy and very antisocial and many of us wrote letters of complaint to the management afterwards. Thumbs up for Buxton, thunbs down for the Portland. Emm
Buxton The historic town at the heart of the peak district Sitting opposite the Pavilion ... more
gardens 150 yards from the world famous Buxton Opera House and only a short walk to the town centre the Portland Hotel is the place to stay in this elegant spa ...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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