Last night my husband and I were super excited to stay at the
Frimley Hall Hotel in Surrey, we dropped our three children off to my Mum and Dad's, who live just 8 miles away and we checked in for a restful and romantic stay away (Valentines has come late to us!).
Let me start by saying we had a fabulous time and we would definitely stay again. Frimley Hall Hotel is easily accessible, comfortable, very beautiful and the staff in general were exemplary. I'm happy to be able to share with you my full review of our stay -
Arrival at the hotel -
We found the hotel easily, there was lots of signage pointing us there, which is good as it is in the middle of a residential area. The first impression is really good as the hotel fascia is very beautiful, as we arrived there was a massive wedding party spilling across the front drive so we headed the wrong way into the car park and took the very last parking space, considering it was only about 3pm in the afternoon I did wonder what any later arriving guests might do.
We were greeted in reception by Amy and she was very friendly and welcoming. She explained about our stay and checked our details and confirmed our dinner reservation. We were offered help with our luggage and wished a pleasant stay. As we only had an overnight bag we saw ourselves to our room heading up the grand wooden staircase.
The bedrooms -
We were super excited to see that we had been upgraded to a suite and this means we had one of the rooms in the original part of the house. The room literally took my breath away, it was stunning with an enormous mullioned window that had views out to the front over the lawns. I can honestly say that every part of the room was comfortable - the sofa, the 6ft bed, the enormous bath and the double shower. We were very spoilt.
In the room was an iron and board, tea and coffee making facilities, complimentary water, paper and pen, hairdryer, flat screen TV and air conditioning. Of course in the bathroom there was also complimentary premium toiletries from Arran Aromatics.
As we were at the front of the hotel there was a little noise from the wedding party going out on the terrace area in the evening but not enough that we were unhappy.
I asked to see one of their classic (standard) rooms, as we had been upgraded I wanted to be sure that if I recommended this hotel that the regular offering was good too and I was very pleased. The standard rooms in this Macdonald hotel are far better than many of the chain hotel rooms I have seen in my time (and that's quite a few as I used to be a hotel manager). Obviously there is a lot less space than in the suite but the quality of the décor, beds and extras being offered was exactly the same, take a look -
Vital Spa -
I was invited to have a massage whilst I stayed at the hotel so I headed over to the Vital health and wellbeing centre. I had a really relaxing swim in the 17 metre pool and whilst there were a few children there (it was half-term after all) I was pleased to swim in the roped off lane. I also made use of the steam room and relaxed on one of the poolside recliners for a while before my treatment.
Towels and robes are provided for your use and there is no charge for the locker. I didn't try out the spilt-level Techno gym but it looked well equipped. The treatment area is very tranquil and my masseuse was pleasant and professional. I then took advantage of having a herbal tea in the low-lit relaxation room afterwards and fully took advantage of the chill-out time. My massage would normally cost £65 for one hour and I think this price is comparable to others I have had before.
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| Image Credit - Frimley Hall Hotel |
Linden Restaurant -
As part of our package we had been booked in for evening meal and breakfast as an inclusive rate. This meant we could eat from the set three course menu in the AA 2 rosette awarded Linden restaurant. The restaurant is very nice and well presented, you get real silver cutlery, quality linen napkins and extremely attentive service. I think I honestly have to say this is the best service I have received in a restaurant for a very long time. The F&B Manager, Gareth was exceptional - very friendly, efficient and not at a stuffy.
The three course menu is normally £32.50 per head, or I see it is £25 if you book at the time of making your room booking. This is more than we would normally pay but you do get to try out some menu items that might be new to you and are very good quality. Probably my favourite part of the meal was the corn fed chicken on a bed of vanilla risotto with vegetable ribbons and a sweet chilli sauce. My husband adored his fig roly poly with szechuan custard and bramble jelly. We had a very nice bottle of Merlot and this cost us £25.00 for the bottle, which was one of the cheaper bottles of wine.
As well as being aware of our own meal I also watched the service in the restaurant in general and I can confirm that every customer had the same kind of attentive service that we did, there really is an air of professionalism and pride in this restaurant.
The next morning we headed down for breakfast about 9.45am and we expected the restaurant to be heaving with all the wedding guests that had stayed over. I was very pleased to see they had set up a dining room in their function suite and they were all eating together there so we enjoyed a tranquil breakfast with the most amazing buffet. The buffet contained every item you could possibly want from a continental breakfast - cereals, nuts, croissants, fresh fruit, fruit compotes, dried fruit, yoghurt, danish pastries, doughnuts, muffins, bread, juices, cheese, vegetables and sliced meats.
As well as helping yourself to as much of the buffet as you fancy you could also order porridge and cooked breakfast and they were happy to offer seconds or bigger portions of the cooked items if you so wish too. The buffet costs £10.00 per person or it is £13.50 to have the hot meal included as well. I can not recommend breakfast here highly enough.
Gold room lounge -
After dinner my husband and I decided to sit in the lounge by the roaring fire and enjoy a liqueur, it was a great end to a fabulous evening. The sofas and chairs were big and comfy and it was not too busy at all. I did find the service in the Sandhurst bar a bit brash, the Assistant Bar Manager seemed quiet flustered about the wedding and had to keep running off to get things but once we had our drinks we were happy. It seemed odd that he would not let me charge the drinks to my room yet the restaurant had just got me to sign for dinner. I had to go to reception to give a credit card swipe, which was fine but I would have preferred to have been asked for that at check-in.
As you can tell we had a lovely break at the Frimley Hall Hotel and I'll be very happy to visit a Macdonald hotel again in the future.
Thanks so much to
Macdonald hotels for allowing us to undertake this impartial review and big thanks to my fabulous parents for having our vivacious kids for the night!
Disclosure: I was provided with one nights DBB for my husband and myself. I also received a complimentary massage for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.
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