Crabwall Manor Spa, BW Signature Collection

The location of this hotel is great, very close to Chester and all the attractions around. In terms of the room, our room was very spacious and the bed was very big. However it was two singles joined together, so a gap between the two. This is probably where the good bits end. The size of the room and bathroom really was a positive though, especially travelling with a baby. We had to pay £5 to hire a travel cot and in the end we didn’t use it. The cot mattress appears to have never been replace and was very thin and lumpy, making it redundant. The wooden slates at the bottom of the crib could be felt very dominantly through what was left of the mattress, meaning our baby was waking up uncomfortable and we had to transfer him to the bed. In terms of things that could do with improvement: Cleanliness The room floor was very dirty and could have benefited from an additional vacuum. Initially I put this down to arriving on New Year’s Day and then having a lot of people check out that day, but the whole hotel appeared a little bit grubby on closer inspection. The spa pool was exceptionally dirty. The floor coming out of the changing room covered in hair and general dirt. The showers looked like they hadn’t had a good scrub in months, with yellow build up all over the floor and walls. Not what you expect from a spa! To top it off after swimming I have contracted the Norovirus. Service Our first encounter with the reception staff was great the lady very welcoming and friendly. We met the cleaner as well who was also lovely. The rest of the staff we encountered were not so great. Either rude or disinterested, I get that it might not be your dream job but service with a smile goes a long way. Facilities The hot water takes a while to come through at busier times, this is signposted in the room. However, the water does not get very water at all. It does come through at a pleasant temperature, but not great if you like a bath or shower on the warmer side. There are three times a day when you can go swimming with children. It would be great if these times were restricted to children/families only, as there were quite a few adults sitting around the poolside and in the hot tub. Breakfast was ok, but a lot of the time left uncovered. Overall not a great stay and would be unlikely to stay again.

A lovely stay. Staff were very helpful and the venue was lovely.

We have had a lovely stay, and it would only take a few tweaks to make this hotel better. Good: *It's in the perfect location, we took an uber into the centre of Chester for less than £5. *Breakfast was relaxed with a great selection as a buffet service. *Spacious room with all the amenities you need. *Plenty of free parking. *Beautiful grounds and really quiet at night. *Great value for money Needs Improving: *Cleaning standard is average, black mold around the taps in the bathroom that could be easily resolved. *Bathroom floor was desperate for a good mop *Bed wasn't the comfiest as 2 twins fastened together leaving a gap in the middle. *Staffing levels affecting customer service levels, we decided to order room service, took an age to answer the phone and then said could be collected from reception, kind of goes against the point of room service, so we left it, not great for the hotels add on sales if that happens everytime. *No enough bar staff, we ordered food but it was cold and one meal was not what we ordered but too hungry to wait for it to be replaced, apparently fish finger sandwich is identical to fish and chips anyway according to the waitress! Like I said it won't take much for this hotel to raise it's customer service standards to an excellent level, more staff will fix most of the issues, despite everything mentioned we would probably stay again.