Hotel berhampiran Six Towns Viewing Point, Stoke-on-Trent

Excellent stay! From the welcome to the checking out, the staff were friendly and helpful. The house is amazing - love that the history of the house is in a leaflet in the room. Our room was clean, spacious, had everything in working order and was comfortable. There were spare pillows in the wardrobe (which my husband and I needed as we are side sleepers and love a pile of pillows), the duvet and sheets were soft and comfortable. We had a tv in our room, tea/coffee facilities and a glass bottle of water. We chose to have dinner there instead of venturing out, and we are glad we did. The food was delicious. fresh and piping hot on arrival. The wine recommendation from the staff was spot on! The bar afterwards was lovely to sit in and wind down before bed. Breakfast the next morning (included in the booking) was again delicious and well cooked. There was also tea and coffee, fresh juice, pastries and toast for guests to serve themselves as much as they wanted. Before leaving we had a walk around the garden and the views are spectacular. The garden itself is well looked after and beautiful as well. My husband and I cannot fault a thing about our stay, which we chose for our 4th wedding anniversary and we will definitely be back.

The price increase in a days spa has prevented me from being able to go to the spa as often as I used to, however, we managed to get an autumn glow package, which included a 7 hour visit, lunch, free drink on arrival and one hour treatment. The same package last year also included the salt room, but this was not in the package this year. I’ll start with the pros, there are many. The staff were fabulous, really helpful, welcoming and friendly. As a vegan, I was more than happy with my vegan mezze platter and the new outdoor/indoor restaurant area is really lovely. The treatment was excellent, we had a facial and back and feet massage. Again the staff were lovely and we had camomile tea in the relax room afterwards. The swim up pool is great however, I found the water a bit too hot. Cons: The day we visited the spa was quite busy and we didn’t get around all of the outdoor rooms/areas but here is my experience of the ones we did visit. The steam room, both my friend and I and two other people noticed that the seats were slimy in places. I don’t know what causes this it might be quite natural but it wasn’t pleasant, it was mostly at the edges. From here we went to the cold bath. I love the cold bath experience and the exhilaration you feel when you get out, however, the bath had black lumps and white gooey pieces floating in it. Again not pleasant and I don’t know what it was but it certainly wasn’t nice. The paving around the swim up pool, was green in places and needed a good cleaning. We noticed stains on the day beds, the edges and the cushions. The floating beds in the indoor pool had black mould on them and one in particular smelled of mould. The cons didn’t ruin our day, but, we noticed them and other people will too. They need attention because the price for a day spa is high and I do expect everything to be perfect as it has been in the past.

This spa consists of an outdoor jacuzzi, an indoor plunge pool & cold shower, a small steam room and sauna. There is another room but we didn’t pay for that experience. It was £50 each for 3 hours. We had lunch whilst there, as a more limited menu is provided. Points knocked off for tepid Jacuzzi and sauna. A few off the guests we engaged with commented on the fact that neither were hot enough, or as hot as expected. The steam room was the hottest place to be and we had been on a cold hike prior and really wanted to be warm. A private area to change would’ve been nice. I appreciate I had the “small plate” dish of gluten free mushrooms on toast (£8) but gluten free bread is the size of a postage stamp and I had to ask for another piece because even for a sandwich you expect 2 pieces of bread not one. They did bring one but it was too late for my toppings as I’d eaten it in 4 seconds. We didn’t think there was an option of a side order of chips on this menu or I would’ve had it. I would say it all looked clean though to end on a positive! Wouldn’t rule out returning. It’s more like a mini spa experience and I did say we could’ve got a guest pass for a gym that wouldn’t been a similar experience.

We stayed here for a short weekend break, it was excellent from start to finish. The grounds are beautiful, excellent for our dog, the spa was lovely, not too busy. Everywhere was immaculate, the interior of the main building is worth a visit on its own. Steeped in history a truly remarkable hotel, and the staff so helpful and friendly just added to a wonderful break. Would highly recommend this hotel.