Macdonald Craxton Wood Hotel & Spa, Chester

Friendly, clean and peaceful. The breakfast was a bit disappointing as very weak coffee and cheap sliced bread, spoiled an otherwise excellent breakfast. The black pudding was exceptional.

We had a nice stay, hotel was clean and we had good service. Hotel rooms are a bit dated now. Cooked breakfast food was overdone. Spa was nice, wife had a good massage, we were disappointed there was no jacuzzi. Overall needs a little TLC.

Lovely location, nice and quiet and good food / breakfast, all the staff were really friendly and couldn’t do enough for me! The hotel itself could do with an upgrade as it doesn’t do the location and staff justice! That said don’t let my comment put you off I will definitely stay here again when working in the area

Beautiful grounds. Swimming pool Water jug and glasses in room. Nice breakfast Nice pillows, bed a little firm for my liking but you will never please everyone with beds

Property is dated. But the bedrooms were large and bed was comfortable. The deco throughout is old fashioned and dark. Corridors are dark and dingy. I can not comment about the communal areas as i didnt really use them. The staff were pleasant polite and very helpful.

Wedding reception and evening do excellent and relaxing from start to finish

We had a fantastic stay. Staff super friendly too

The family room was large and comfortable (if a bit tired), however lack of air conditioning was a bit of an issue as it was 30 degrees. However a fan was provided on request. Breakfast was great with a lot of choice and there were good options for other meals. It was great for kids due to the large grassy area just outside the restaurant, meaning they could go and play while we finished our food and drinks. The pool is a good size and is sectioned off for adults and families/ children. There was also a decent amount of time allocated for children to swim. Location was good for us, being handy for Chester zoo, Chester itself and not too far from the coast. All in all, we had an enjoyable and comfortable stay and would definitely come back.

Don’t be fooled by the pretty location or the glossy photos. The hotel is tired and run-down, with dated rooms and a kitchen that didn’t look clean. The restaurant served the worst food we’ve ever had (even the chips were bad) and breakfast was a sad buffet with a latte so watered down it was undrinkable. They charged £4 for a cappuccino at an “included” breakfast without warning, and when I complained, there was no attempt to make it right. Staff seemed overstretched and uninterested. To top it off, we even overheard staff in the kitchen complaining about customers with allergies. Save your money, this is not a 4 star stay, it’s a disappointment.

Staff were great, room was lovely and big and the bed was comfy. Good breakfast included and all for a very good price.

This hotel is ok, just needs updating and a little care. There was a distinct smell of cigarette smoke in the reception area and down the corridors. The wardrobe door was off its hinges in our room and the shelves all scratched and tatty. The beds were comfortable and the room was clean.

this was a wonderful saty. We were a family of 16. Occupying 5 rooms. Service was great. Staff were great. Pool steam and sauana super clean. Hotel rooms a little dated but did the job. We had a blast

Lovely attentive staff. Good food. The property is very tired.

Had a lovely day at the Spa with lovely with treatment and afternoon tea. We booked to stay at the hotel overnight. The staff were helpful and professional behind the reception and in the restaurant. We had afternoon tea which was okay, went again for tea, very overpriced and the food wasnt great for the value. Breakfast was excellent lots of choice to chose from and cooked breakfast was good. Hotel room was very dated. Had booked room with king size bed, but was two single beds pushed together. The beds were okay but didnt find the mattresses the comfiest. The area was quiet which was good, no noise compaints. The room only had one working UK plug socket, one did not work and the rest were EU plugs so not able to use. Decent shower and bathroom. Overall excellent spa day and breakfast at the hotel, Tea time food overpriced and the rooms are very dated.

Only half way through stay but arrived and found a very dirty toilet with matter dripping from underneath of toilet seat. Rest of room cleaned perfectly fine so just an unfortunate oversight but Went to reception to ask someone to come help and an hour later no one arrived. We went out for dinner (couldn’t get a table in hotel) and when came back someone had been on and put some bleach down but underneath of seat still dirty !

It was very quiet and in very nice grounds. There was black mold on the silicone sea to the bath and wash basin.

Staff friendly and excellent. Food generally good but breakfast on Tuesday not up to Monday’s standard. Hotel clean but in need of refurbishment.

On arrival I was allocated my room tv would not work and room had not been cleaned, the manager came and within seconds agreed to move me . My next room was clean but had a big fan in it and I was told the room gets very warm. Out of all the windows only one opened about two inches. The fan was needed but the main issue was the fan in the toilet was noisy and never went off and at 10.50 that night my door was banged heavily and by another guest shouting for me to turn off the fan . I had no option but to take my card out which in turn turned all the room power off , it was a very uncomfortable unpleasant night . Following day the cleaner had said the issue with the fan only started yesterday and she had reported the issue . On top of all of this I ordered a meal of steak chips and salad , the salad was an embarrassment even the employee serving said he was embarrassed . Worst of all the managers never seemed to do much to rectify I was still expected to pay for both days stays and my meal .

Nice comfy beds. Hotel in need of facelift and at £24 for breakfast it looks like this is how they plant to fund it !!. Mouldy ceiling in bathroom ☹️

Lovely hotel in the middle of the countryside, very tranquil, nice modern clean room, quiet at night. Enjoyed the leisure centre, good facilities apart from lack of hot tub.

The domestic staff are wonderfu, very helpful, lovely people and so very kind. All the staff we were in contact with could not of been nicer. My wife had her 21st some 51 years ago at this hotel! We were both originally from Heswall. Our trip was one to help my brother in law who lives in New Brighton who has had a nasty fall booth breaks in his ankle. Thank you for your help.

Very pleasant stay

Great location with beautiful peaceful grounds to enjoy. Room comfortable and clean but really outdated and needing some retouches. Staff friendly. Dining experience average.

Staff very friendly and helpful. We had one meal, fish and chips, but they didn't have steak or lasagne? We were both disappointed with our meal! The chips were dry and white! mushy peas looked a little crusty on top, and the sauce looked like it had been left uncovered for a while. The pillows do not have a safety case on!! Also, they do not allow cash or debit payments! Not good if you don't carry a credit card! The positives its a lovely peaceful setting and energy. The pool and steam room fab. The dry room was out of order.

Nice

We have stayed here quite a few times as a family but have to confess we were a bit disappointed this time: the decor is getting shabby (dirty furnishings, holes in carpets, out-dated fixtures etc.), the staff (though polite) in both the spa and in the hotel didn’t seem to be too bothered and, when my husband went to check us in whilst we headed to the pool, they charged us for a room we’d already paid for! This was all cleared up on check-out but the whole experience (which was supposed to be a bit of a treat) felt a bit flat tbh! The location is ideal for exploring the area (Chester Zoo, Blue Planet, Cheshire Oaks, Chester Races etc etc) but I’m not sure we’ll choose to stay here again as I think we could probably get better value for money elsewhere. We chose not to pay for the breakfast as it would have cost almost £100 extra so we headed off early and ate elsewhere.

Really good multigym (for a hotel). Loads of machines and free weight. However the swimming pool was a bit cold and the sauna out of action while we were there. The room was lovely, really nice. Unfortunately they had a problem with the hot water while we were there which was off two mornings in a row at precisely the time I needed to shower and shave before work. When it was on it was scalding and difficult to balance the temperature whilst showering. However I’m sure that was just a temporary hiccup while we were staying.

Very dated hotel, pictures online look a lot nicer. The queen bed was 2 single beds pushed together. No outlets anywhere near the bed to charge your phone. On the plus side the pool and gym were nice.

It was ok. I think the hotel needs updating and shower facilities needs checking as it is difficult to control temperatures.

Good location for Chester & surrounding area. Hotel is tired looking in places, and service was sloppy at times. Spacious room,.dimmer was ok, and breakfast was plentiful with a £5 supplement on all cooked food with the exception of the English Breakfast. At £99 b&b it was good calue for money.

Positive Great value, excellent food, lovely setting, good pool, attentive helpful staff. Not so positive No wifi in room 112. No sparkle in the sparkling water dispenser outside the room. ROAM is not a user friendly car charging app.

Very good stay, clean and has a pool

The beds need attention, the mattresses are worn out and the toppers can’t compensate. This was the second time staying here and both times the beds have been abysmal! Other than that the decor is dated but doesn’t have an impact on anything really.. the service is good as are the onsite facilities

Filthy hotel Crack in my sink and leaking Booked doulble bed got 2 singles Carpets old very old in fact, Decorations in rooms are late 70s early 80s in my opinion. Grounds are nice Very expensive menu for what it is. Breakfast is £24 over priced again. In my opinion. No nets up at windows, so walking out of bathroom into room. Children’s play area outside in garden. Not a good idea.

Lovely hotel, hidden gem with good sized pool. Good food and drinks and room were a good size. Staff all friendly and helpful

Easy to park car plenty of room. Nice qrea to sit out in the sun at the back of hotel, small area with childrens play area outside. Loved view from room of the stream and bluebells and trees and sounds of the birds. Staff were polite and helpful. Rooms could do with bit of an update .

Have stayed here twice now when attending meetings in our office in Shotton. The grounds a nice and the rooms large and there is free access to the pool and gym on site.

Absolutely superb hotel. Will definitely book again to stay here

Great stay over two nights . Food fresh , well cooked . Breakfast is always amazing as freshly cooked for you . Good continental aswell.

Hotel was great, breakfast was good quality and the gym facilities were good for what is needed when staying away, I will be staying again. Only downside was no AC in the rooms

liked the spa and large room

Hotel out dated, fusty, shower ( I’ve peed quicker ) mattress cheap and nasty

Staff very slow and table not cleared until i asked. Food was tasteless also no mention of what comes with what you order so i had a portion of chips i didnt need

Service, food and hotel were great our room was lovely and spacious but it was like a sauna, it made it very uncomfortable to sleep in and was not what you would expect from a suite. Couldn't fault the breakfast buffet or drink selection in the bar.

I stayed here 20 years ago. The hotel hasn’t been maintained well since. Fabric on bedroom chairs was sun bleached and frayed. Plug hole in bathroom sink was rusted. Lovely Elemis bathroom products in shower and hand basin but none available for the bath ! Pool in Spa was unavailable which was disappointing.

Easy checkin, large comfortable rooms with massive bed, free use of the spa and children permitted between certain hours was a bonus, it was a spontaneous two nights away and actually felt like a proper little break with the spa included for us all, our daughter enjoyed it. Restaurant and bar we thought a little expensive so only ate one night at the hotel however we did enjoy our meal.

Lovely stay here, quiet location, excellent facilities

decent hotel , good spa ( no hot tub or jacuzzi but lots of hot rooms ) good service , food good quality. breakfast taste ok but extra (£5) if you want anything but the basic breakfast . £4 extra for a latte or different coffee or tea no mushrooms second morning , no offer of replacement or extra options

Bad experience at check in but rectified when manager spoken to. All other staff very pleasant and service as expected. Some areas need updating but again after sharing this information they seemed to acknowledge the feedback and are happy to take this onboard

Not what I expected in comparison to the images of the rooms, very old fashioned and outdated, the chairs in the bedroom were worn out, felt tacky which made me feel uncomfortable. I need of modernisation!

We had the deluxe suite, and room was massive but no TV in the lounge area, room very hot and no air con. Had to wait 2 hours for a fan just so we could sleep. Very outdated.

I did the Chester 100 mile ultra marathon and checked in on the Friday night and had a lovely meal to fuel up. The hotel is very clean, the bed was very comfortable and the room was nice. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. Only thing id say is make it adults only. Kids running about along the hallways and in the big garden area when youre trying to relax and unwind with a meal and a drink is quite annoying. However the food, drink, room, parking, spa and everything else was fantastic

Stayed quite a few times before but standard’s seemed to of slipped from check in to checkout I seemed to have to explain there processes to them to get a simple process down to completion

Room was damp smelling. Room was freezing, heater didn’t warm up at all. No milk for a brew. Skid mark in the toilet. No WiFi.

All good with service and breakfast was excellent. Dinner I found expensive for the quality provided.

posizione ideale per relax

Spa and pool area was nice but the hotel needs modernised and freshened up a bit. The beds were comfortable.

Bed comfy, not enough plugs, me and my son were sneezing and itchy all night. The lampshades were mouldy. The wardrobes were scratched to bits, not enough tea/coffee supples. Pool and gym had late open times breakfast way overpriced. We drove into chester for our breakfast instead. Would not return

On arrival to the hotel it has lovely grounds surrounding the hotel, check in was quick and easy. The room itself was dated but clean I would recommend but could do with some modernizing.

Overall fine. Bed wash is bit on the soft side. Toilet roll holder hanging off wall.

Nice hotel

Hotel, room and amenities fantastic.. Cooked breakfast awful

Peaceful location, friendly staff. Traditional style furniture but still felt very clean

We have stayed here before and find it very comfortable and convenient.

Great staff really helpful

Reception not attentive no times for gym or swim given. No breakfast offered just keys and told directions to the room.

Room was large and overall an ok stay. Food prices and quality did not match. As a vegan I found the options & quality not great& breakfast highly over priced given I could not eat most of the food on offer.

Was very gd value . Only comment is there were no breakfast teabags in room . Only a couple of peppermint and green tea .

Nice rooms. Excellent Pool, Sauna and Gym.

That’s a good and comfortable hotel, we had a relax and happy trip, the receptionist in the morning also very thoughtful, he did remind us the swimming rules when he knows we want to pay and extend the checkout time to swim with my son. Thank you~

All as expected

Very tired hotel. Radiators making noises so cant sleep (had to move rooms), extractor fans dirty, in-room furniture old (threadbare, chipped, missing pictures on wall, etc). Was told we had to book for breakfast but it was not busy. However a 20 min wait for hot drinks unacceptable, as was the 45 mins between arriving and hot food being put on our table (again, not busy). Lift not working. Sounds like an ingoing issue and not to be resolved soon. Thankfully we did not have large or heavy suitcases!! Hotel feels run down and understaffed. The staff that are there are happy to try and help though. Problems reported to reception on both days for resolutions. Talking to other guests they feel the same. Still havent recieved a call from the Ops Manager yet. Macdonalds you should be ashamed of running this hotel into the ground. We will not be staying again.

Gym, Pool and Sauna all good.

The staff were polite and friendly and reacted very quickly to a request

Lovely room, hotel, and pool.

A very brief stay. Single room was clean and quiet. Nice to have robe. Managed to set my alarm an hour late but was greeted by Scarlet in the restaurant who kindly sorted me some breakfast to go, a lovely young lady. The only negative was the car park has no lights at night which was quite dangerous due to an uneven surface. Would like to come back and try the spa.

We opted to stay in double delux room which in theory was just a doucle room with a table and chairs put in

Room had a leaky bathroom and they still put me as a guest in there. Never staying with thos hotel ever again!

Great Place to stay, use of spa facilities included in the price.

Perfect just radiator in one of our 2 rooms too close to bed so surface burn when going past radiator perhaps bed needs to be moved slightly in room 215

Friendly welcoming staff, tasty food, large rooms and comfy beds but conference facilities were not as good as expected (cold rooms and projector to dim for a bright room), bedroom was initially cold as all heating switched off, long walk to bedrooms from reception and very inflexible Manager regrading changes to booking dates (charges would be made).

Room allocated was next to the plant room. Very noisy at night and early hours -4am onwards. Staff did readily change our room for the 2nd/3rd night

Lovely comfy beds and great food

I was very disappointed with the single room, hotel was lovely and family who stayed had lovely rooms but the single room was tiny, shower was really small, no phone, stains on the ceiling and down the wall, also the first floor seemed quite shabby compared to the ground floor

Slow service Clean comfortable room a bit dated.

Positives: Good sized room with comfy bed Breakfast was plentiful, tasty and served hot Negatives: Our bedroom was tired, dated and not thoroughly cleaned Receptionist was unwelcoming and lacked customer care

Room was full of Spiders and my little girl was not happy then the heating wouldn't turn off in my room and was so hot i had to be moved to another room

no

Unfortunately the heating was not working, the room was cold and there were no heaters available, reception did give me an extra quilt! However this was a 2 night stay and the second night it was sorted out. Food was a little on the pricey side but the pork belly was lovely

Great stay. Staff were wonderful. Rooms could do with a little TLC

The room was lovely but it was so hot! It was definitely over 25 degrees in there on the 1st night even with all the windows open and the fans running. Called down about 11pm to ask to switch it off and was told they couldn't. Second night they had managed to turn it down a bit but was still very warm and we had all the widows open. Others wise it was a lovely stay.

Highly personalised service

Restaurant looked very posh and beautifully modern. However booked a deluxe room and it was incredibly outdated, very below standard

Friendly, helpful staff, clean hotel

Room was dated and in need of a refurb. The shower was slow to drain away and flooded the bathroom when it did, the hotel seemed understaffed. The breakfast isnt worth the money you pay.

Another great stay

We stayed here over 5 years ago and it was great but unfortunately it looks like nothing has been done here for over 5 years. The rooms and corridors are extremely tired. Our toilet flush broke on the first flush, the shower leaked and there was mould on the bathroom ceiling. Its a shame as the staff were great and the food was really good.

The stay was nice and quiet hotel. Breakfast took 30 min to come while was quite which let them down. Everything else was fine.

A very disappointing experience. Place is very tired and in dire need of a referb. Room was pokey and grubby. Toilet seat broken. Tv on the wall was very crooked. Cobwebs all around the window and radiator. Bed was comfortable and clean. Bathroom needed a deep clean. Breakfast menu card was rancid covered in old food. Breakfast buffet on 2nd morning was was luke warm, scrambled eggs the only choice and awful, but a reasonable selection of items available. Staff were pleasant. The spa pool is a good size but water clarity was not good, my eyes watered for a good 30 mins after a swim. The grounds around the hotel could be lovely but no effort made. I expected more from a Macdonald Hotel. One wonders if hotel management have ever stayed in one of they're own places. On evidence of this weekend that would be a no.