Macdonaldhotels Reviews 

Great room and service. Thank you

I recently visited the Macdonald Hotel Forest Hills for a spa day. The reception staff were frendly and welcoming and explained the schedule for the visit. The spa treatment from Caroline was first class and I left feeling very relaxed. I also had lunch which was excellent. I have already rebooked.

£150 for one night, should have use Trivago.
Room clean and tidy, very cold unable to switch heating on.
Hotel is definitely past it's best needs a good refurb.
Breakfast average, not up to Macdonald standards.
Will not return.

My husband and myself stayed for two nights this past weekend. The reason for our stay was due to us having a funeral tea organised at the hotel for Saturday. Our experience was excellent. The bedroom was comfortable, reasonably equipped, a little dated, but very clean and overall absolutely fine. Food in the bar was really delicious and service was good despite the staff seeming to be thin on the ground. Their services were in demand, but they smiled, remained hospitable and friendly. We had our springer spaniel who was made most welcome, as of course were we. The staff shone. Regarding the funeral tea, there was nothing to find any fault with. Plentiful tasty food, tea, coffee, and prompt bar service to our private conference room where we were well accommodated for the event. Staff in particular we want to give a shout out to are Jackie, Molly, Sammy and the bar man on Sat evening.

Setting of hotel was lovely room very tied heating still on even though it was 30 degrees asked lots of times to be turned off but never happened Air conditioning not working bathroom was not functioning service for food was poor waited 1 hour for staff to ask what we wanted after being given menu good Breakfast menu food was okay but they forgot what we ordered waited 3/4 of an hour so had to remind them so on my experience will not return could have gone to Spain or Portugal for less

I paid quite a lot more to have a hotel room with air conditioning for my trip to Birmingham, but alas it was not working so may as well have gone with premier inn. Bed was comfy and other facilities were ok.

The hotel is advertised as a 5-star luxury hotel, but unfortunately, some aspects of our stay did not meet the standard we would expect from a 5-star property.
Overall, we had a pleasant stay, and the staff were friendly and helpful. However, there were a few issues with the bathroom and spa facilities. The water did not drain properly from the bath and remained there after showering. We also noticed that some tiles were missing in the steam room, which made the facility look poorly maintained. Hopefully, these issues can be addressed to improve the experience for future guests.

I booked three nights for one person at Macdonald Portal Hotel, costing more than £500. I booked through booking.com after the official hotel portal showed a rate and availability but then did not allow me to check out for that combination of dates and rates. I accepted that the Booking.com rate was described as non-refundable.

However, when my daughter suffered a medical emergency, I contacted Booking.com immediately and asked them to approach the hotel—not only about a compassionate refund, but also about moving the booking to another date. The hotel refused to consider either option.

I then spoke to the hotel directly and was left in no doubt that it intended to retain the entire payment regardless of the circumstances, with no date change, credit or other gesture considered.

I understand the contractual terms. My criticism is about the complete absence of discretion or hospitality shown by a supposedly upmarket hotel and golf resort when confronted with a genuine emergency. A premium price and premium branding did not produce premium customer service.

Prospective guests should be aware that, based on my experience, they should expect the terms to be enforced absolutely—even in a serious family emergency and even where they ask merely to postpone rather than cancel.

This is for Macdonald Forest Hills Hotel. They closed the pool. before we came to the hotel without giving us any notice. They changed our rooms to cheaper rooms without telling us. And we still havend got our money back Yet! Also the customerservice really bad. And the furniture had seen better days too. Easy to say we are not pleased!!

I was allocated room 426 at The Burlington Hotel Birmingham on arrival.
There was an air conditioning unit/extractor fan directly outside the room on the fire escape which was on all night preventing me from sleeping (even with the bathroom and bedroom windows closed)
I reported this to Reception, but they could only offer a single room as an alternative as the hotel was fully booked. (the Receptionist spoke as if this was an issue that had been reported before)

Exceptionally bad experience at MacDonald Forest Hills resort last week. We were given apartment Silver Birch no 3 and did not realise until after the first night that the twin bedroom had horrendous black mould spores in the corner and also in the master ensuite. We were there for a 3 night stay and had to move after night 1 because of this. My son who has asthma was coughing persistently and had to maximise his inhalers to prevent an attack. This apartment was a health hazard and should not be available for a holiday let.
I don’t know what has happened to MacDonald group as they used to be a trusted brand for a staycation break but no more. Their accommodation, whilst generally in lovely locations, is not being maintained or refreshed to a standard with other 4 star accommodation in Scotland. We will never use them again. I am still awaiting a response from a claim for a new swimsuit as following a swim with my grandkids, I found on returning home the next day that the colour was totally bleached and faded rendering it useless. I do not imagine it was a coincidence that the pool was closed for maintenance issues on our last day. A very disappointing experience from our visit to Forest Hills which followed another disappointing experience at MacDonald Lochanully. It seems the group is waiting for a buyer and are unwilling to invest any more in their resorts.

Bath Spa hotel used on two occasions. Slow service, many signed of cost cutting and very tired decor. Much better value to be had elsewhere. Very disappointed.

Tried to book a spa break all day. The phones are never answered in spa. Hotel reception finally answered and said I would be called back in 30 mins. Surprise surprise no one called and then I tried to call back over several hours and yet again no answer. Apparently this is a 5 star hotel with clearly 1 star customer experience. Absolutely useless.

Aviemore Macdonald. Outdated room, outdated bathroom in room, water spillage and taps not even combine hot and cold. Breakfast not evne better than a premiere inn. Staff genrally lazy, nightmare getting ice or any help with anything really.

We stayed at the Macdonald New Blossoms Hotel on the 10th July. Paid a small fortune for one night.

The staff were friendly, the girl on the front desk was super helpful.

Our room was terrible. In dire need of renovation, stains, cobwebs and a window that was sealed 'for our safety'. The other side of it was the fire escape. Blocking an obvious fire escape is surely illegal?

The room had no ventilation, and was hot, and only got hotter through the night, with us periodically having showers throughout the night. Suffice to say, we did not sleep much at all, just having two fans recirculating hot air.

The mattress was very soft and both of us ended up driving home the next day with bad backs.

To end on a positive, the building looked nice from the outside.

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service I received from Macdonald Berystede Hotel & Spa.

I believed I was overcharged as I rang and booked but paid more than the advertised price online. I had already paid but I emailed to find if there was a reason why? If there was a genuine reason I would’ve understood but I just wanted to understand the price difference from online to over the phone. After chasing it myself, it then took over a month to receive a response.

The reply I eventually received was dismissive Instead of accepting responsibility, they claimed that because they had honoured part of an expired offer (which was the offer i booked for which yes may have expired by the time i got it, but it is what I booked), it was “only fair” that I should absorb the £10 overcharge. I had already booked the offer before it expired, and I even had screenshots proving what was included.

I was also told I would be contacted about the £25 fuel credit included - but I wasn’t which is why i reached out about it which may have been once the offer ended.

What frustrated me most wasn’t just the overcharge - it was the lack of accountability, poor communication and the patronising tone of the response. Being told it was “only fair” to lose out because of delays caused by the hotel is unacceptable.

It’s a shame because I have stayed at Macdonald Hotels twice before and enjoyed both visits. Unfortunately, this experience has completely changed my opinion. Good customer service is measured by how problems are handled, and in this case it was handled very poorly.

I won’t be returning, and I cannot recommend staying here based on how this complaint was dealt with.

Feedback Relates to Vital Health and Wellbeing Leisure Facilities at Inchyra Hotel in Grangemouth.

I would strongly advise anyone considering a leisure membership here to read the terms and conditions very carefully before signing up.

I joined after explaining my specific health needs and was assured the facilities and classes would meet them. Unfortunately, my experience was one of repeated maintenance issues, limited access to advertised classes due to booking restrictions, poor communication regarding cancellations, and facilities that frequently fell below the standard I expected.

The most disappointing aspect, however, was the handling of my complaint. Despite raising detailed concerns and having to pursue the matter over several months, I experienced repeated delays, poor communication and a lack of transparency throughout the process. A refund was eventually offered only after a formal complaint and continued persistence on my part.

My biggest warning to prospective members is the three-month cancellation notice period, which I do not believe was made sufficiently clear when I joined. Had I fully appreciated its implications, I would have made a different decision.

While the matter was eventually resolved financially, it required far more time and effort than should have been necessary. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend joining without first ensuring you fully understand the contractual terms and are satisfied that the facilities and booking system genuinely meet your needs.

Fantastic aquasize session thanks to the instructor Charlie Wiggins 🤩

I was kindly helped by Charley Casey on the phone to book a bridal spa day in the Botley branch. She was very professional, patient and even went as far as to send me videos of the spa facility to include in the bridal group chat. It was a great interaction and showed the dedication of the team.

I went for a message, it was done by claire. She was a lovely girl. nice firm massage and my back feels great. i will be back :)