Matfen Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa

We were last here 2 years ago and we were blown away with the changes to the place in this short space of time. Some stunning spaces. Loved the clubhouse and Cloisters. Spa was the only area really needing attention (though by no means bad) - but they have already started building a new one! We ate in every place and loved every meal. Emeralds was very good. Desserts not to the same level as starters and mains (same in Cloisters). Pastry on our rhubarb dessert was burnt and hard. Some stunning courses though - bread and the most amazing chicken skin butter, lamb and scallop dishes real standouts. Staff all friendly. Can't wait to come back.

beautiful location for our 25th wedding anniversay! Excellent service from staff Hotel immaculately clean and v. comfortable Spa and gymnasium first class. Within short distance of fascinating historical sites. Recommended without reservation.

Really disappointing that we haven’t even arrived yet and we have been informed that there are no reserved spaces in the spa for treatments for hotel guests. They only reserve some spaces on Fridays. Wish we had been informed before booking this five star hotel, as special occasion.

Fabulous hotel! Wonderful stay!! Food amazing, we had the tasting menu and it was exquisite friendly, knowledgeable staff with great service and a really good golf course, interesting holes and in great condition, Don’t hesitate in booking

We have stayed at Matfen Hall on numerous occasions both before and after the refurbishment but as we hadn't stayed since the new Cloisters restaurant opened we decided to stay on a bed, breakfast and dinner basis. Check in was great, we relaxed in The Great Hall with a complimentary drink while our cases were whisked away to our room. We were escorted to our room (18) by a lovely member of staff called Alan who I have to say is a credit to the hotel. Our room was lovely with the biggest bathroom I've seen, free standing bath and huge shower! The bed was very comfortable and the bed linen top quality. The window overlooked a little courtyard and we had a door which opened straight out onto the terrace with great views of the golf course. We had our evening meal in The Cloisters, and the food was very good and service generally fine. The only complaint I have is that we walked into The Cloisters and there was one member of staff, concentrating on a computer screen who didn't acknowledge our arrival at first and after standing for a minute she did acknowledge we were there but continued to look at the screen. In the meantime another couple arrived and stood behind us waiting to be served also. Another member of staff arrived and to our surprise ignored us completely and proceeded to show the couple who arrived after us to their table. By the time we were shown to our table, the other couple had given their order and had drinks and bread. I guess we had our invisible cloaks on! I can't fault the service or food after this. Next morning we had breakfast in the Cloisters and again the food was lovely. I had a big bowl of granola, greek yoghurt and honey followed by a cooked breakfast. Like other reviews have stated, the service was a bit hit and miss. Our order was taken quickly and drinks including tea and juice arrived promptly. There was a long wait for our cold items which was puzzling as it was only the granola and a box of Frosties. My husband ordered white toast and after a wait, the young waiter brought a wrong order of brown toast and croissants to our table. We queried it and was told " well it's definitely for your table" it was actually the order for another table, who were very frustrated as they had asked for their toast order twice. We had a long wait after the cold items and nobody checked on us until I grabbed the waiters attention to ask for more tea, it was only then he asked if we wanted our hot breakfast. The breakfast when it did couldn't be faulted. All in all we had a great stay and really liked the turn down service, it was lovely coming back to our room after dinner to find the bed turned down curtains closed and water provided next to the bed. The only negative is that there is a slight lack of attention during breakfast service and the young staff seem very inexperienced. That said, I can't wait to revisit.

An excellent 3 night stay. The bedroom and bathroom were lovely and the food in the Cloisters restaurant was very good. Service throughout the hotel was friendly and efficient. John at the front door and Natalie in the restaurant were particularly good.