Macdonald Forest Hills Hotel & Spa

Beautiful setting with friendly helpful staff. Lovely menu selection with knowledgeable staff able to recommend dishes

Breakfast very good - waiting time poor

Not being made aware that there were no phone in room. My husband does not have a smart phone so when I wad advised at breakfast about phones being removed from rooms I felt venerable about how my husband could get help if I needed help. No umbrellas for guests when a very heavy downpour happen on our second night and we had to wait for it to ease before we go to restaurant across carpark. Not being made aware when I booked that there was no lift to our 3rd floor room - and no offer of help to take our cases up - we are 75 and 70 years of age - in good enough health but a lot of stairs and 2 doors is too much without some hotel assistance.

Location was excellent, beautiful views

Had to pay £4 extra for a cappuchino with prepaid breakfast, also extra for certain items. Food was overpriced for what you got. Rooms abit tired, need to feel abit cozier

The hotel is in a beautiful setting, with very well-kept grounds and lovely scenery. There are lots of activities available and plenty of walks and hikes of varying difficulty nearby, which was a real highlight of our stay. The spa itself was lovely and a really relaxing space. Our room was as pictured online, and the bathroom in particular was great, with a separate bath and shower which we really enjoyed. Overall, the location, grounds, surrounding scenery and range of things to do were probably the strongest parts of our stay.

Although the room was as pictured, there were some maintenance and cleanliness issues that took away from the overall standard. The faux leather was peeling quite noticeably, particularly on the headboard, there was cobweb-like gathered dust around parts of the ceiling, and there were areas in the corners where the paint was scabbing. Our experience with staff was also quite inconsistent. Some were very friendly and helpful, while at other times I was left feeling as though I was bothering staff by asking for something. The spa itself was lovely, however my masseuse appeared to have a cold and was regularly blowing her nose while I was lying down, including during my facial, which wasn't particularly pleasant or relaxing. Breakfast was okay, and the additional charges for certain items were clearly communicated, but I didn't feel that what you received necessarily justified the extra cost. We also noticed that tea and coffee regularly had to be requested again after initially ordering, not just at our table but at several tables around us. We also ordered room service during our stay, and unfortunately the tray was left outside our room for around 24 hours after we had finished. Overall, there were a number of relatively small issues which, when combined, made the experience feel a little below the standard we had expected.