The Grand Hotel & Spa

As regular guests at The Grand we were really looking forward to spending our anniversary there. We were upgraded (at a small fee to us) which we were delighted with, glasses of prosecco were then brought up to our room upon arrival which was very thoughtful. The bed was exceptionally comfy, the room was clean and the bath was huge which was lovely. The luggage team were very friendly and attentive.

We were delighted to be upgraded however it came at a small cost to us which seemed a little odd... we got to the room to find a view of a car park from the window. The female on reception repeated herself over and over again on our arrival which we then realised she was reeling things off the computer screen at us, this made it seem not so personal and rather confusing. We were offered use of the white rose lounge with the upgrade where the check in and check out times missed half of what it had to offer which was disappointing - we only had breakfast. The white rose lounge was clean and the breakfast was pleasant however the staff (again) let it down, at one point the member of staff leant across the table to start clearing away when we had literally just stopped eating. The spa is normally what sways us in choosing The Grand time and time again as it seems a little luxurious extra which we usually thoroughly enjoy however we noticed on this occasion it was really rather grubby to say the least, upon arrival at the spa the receptionist was friendly however didn't seem to know anything about the spa and was even confused as to which locker key to give us, my husband was then given the wrong key so he had to leave the spa once again to gain the correct one. The changing rooms were dirty and untidy. There were multiple loose tiles lying around the jacuzzi and it wasn't very clean. The button halfway along the pool edge that gives a subtle current to swim against was not working and was hanging off the wall. The shower I went in afterwards was also broken. These may seem like very small matters however it is normally clear to see why this hotel boasts 5 stars but on this occasion we struggled to feel the same. Overall we should have stuck with the room we chose originally and not bothered with the spa! Really really dissapointed and sadly shall not be returning anytime soon.