Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel
, Ballater
Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel Reviews
- Advice: Bad hotel in good area, plenty of alternatives down the road
- Board Basis:Dinner, bed & breakfast
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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1 reader found this review helpful
Spent 3 nights in pleasant environment.Hotel facilities good especially leisure suite.
On Hilton deal so room situated at back of hotel overlooking recycling bins, heating system and delivery point so several large lorries outside window visited regularly and noisily!
Obviously you get what you pay for!!!
Bedroom was very clean and comfortable but bathroom very outdated and we had to report leaking tap as arrived to find puddle on floor!! Sorted by ensuring tight screw on tap!!
Major complaint is the Oaks restaurant. We booked first night as it is only open Thurs to Sun and we wanted to sample their widely advertised and acclaimed cuisine.
Booked for 8.15, only time available. Told by reception to wait in Study Bar 5 minutes beforehand where you receive complimentary canapes, no drink and order from menu. After half an hour were still waiting!! Eventually received 6 tasty canapes amongst four people and shown into restaurant where we waited and waited and waited!!!!!
Starters arrived, ok, followed by another long wait. There were 2 staff on and they were charming, we assumed problem in kitchen as other diners ( max 20) in similar situation. When main course arrived 1 hour 45 minutes after our 8.15 booking, 3 of the 4 of our party had ordered the fillet of beef medallions, 2 very rare, one blue, the steak was so grossly overcooked and full of gristle we had to return 2 of them. The other was eaten by my starving husband who just couldnt wait any longer so endured eating a miniscule portion of overcooked meat.
My sister and I waited patiently for replacement to be welcomed 15 minutes later with yet another 2 portions of grossly overcooked beef. We had waited 2 hours by this time so just ate it!! It was 10.30 pm!!!!
Obviously we complained, politely, after all it was not the fault of the wating staff who were most apologetic. On receipt of our bill we were given the equivalent of a paltry 15% discount in that the hotel had not charged us for one bottle of wine. Took complaint to duty manager who assured us it would be passed on to Manager and she would get back to us.............not a chance. No communication from him during the following 2 days and no deductions on final bill.
Not good enough!!!!!!!!!
I resent paying for poor quality food, £27 for 2 courses per person, and the slowness of service was unacceptable. We all enjoy leisurely dining, but 2 and a half hours for 2 courses is beyond the pale!!!!!!
Having had a bitter experience on our first night we then enjoyed excellent food and service, at surprisingly reasonable prices at the Clubhouse Restaurant for 2 nights. Staff are most attentive, helpful and friendly.
Craigendarroch is lovely but needs updating and more dining space, people had to queue for breakfast!! This is a 4 * complex, allegedly, in Scotland, not a 2 * Spanish hotel!!!!!!!
Needs to improve.
- Advice: Beautiful village in gorgeous setting with fabulous views of River Dee and mountains.
- Activities: Certainly not the Oaks!! Great walks nearby.
- Board Basis:Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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We spent a lovely few days in Craigendarroch Hotel. The hotel itself is lovely it’s made up of the hotel itself and self-catering lodges. From the hotel you can walk down into Ballater.
The hotel has two restaurants. The first is nothing special, ordinary food and we weren’t particularly impressed although it was a fair standard. However you can pay extra and go to the other smaller restaurant.
Here the service is better and the food is fantastic. It is much more of an intimate restaurant where as the main restaurant is family orientated. The food is gorgeous. We had our anniversary meal here and the staff made such an effort to ensure we had a lovely evening. The chef even piped "Happy Anniversary" on my dessert!
The rooms are lovely. We had a suite with four poster bed and nice views. The staff were all very friendly. We look forward to returning.
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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3 readers found this review helpful
Stayed in lodge 38 on a timeshare exchange. It had rather a lot of steps up to it as most of the lodges I passed on the way to the country club so if you have any type of walking difficulties I suggest that you liaise with the resort to ensure you have one with a few steps.
This was a one bedroom unit with a bedroom at the back with twin beds with very firm mattresses and a double Murphy bed which pulled out of the wall length unit in the lounge area. This unit houses the television cocktail cabinet DVD and hi-fi system.
The kitchen was very well stocked with the exception of a spatula and even had some lovely crystal glasses for wine. There was a dishwasher which we didn't use and also a washer/dryer machine which I did (bring your own powder for that!)Heating was from electric storage heaters which was metered and paid for at the end of the stay.
Took about a day and a half to warm it through. Lodge manuals for this and appliances very clear and easy to read. Loads of info of things to do around the area but be aware that in February half term which was when we went there is nothing open except royal Lochnivar distillery and the royal railway station at Ballater.
There are very few pubs/hotels serving any bar food at this time in the village and a chip shop which opens 4 - 8 on 4 nights. My advice is make sure you have plenty of food with you to "eat in" the nearest supermarket is in Bancory some miles away. A little co op in the village is open for anything you may need or have forgotten.
We ate in the country club restaurant on two occasions and both times we were overcharged. Please check your bills carefully. The meals were not that good either and a lot of people were disappointed with the poor quality and service. Some of the staff didn't seem to know what they were doing but others made up for that. My partner spent about forty minutes chasing up a waiter that had gone to get him some change!
As usual the bar prices were high priced with a glass of wine costing about £4.95. There was entertainment on three nights we were there, a disco and magic show for the children on two nights and an excellent duo on the Friday night before we left which would have suited us the rest of the week. The swimming pool and Jacuzzi were lovely and warm, towels supplied but the Jacuzzi had a very steep step into it -it would be a problem to most people. Everyone seemed to struggle getting in. There is a notice warning of the steep step in but it is behind a plant so not too clear!
The changing rooms and showers were first class with plenty of hot water and shampoo/body wash supplied also hair driers but the lockers need new keys and locks as I struggled with most of the ones I had. The small gym seemed well equipped and there was a billiard room and an "arcade type" games room with a pool table in it. There was also a beauty salon which we didn't use.
I can thoroughly recommend this area to stay in it is actually a 1.2 mile walk down a hill into Ballater village rather steep coming back up! A car is essential to enjoy this area as the views are spectacular and the villages really lovely. A summer visit to this part of the world would enable visitors to enjoy the attractions as Balmoral castle and many others do not open until at least April. All in all we had a lovely week despite the lack of local attractions and the setting of the lodges was perfect. Our party consisted of 2 adults and a 14 yr old.
Since returning form the resort we have had several letters from them in response to the survey we filled in on departure apologising for the service and have been informed that all the staff have been retrained in the food and bar side of the leisure complex. Would definitely return but not in a February half term.
- Board Basis:Room Only
- Tour Operator:RCI
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3 readers found this review helpful
Stayed here for two nights. Like other reviewers we found the hotel disappointing compared to the expensive price tag paid for a supposedly four star. It is more like a 2 star for accommodation and service, the spa facilities perhaps raise this to a 3 star. Our room was described as deluxe but it was dated, dark, with a small uncomfortable double bed, bathroom was straight out of the 70’s. A small unusable balcony was overlooking a service area.
We ate in the clubhouse which is like eating in a service station except the food isn't quite as good! No atmosphere, very busy due to lodge guests booking tables and service was chaotic. Our meals were pretty woeful. 1st night we complained and tried to book the Oaks for the 2nd night but told it was shut. They offered us a complimentary bottle of house wine on the 2nd night. After some trepidation we returned to the clubhouse on the 2nd night hoping the chef could do better. Despite the hotel stressing they would make sure things were better sadly i had to send back my pork dish as it was like eating a rubber ball only to be given the chicken 15 mins later, with no apology, which had been given similar treatment. By this time I was tired, upset and starving so I ate what I could but I went to bed pretty hungry. Staff were no where to be found at the end of the meal so we just left and felt very let down. We felt as if the dishes had been sitting on a hot plate and not cooked to order. Dishes lacked imagination and weren’t seasoned correctly, they were lacking taste and quality produce that you can tell the Hilton have cut back. Food was not seasonal and there wasn’t even a salad selection which limited customers choice. Aberdeenshire is such a fabulous area for Scottish produce it was shocking to see such little reflection of this on the menu. The menu was also incorrect so don't expect your meal to come with the right descriptive accompaniments!
We complained for a 2nd time this time to the operations manager who was the rudest customer service representative we have ever encountered. We simply said the Hilton was falling far behind other 4 star hotels we were staying in on our trip in terms of quality and service. We said the food was not to a good standard and the chef didn't seem to be able to cook meat to order. He didn’t take our comments on board, he argued with us and ended up calling us liars and telling us it is because we are picky! He kept asking us what they could have done to make up for it - we answered that all we wanted was a good meal! We were informed that the Hilton take complaints seriously and they check CCTV footage as well. What this had to do with the quality of food we can’t imagine but it might have been his clumsy attempt to scare us. I'm sure customers would not be happy to understand you are being spied on by the staff! As customers who paid £300 for two nights we have a right to expect high standards from a 4 star hotel and being served dreadful food is unacceptable in any circumstance. We left the hotel as quickly as we could simply to get away from the arrogant and rude attitude of the operations manager who didn’t have the decency to listen to our concerns and answer them efficiently. For these reasons we would not recommend this hotel to anyone and would encourage people to look at the many other hotels in the local area. We went on to stay at the Mercure Ardoe House Hotel in Aberdeen which was a 4 star and truly lived up to our expectations. Avoid the Craigendarroch at all costs.