Macdonald Old England Hotel

nice room but at the back of hotel so no veiw only had breakfast at hotel which was lovey some lovely lounges to relax in but drink was very very dear would love to stay they again and recomend to anyone

Late deal booked through Royalties Gold who were offering 3 nights for the price of two the week before Easter. Had stayed before the £9 million refurb which finished late last year. The hotel is now improved beyond belief and all the staff were excellent in every way. We had an upgrade to a lake view room which was stunning. The breakfast was very very good and we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant on the sunday evening - it is pricey but an enjoyable experience. On the other nights we ate locally and can recommend Jacksons (Italian) and also the chinese up the road at a fraction of the hotel cost. A super break just before all the crowds arrived for Easter and superb value for money - used the leisure facilities every day

my wife and i stayed room only march 4-16 2008 .My wife has mobility problems due to ilness , and we found the staff in all parts of the hotel went out of their way to look after us .we only stayed room only so cannot comment on the standard of breakfast , but spoke to some other guests who gave good feedback. We had dinner on the final night of our stay and found this to be of a high standard with service to match. with my wife not being too mobile we also found the hotel has an ecelent location with everything within easy reach.

what can i say this hotel has just gone through a refurbishment to the tune of £10 million and it shows the rooms in the new wing are just perfect,big clean rooms with flat screen tv. all amenities are excellent,staff wonderful especially david the concierge,clare on reception was lovely and nicola in housekeeping was very efficient what ever we wanted nothing was to much trouble for her. i must rate this hotel at 5 out of 5 service top quality if you go you wont be disappointed..........

We stayed in this hotel around 3 years ago and it was tired, dull and a bit drab to be honest. They have spent £10m on it and what an investment. The new wing is fabulous. Large bedrooms and an immaculate bathroom. We were lucky enough to get a room with a lake view (131) and for the price of £100 per night for the room with breakfast (Winter Saver until end March on Macdonald hotel website) we thought it was fantastic value for money especially as most bed and breakfasts charge this amount with no view of the lake. The hotel is right in the centre of the village and is walking distance to the lake and restaurants. Breakfast was good but be warned - On the Sunday the hotel was fairly full and everyone seemed to come for breakfast at the same time. As they cook the breakfasts fresh rather than the usual buffet, the wait was over 30 mins - This is fine if you are warned in advance as you could then select the continental breakfast. Unfortunately the warning was not given when people were seated and this led to a number of complaints. The view from the breakfast room is stunning though so its not a big deal and the food was great. Overall 5/5 for value for money and now surely the best place to stay in Bowness especially at those rates.

We booked through the hotel website a winter saver for the weekend 8/9th February . We were allocated a room in the new wing and I have to say it was lovely large spotless room complete with bathrobes/ hairdryer, flatscreen tv and immaculate bathroom. We only had breakfast at the hotel which was good value within the b/b rate and the restaurant has a fabulous view over the lake. The staff are very friendly/ polite and helpful. We used the gym and spa 3 times over the weekend and found the facilities excellant. The hotel is in a great spot for the shops, lake and the local restaurants. Would not hesitate to return.

My husband and I stayed at the Old England 25th January for 2 nights. The hotel rooms are well decorated and have all the mod-cons required for a nice weekend break. The indoor pool and SPA area is of an excellent standard, and they only let a few people in at any one time so this area will never feel crowded. Hotel staff are from all over Europe, but most polite and hotel concierge even offered to collect car from their carpark as we were checking out of the hotel. This does not usually happen, so it was a very nice gesture, as it was freezing outside! Would not hesitate to return to this property. Register with Macdonald Hotels and they will send you special promotions via email, and these seem to be the best rates!

I am a regular visitor to Macdonald Hotels through work, and as such am often able to reward myself and family with stays using the reward programme. We loved the look of the new renovation work on the Old England, and booked this for a couple of days just after Christmas to catch a quick break. The hotel Internally is beautiful, although I would ensure when you book that you have a new build room if you wish to avoid poor windows that leak!, however this was the only concern as the rooms where generally clean and well maintained, (if a basic 14"tv grabs you as luxury!). I can only recoomend next time they spend £10 million, that at least they could paint the outside. Our biggest disappointment was the 'Exclusive Spa' policy that means children under 14 are only allowed in the pool between 12 and 2pm each day - Just perfect if you want to go out for the day walking, and even better, just after your room will be ready on arrival!. It was really disappointing that this is not mentioned anywhere on the website, brochure, confirmation or on site literature - so families beware . . . Now for the good stuff - It has a fantastic restaurant, I have to say that both the evening meals, breakfast and service in the restaurant where first class, Richard in particular made sure your needs where listened to, and clearly cares about customers. The breakfast range was the best I had in a Macdonald, better than the Bath Spa, or Marine (both also great hotels). I should also say that Mike in the Spa was very responsive to our concerns and although his team have to deal with many challenges to the exclusive policy of the SPA, he maintained a level of professionalism throughout. Overall a great hotel, but I would not return with my daughter, as I feel the hotel could easily accomodate a 6pm cut off for children to swim. Maybe just for a couple.

My husband and I stayed for a two night break over New Year with another couple and it was fantastic we even stayed an extra night. Our room was in the new extension and it was 1st class everything you could possibly need is catered for. The staff at the Old Macdonald are so helpful and friendly they just can’t do enough for you always smiling and friendly. Paul on reception was very helpful and a credit to the hotel. We were so impressed with our stay that we immediately booked for next New Year 2008.

Excellent! Booking was a little odd, as when I called the hotel they said that the rates I had found on their own web-site did not exist. Anyway I booked via the web-site and got this lower better rate! Stayed 3 nights (Sun/Mon/Tue) in one of their Feature Suites - although, as the sitting room was not seperated from the bedroom (it was in an L shape), I would have classed it as a Junior Suite. Staff great and very attentive from the 1st minute we arrived until the last minute that we left. Parking not a problem, on-site parking is limited but they run a valet parking service - Great! We arrived early, around 12ish planning to just park the car, but the room was ready and they said we should check in, which we did. Only slight problem with the room was the sofa in the sitting area was difficult to sit on as you felt you were sitting on a downwards slope - the only way to rectify this was to extra put cushions under the seat cushions - this should not be necessary when paying circa £300 per night. I did point this out to housekeeping who came and "plumped up the cushions" which did not solve the problem - no point in paying for a sitting area that you can't use. The hotel has gone through a vast refurb, including a new bedroom wing - also a spa which we used both the gym and pool - very nice indeed. This all opened on the 2nd day of our stay. Breakfast was very good, nice fruit/cereal/cold meat/cheese etc buffet plus freshly cooked also (the scrambled eggs were yummy). Curious though - the dining room was split in two, and the other half was being used for some corporate training - a little distracting when trying to enjoy your melon at 9:30 and there is loud music and about 30 people juggling apples just yards away. Staff - lovely - nothing was too much trouble. Just 1 REAL gripe - after spending in excess of £800 for 3 nights THEY CHARGED ME £2 FOR PAYING BY CREDIT CARD. Just plain greedy! All in all excellent.