BEST WESTERN THE BURNSIDE HOTEL

Firstly to note this is not a 5 star hotel and should probably not be charging the rates that it is, so if you are booking keep that in mind and lower any 5 star expectations. It’s a comfortable 3 star experience with good features and prices should perhaps be looked at. The lady on the gatehouse lures you into a false sense of 5 star and that’s where it ends. The check in was rushed and we were given a welcome drink and then very quickly showed around and then got palmed off to someone else to take our bags up. In this ‘handover’ our welcome drinks were put aside and I said this to the young boy and he said - well you’ll have to go back to reception and see if they’ll give you another. The lady did actually bring them up to our room and apologise which was nice. The bed was horrendous and you could visually see the dip in it and springs. I did raise this and asked for our room to be changed or something to be done. I was offered a mattress topper and I politely declined. In all fairness housekeeping then swapped the mattress and it was much better. The room itself was pretty dark and dingy and I don’t think it’s worth upgrading to a junior suite. They seem a little outdated and all the fake flowers a bit tacky. The rooms were pretty hot - there is no air con but there was a fan. There is not a mini fridge or minibar in the room but the staff were accommodating with ice buckets for drinks. The terrace for drinks was manned by two younger guys who would not let us order at the bar and then insisted we sat down as it was table service and then appeared to forget about us. I went in and they were just having a chat - I was more than happy to order at the bar and not have them running about but the fact they insisted just made this silly! The Bentley chauffeur service is a fun and handy novelty to drop you into town and the bloke who did was lovely. The hot tub was good on the balcony and the spa with the poolside bar was also a good novelty and we enjoyed spending an hour or so in there. We went to the hotel restaurant on our second night and the staff were really lovely in there and the food was nice and I would recommend it. Breakfast is bang average and we had to wait to be seated and both days things like milk and hot water weren’t being checked to be topped up. I had to ask and it was then quickly attended too. Cups and crockery were a bit grubby and chipped as well. Having paid £870 for 2 nights and being asked to pay for a parking felt a little insulting as well. Overall, it was a real mixed bag and was certainly not awful but I think for what it professes to be it is underwhelming and overpriced.

I stayed at the Lakes Hotel and Spa as a solo traveller for two nights in mid-August, in a standard double room. On arrival, I was offered a drink and reception confirmed that I was staying alone. I paid £30 for breakfast (£15 per person for two mornings) and an additional £50 was taken from my card for incidentals. The room was a good size, but unfortunately very dated. The bathroom was also a good size but again felt very dated. The shower was particularly problematic. It took several minutes for the water to heat up, and once it did, the temperature continually fluctuated from extremely hot to very cold, so I had to keep adjusting it throughout my shower. The bed was also very uncomfortable. I could feel the springs through the mattress and, when sitting on the edge, the mattress was extremely flat and would almost bounce back up. I didn't get a particularly comfortable night's sleep. Breakfast was okay, but nothing special. There was a buffet with a selection of hot and cold food, although as a vegetarian I didn't feel there was a particularly good choice. I'm not sure I would pay £15 per person for breakfast again, as the food didn't feel worth the price beyond the convenience of having breakfast at the hotel. On the first morning, I left some yoghurt and a few other bits, including juice, while I went to get a coffee and pastry. When I returned, my food had been cleared away. I appreciate that I should probably have said I wasn't finished, but I would have expected the staff member to check before clearing a table where food and drinks were still present. The following morning, I had to wait around five minutes to be seated for breakfast. Unfortunately, the problems continued when I checked out. Reception initially refunded me only £11.75, as I had been charged £8.25 for a drink. It turned out that an additional £30 had been taken because reception had mistakenly thought there were two guests rather than one, despite confirming this when I arrived. I had to return to reception to resolve this and then wait around 15 minutes because there was a large party checking in. The reception waiting area is quite small, and although there were other members of reception staff around, I eventually managed to catch the attention of one who came out to help me. I was understandably quite upset by this point, particularly as I had already experienced several issues during my stay. The member of staff did eventually arrange the £30 refund, and I explained that I hadn't enjoyed my stay and felt the service had been poor. For a hotel advertised as 5-star, I honestly felt this was more like a 2-star experience. The dated room, uncomfortable bed, unreliable shower, average breakfast and poor service did not feel anywhere near what I would expect from a 5-star hotel. Overall, I found the stay very disappointing. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend staying here and I would not choose to stay again.

⭐️ 1 star The lady at the gatehouse was lovely, very welcoming and made our arrival feel special. Unfortunately, that was one of the few positives of our stay. For a 5-star hotel, the cleanliness of the room was extremely disappointing. There were high levels of dust throughout, old food from previous guests in the carpet, stains on the towels, and hairs in the bathroom and on the balcony. These are basic cleanliness issues that simply shouldn’t be present at a hotel of this standard. We also ate at the on-site restaurant. The food was rushed and, while perfectly fine to eat, it was nothing particularly special. During our meal, plates were taken away while we were still eating. We were later told that this was because the restaurant offers both small and large plates, although this wasn’t something we had experienced before and it certainly didn’t feel like good service. We raised our concerns via email and the manager handled our complaint professionally and efficiently, which I do want to acknowledge. Our concerns were picked up quickly, some issues were acknowledged and addressed, including the high levels of dust, and the room was given a deep clean. However, for a 5-star hotel, a deep clean should not be something that only happens after a guest complains. The manager clearly understands the importance of dealing with issues professionally, but there needs to be greater consistency across the hotel. She needs to ensure that staff in other areas are also carrying out their duties to the same professional and efficient standard that she demonstrated when handling our complaint. Ultimately, the experience was disappointing enough that we decided to end our holiday early and check out. The warm welcome from the lady at the gatehouse and the professional handling of our complaint were genuinely appreciated, but unfortunately they couldn’t make up for the poor cleanliness, disappointing dining experience and overall lack of the standard we expected from a 5-star hotel. A real shame, as the hotel clearly has potential, but based on our experience, it fell well short of expectations.