Matfen Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa

We visited for Farher s Day for Sunday lunch. It had been a while since visiting but we loved our lunch so much The girl with dark hair was very friendly and served us very well Loved the lunch in particular The beef and pavlova were excellent

1. Super aggressive, rude, hostile and receptionist with confrontational attitude to greet and check in new arrivals 2. No help by porters with your bags on arrival (you drag your own bag wile porters stand and chat) 3. Strong smell of chlorine in the corridors around the SPA area 4. Three massive yellow diggers on the lawn in front of the "beautiful side" - in the view from the windows of Emerald restaurant where testing menu and drinks will set you back £500+ 5. Disastrous staff at breakfast - no attention, no care or normal smile (asked about bathroom - got shown to the lift, ordered tea - never arrived, ordered 2 dishes for 2 people got three...) 6. In the main hall from 5pm till 8pm the pianist is playing super simplistic music, just banging the notes not too professional. 7. You are told to book Emerald restaurant (£125 per person food only, drink extra) well in advance, but when you get there, you find out that it is completely empty, four people only - no atmosphere. When young waiter brings your tasting menu dish, she names couple of obvious ingredients and about the rest says "and other bits..." SUMMARY - hotel and restaurant is posing for something they are not and God knows how they received 5 stars. The main problem - staff has no idea how to behave and what they need to do in the establishment which has 5 stars... TERRIBLE STAY, WOULD NOT RECOMMENT FOR ANYONE.

Disappointing experience. Lovely building that has been beautifully renovated, but no customer care / limited guest experience. No formal welcome on arrival, no discussion or guidance on package booked/facilities/dining etc. Other guests appeared to be as confused as us…(ie. helping each other to locate towels in spa), certainly not what would expect of a luxury hotel. Real shame as beautiful place with lots of potential if manager made aware (info@ appear reluctant to provide details) Did intend to return and use for further business in north but will skip.