Berwick on Tweed in Northumberland

What a disastrous experience, avoid at all costs! To be advertised as a 'relaxing' spa break is an absolute joke, there was nothing relaxing about it. On arrival we wanted a nice chill, cuppa, bite to eat prior to our spa treatments - we promptly ordered food, bar staff were pleasant but very very slow. An hour passed & I chased up our food order, which arrived that late we had to rush it down to attend our booked treatments. What a great start to our stay! The chips were stone cold. When I say stone cold, they were not even luke warm & certainly not edible. A refund took 35 minutes to process, this had to be done by the ‘top’ Manager - really, for the sake of £4.50! The hotel had supposedly suffered 2 power cuts prior to our arrival & was absolutely freezing cold. We were assured this would be corrected soon. We had a table booked in the restaurant at 19:30pm, it was still freezing at this time & none of us could get warm. We returned to our rooms which were absolutely freezing cold too & even altering the temperature did not help! We were sat in our rooms with jumpers/coats/duvets around us to keep warm! POOL AREA - What Spa experience allows children in the pool, how is this relaxing for the rest of the guests? The pool area was rammed with lots of young children screeching/screaming & dive-bombing in the pool - not one member of staff noticed or stopped this. Our worst nightmare, we had come away for a quiet/relaxing stay. There wasn't a seat/table or lounger anywhere to be found. We managed to get into the jacuzzi, but this was also not working & had no bubbles! The water in the pool/jacuzzi was freezing; we didn't stay in there for long! Children had access to the pool area practically the whole of our stay. We would not have booked Slaley if we knew kids would be present - fact! The massages/treatments in the Elemis Spa were fabulous, however cut short by 10 mins; again this shouldn’t happen! The following day we decided not to return to the pool area, as children would again be present. Therefore, we decided to go to the bar/lounge area for a chill, chat, relax & a cuppa before departing. There was one person serving on the bar; he had to keep leaving his post to deliver meals to guests & the amount of people complaining about the service was ridiculous. We waited 35 minutes to order coffees/drinks & ended up leaving without being served. Where were the so called management team assessing customer service/demand? We checked out. Reception staff were very miserable on arrival & departure. On arrival, outside our rooms were 2 empty dirty glasses & outside another a plate with leftover food. When we exited our rooms these were still there - disgusting! The drive upto the hotel was absolutely horrific with around 150-200 really bad potholes in the road; this desperately needs resurfacing, as it could potentially damage someone's car, there was no way of avoiding them. NOT the relaxing break we had all hoped for & we will definitely not be returning. A 'Spa' break should be a time to relax, wind down & enjoy the experience, it was the furthest from this! The biggest insult was being given a £50 refund for each room (equating to £25 per person). The Manager Steven needs a course in customer loyalty/customer retention. We will NEVER return. Avoid avoid avoid, we would definitely NOT recommend. Horrible experience!

I called in just prior to our booking to leave a birthday cake. The staff were so kind and made sure the table that was reserved would be suitable. When we arrived for our lunch they had put balloons on a chair and a banner was on the wall. Our food was delicious and my grandchildren were also made welcome. They made our celebration perfect. Thanks you all the staff 💕💐

Great stay at The Castle Hotel. We stayed for one night with our dog and we felt right at home. Service was quick and efficient, rooms were spotless and modern, and staff were lovely. Literally right across the road from the station and the beach is only a short walk away too. We had a continental breakfast included in our stay the next morning too. We will absolutely be back! Thanks so much 🫶

Smokey wet log was put into the open log burner/fire, causing the entire place to be filled with smoke. Bar was well stocked with alcohol but lacked in other options (e.g. not many soft drinks or hot chocolate). Young employee behind the bar came across unexperienced and possibly sheepish. They probably serve food but all we saw was an unplugged buffet fridge and empty plastic containers. Very central and close to Kielder Castle though

Lovely food & good value for money. I definitely recommend a visit