Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, Golf & Country Club - Whitchurch, United Kingdom 

Disappointing disappointing - a good idea but failed badly, too many golfers (we were 2 of 11 waiting to play at one hole alone) - gave up after just 6 holes the first day - no heating in bedroom / service poor in evening restaurant / bar area - we would not go back, which is very disappointing given the high standards at sister hotel Portal!

An obvious later addition to the country club, I got the feeling that the hotel was built mainly to cater for those holding weddings and other functions at the club, and I have stayed at larger hotels that were far less impersonal. There was no ambiance. The, largely young, staff were lovely. All of them friendly and helpful when we did need to deal with them, and anything said in this review should not reflect on them. Both rooms booked by us suffered from a very loud whistle in the upvc patio doors, and we had to sleep with the television on to drown it out, and the hospitality tray had only enough instant coffee for one cup each. The room was, though, spacious, clean and nicely furnished, and warmed up fairly quickly once we'd found the heater and switched it on. We had booked a table for dinner since after a long drive we didn't want to go searching out a restaurant, and found that there was only a set menu. This was extremely disappointing because their website had claimed excellent dining. They had run out of the one vegetarian option, and offered pasta with peppers instead with no cost reduction. My husband found that there was nothing he liked on the set menu at all, and we were surprised that steak was not an option. The food was edible but not excellent. We then found that the sports bar where we had hoped to have an after dinner brandy, was closed, even to guests, and that the bar in the lounge was extremely expensive, ?12.50 for a single shot of ordinary brandy! Breakfast on the other hand, was superb. Large buffet choice as well as beautifully cooked to order full english. The leisure facilities are in a separate building and you have to walk outdoors around the hotel and down steep steps to get to them. A towel is provided. We didn't use the gym but the pool was clean, warm and modern.