Macdonald Old England Hotel & Spa

£25 a night for parking

There were stains on the carpet from make up and crumbs on the floor. The robes were very word and crisp. The room was incredibly hot and the WiFi was not working at times. The spa pool was much colder than we expected and we could only spend 30 mins in it. Breakfast was hectic. The staff tried hard but there was not enough staff and I felt sorry for the staff who never stopped, were polite and professional to complaints but struggled to keep up. Breakfast took 1 hr 30 to come in total from waiting at the door to leaving. Price of the car park is a lot and should be around 15 pounds for guests in my opinion. I would have been more disappointed if I had paid more money, but for the price and location it was ok. Would I return? I would look at different options but the location is good.

The hotel needs a lot of TLC. There are so many things I could raise like radiator not working in rooms , shower pressure in the room was non-existent it took over eight minutes for it to get warm.
The condition of decoration across the hotel was really poor. Our room had multiple stains on the walls.
The hallway had carpet loose at one point I tripped over this in overall I would say the hotel is charging too much money for the experience they offer we paid £450 for two nights with a breakfast included.
I waited over 15 minutes this morning for breakfast and then another 10 minutes after that for out toast to arrive it’s the little things that people notice.
I used the gymnasium yesterday , it was disgusting. The floor was absolutely thick with dirt and dust ,and was very unhygienic. I didn’t return to the gym today because of that I will be writing a formal letter of complaint to the McDonald hotel.

The car parking is an absolute farse and it feels
Like they are taking advantage of
You , There is a free on-site car park in the ground yet you get charged £25 per night to park offsite .
This seems a bit of a scam and at £50 for two nights’ parking plus the £500 there are multiple locations around Windermere and bonus where you can get free parking with your accommodation.
I feel this place needs a really good standard of tidying up., there were so many easy fixes that could really improve the place , It looks like there’s been no money invested in the swimming pool area, showers not working, plus numerous lockers unable to lock , was too cold to swim in and the facilities in the men’s changing rooms were poor.

I wouldn’t return to this hotel even if it was if half the price.

Paying for Car Park

Building rather tired, but staff trying to make the most of what they have to use. Each day the breakfast seemed to run differently (buffet, no buffet, half buffet / half menu) and staff clearly struggled with number of guests.

You have stopped valet parking,the continental breakfast choice was poor,English breakfast was small.

I was extremely disappointed with the room. I am not over exaggerating when I say the bed was the worst bed I have slept on. The mattress was thin and I was tossing and turning all night due to discomfort. I spent 3 nights on that mattress and woke up with muscle discomfort every morning. If a poor sleep for 3 nights wasn’t bad enough breakfast got worse. You had to wait a long time to be seated and then it took around 20 minutes before they brought your toast and tea/coffee over which by the time it got to you the toast was cold every morning! The hot buffet was ok but the food was warm not hot. On 2 of the mornings I had to ask where my tea and toast was as I was waiting that long. The staff were very pleasant and you can see that they are trying their best but it is clearly understaffed and they’re all overwhelmed due to this.

Felt that the hotel management needs to employ more temporary staff to support the regulars when they can anticipate busy periods- eg our stay was during a school holiday when there was also a wedding taking place. There were clearly times when staff were rushed & under too much pressure trying to maintain standards and we felt sorry for them.
Even though they are different types of menus, lounge food isn't of a similar quality to that of the restaurant... all food could be served hotter- warm plates & keep basic supplies like salt, pepper, sauces in a cupboard in the lounge so they're easily accessible for staff.

Nothing

Very disappointed on our last night. Sunday 25th October was during the storm and was our last night. We had eaten in the bar Friday and Saturday, food served until 8.30pm. We had been out all day on the Sunday and went into the bar at 6.30pm to eat. Unfortunately, we were told that there was no food being served after 6 pm, which obviously we had no idea about. Told to eat downstairs in the restaurant. Went downstairs and were told bluntly they were fully booked. This was because they had to accommodate guests from their sister hotel which had a power cut. Fair enough, but what we did not think was fair is that there was NO food being served to their own customers if you had not booked, with no bar food either. This really spoilt our last night. We had to go out and search for a restaurant, they were all fully booked. Don't bother complaining as McDonald's just won't listen, more or less told this by the manager.

Noisey heating system.

Room a little tired looking

Room was ok but very tired. Bathroom in need of revamp. Grout was black. Overflow on bath was tusted that much it was flaking. Bathroom towel rail did not warm up. The staff behind the bar were ignorant to most customers and also went missing, especially the big guy

The hotel parking at £25 per night is ridiculous and poorly advertised when booking. The wifi in my room specifically was very poor. The property in general probably needs a bit of a refresh. I booked a family room because it was the only room left available, but when I arrived as a solo traveller they tried to downgrade me to a smaller room without any money back. I raised this and got reinstated to my original room, which was fine

No jacuzzi in the spa.