Celtic Manor Resort

The rooms are beautiful, large (American Standards), nicely furnished and nice small touches (Welch cakes ect..). The kids club (Hideaway Club) is wonderful - my daughters (2 & 6) didn't want to leave! Dress-up clothes, playstation, movie "theater", ball pit..... The spa is lovely - I only had my hair cut (only £35 compared to London ....) but the staff was friendly and they have some very nice treatments I'll take advantage of next time I go. Convenient to get to and super staff! I have nothing but great things to say. Oh, yes and the Pool! Fun for kids and adults - just lovely. I have travel extensively with my children and this is by far the first truly family friendly resort with 5 star accommodations. I'm looking forward to taking my husband back for a golf weekend!

I booked a couple of treatments at Dylans Spa as a treat but the service level I received was appalling. The appointment was late which I was told was completely normal and the staff were aggressive when I queried this. I left the Spa feeling stressed and dissatisfied. I will not be visiting again.

Celtic Manor just gets better! My wife, our 2 year old son and myself stayed for 3 nights starting on Christmas Eve. We had never been away before at Christmas and I could not face the supermarket queues for brandy butter. Having stayed at Celtic Manor in September 2005 (see previous review) we thought the Hotel would be a perfect holiday retreat and how right we were! We booked a 1 bedroomed suite so that our son could sleep in peace and on check in we had this most wonderful surprise as the hotel gave us a complimentary upgrade to the Presidential Suite (with the baby grand piano) - normal cost £1500 per night! The floor space was bigger than our house - including 2 bedrooms, massive lounge with its own Christmas tree, walk in wardrobes, large bathrooms and a private dining room. Our stay was superb with all the usual 5 star touches. I thought of the thousands preparing their turkeys whilst my son and I swam in a completely empty pool at 1245 on Christmas Day! I know that some reviewers have questioned the quality of the buffet food at the Olive Tree. I agree it is not michelin star standard but our Christmas Eve and Boxing Day meals were hot with a plentiful choice. With a hungry child (and wife!) the Olive Tree as with everything about the Hotel is a perfect family choice. Christmas 2006 at Celtic Manor was a wonderful unforgettable treat.

Stayed at the celtic manor hotel for a business meeting for a couple of nights, which in the main was a good experience. I found the booking in proceedure polite and efficent. The hotel was clean and tidy, my room had a great view over the Severn bridge. Facilites in the room were good and all you would need on the whole. I did find the car parking and general signage to the hotel to be a little confusing, and had a view that the hotel appeared geared to golf breaks. A fairly good stay, but when I was there, also (I guess obvious) a lot of business people milling around. Quite expensive as well.

Attended a business dinner and stayed one night. As it was half term , I upgraded to a family room and brought the family along with me! The scale of this hotel is vast. This is not the place for an intimate get-away! Overlooking the M4 (which cant be heard), it sits in front of several of the UKs finest golf courses. I didnt have time for golfing activities on this stay but can vouch they are first class from previous stays. Our room was huge and contained two double beds, a desk, a sitting area and a plush marble bathroom (containing bath and seperate shower) We also had a balcony running along two sides albeit with a view of the M4! Whilst I was at my dinner, the family hit room service and were universally complementary. The childrens menu in particular drew high praise for taste and value. Breakfast was equally impressive (but see later re cost) We all used the swinmming pool which was really great and just as pictured in the brochures. Whirlpools adjacent to the pool and also in both changing rooms. Day spa guests were in evidence. Staff were polite and helpful. Only two issues of complaint. The cleaner knocked on the door at 8am wanting to clean the room. Despite being sent away, she knocked again an hour later. I know I should have put the "do not disturb"notice up but after a very late night, this unexpected awakening was not appreciated! Also on checking out, we were charged for breakfast at GPB15 per head despite agreeing an inclusive rate. This took some time to resolve but staff were polite and throughout and apologetic at the end. Overall a good stay at a hotel warrenting its rating. We would return.

"All Stars" Golf Touranment was the selling point, two nights away during the recent Half Term with the children brilliant in a 5* Resort Hotel, it had all the amenities a family could require and only an Hour and Half away from home. That was where it stopped, this is not a family/5* resort! Concierge/Housekeeping/Reception are excellent it must be noted. Restaurant Service/Food Quality within The Olive Tree was appalling, overpriced and of poor quality: Children's menus within the restaurants are umimaginative, expensive and any individual request is frowned upon and you will pay for it. We requested a plain beefburger and beans, it cost us £5.90! we waited forty minutes for it to arrive by then our Daughter just wanted to go back to the room. When we queried the price we were told there are "no open" buttons on the till to charge individually hence it was charged as a full dish price as per the Children's menu. * Staff members chewing gum standing around chatting. * Setting the Restaurant up for either Lunch or Dinner at 9am whilst still serving Breakfast. What horrified us more was putting the clean cutlery on the chairs as they relaid, Hygiene practices need to be reviewed especially as we had to bring it to the Restaurant Managers attention that a member of staff serving us had a white guaze plaster around his finger that was old, dirty and had dried blood on it. * Orders arriving incorrectly, glass of Chablis was misinterrpreted as a glass of Champagne! * Food quality is poor, a dish labelled a Medallion of Beef on the menu was nothing more that a piece of Braising Steak, labels missing off of many dishes. When my wife asked a member of staff what the Desserts were, his reply was he did not know and could not find anybody to ask, a Lemon Tart was an Egg Custard Tart according to him. * Breakfast Buffet not maintained, tired and dried up. After speaking to Customer Services, we were encouraged to try The Patio Restaurant in the Manor House, knowing that we had a small baby and pram they failed to highlight that it was not accessible by lift and I would end up having to carry it down the stairs. However putting that aside the Service was better, more attentive and the Restaurant Manager (lady) was very accomodating arranging Concierge to collect us in the minibus to take us back to the Resort Hotel. Food was much the same as The Olive Tree, the Restaurants just do not have a clear identity, Olive Tree is supposedly Mediterranean and the The Patio, Italian, not a Tiramasu/Panecotta to be seen on the menu! Overall, Celtic Manor does not live up to its TV image/5* rating when it comes to service and food, is that not what a hotel is about I hear you ask? There was a general lack of vision of management throughout our stay, perhaps this is the problem and the staff do what they like. We certainly will not be revisiting or recommending.

My self and my husband stayed at the Celtic Manor last December we stayed in the presidential suite which was realy fantastic, we stayed for two nights at a cost of £3,000 what realy upset us was the fact that they wanted to charge us for a morning paper and to eat breakfast was going to cost another £10 even though we had already paid for it in with the cost of the room, and the toiletries were not replaced in the bathroom after the first night . In future we will go on a cruise for two weeks it will cost about the same

I lived locally and was a member of the Spa at the Celtic Manor. It is potentially a fantastic facilty but was woefully let down by indolent staff. There were frequent examples of staff unwilling to help on the most basic of requests and cafe staff seemed more concerned with cashing up early and leaving rather than serving guests. In addition, the changing rooms were frequently filthy and general maintenance poor. Duty managers didn't seem to care about any criticism.

We went there for 2 nights with our 2 children in July 2006 and we loved it! Great place for business or a family break. We were surprised that the internet and phoning a UK landline was complimentary, which is really good news for us as our business is internet based. We were able to put our laptop on and on the internet straightaway! The breakfast in the Olive Gardens was great! We left our 2 children in the play area for a couple of hours which cost £3.50 per hour per child while my husband and I went for a spa treatment. It was excellent and the kids loved it too as they watch DVD's and played on the karoke etc. The room was clean, the bathroom was great all marbled! Will definitely recommend it and we would go back there again. Also, understand that Alan Shearer spent his first day of retirement there!!

Recently visited this beautiful hotel and loved everything about it only drawback was the buffet which wasnt bad but not great either. However the food in other resturatnts was really good. The hotel is very good and staff are attentive too, good place for a short break- spa was really good had a treatment and thoroughly enjoyed it.