Ensana Buxton Crecent

“Spa day: nice facilities but disappointing lunch experience”

My boyfriend and I came here for a spa day in July 2026. It was our first visit here. On the positive side, the building (both externally and inside) were beautiful and the spa areas were immaculate. I particularly appreciated the original tiling and stained glass in the main pool. The pools themse… more

My boyfriend and I came here for a spa day in July 2026. It was our first visit here. On the positive side, the building (both externally and inside) were beautiful and the spa areas were immaculate. I particularly appreciated the original tiling and stained glass in the main pool. The pools themselves were nice and as expected. The downside was the cafe; our spa day included lunch which we had booked for 2pm. When we got there, it seemed like the cafe staff were much more concerned with the logistics of the day’s lunch bookings than they were about providing any sort of welcoming service. For instance, the cafe host pointed at a table on the far side of the room and told us to sit there, rather than showing us to our table, and nobody came to ask us for our drinks order. After twenty minutes we had to ask for ourselves as the staff were much more preoccupied with what was going on behind the counter than attending to tables, including doing a stock take, closing things down which felt somewhat unwelcoming, and having a conversation which we overheard about how the chef unexpectedly hadn’t turned up when he was supposed to, which didn’t fill us with confidence. Also, considering we’d booked our time slot well in advance (and in the morning on our arrival we had to fill in an order sheet to say what food we wanted for lunch) it took 30 minutes for our main courses to arrive, which we thought was a bit much. The food itself was OK - no complaints. Another slight downside was that one of the spa pools (I think it was the relaxation pool - downstairs) was closed for maintenance. I understand that these things need doing but I can’t give a perfect review if all the facilities aren’t available as advertised. In summary, we would come back to Buxton Crescent for a spa day but we’d hope that the issues described here would be addressed.

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“100% not a 5* hotel - not worth the money”

While we've had a lovely time staying here for two nights we don't feel this was the 5 star experience we expected. And overpriced for what the hotel actually offers. The hotel is tired and it's shocking it's fairly recently had a refurb. The food at breakfast really isn't anything special so we de… more

While we've had a lovely time staying here for two nights we don't feel this was the 5 star experience we expected. And overpriced for what the hotel actually offers. The hotel is tired and it's shocking it's fairly recently had a refurb. The food at breakfast really isn't anything special so we decided not to eat in the hotel for other meals. Coffee is okay, again nothing special. The location is fantastic and there are some amazing food and drink options a stones throw away which we really enjoyed. The room itself didn't provide any champneys toiletries which is just odd for a champneys hotel. Instant coffee, no decaf tea and just very basic things on offer. You'd expect more from a 5 star hotel, especially decent coffee! The shower in our room didn't work properly, flooded the shower tray and the bathroom needs repairing and repainting. The hairdryer didn't work and the bed wasn't level and really bumpy. We used the iron and it left a big green mark on an item of clothing after first use, which was not great! Again you'd expect more from 5 star. Professionalism of staff and kindness were mixed. We found staff on front desk and when checking in lovely but the lady working in the spa cafe was quite unprofessional (swearing with another colleague and not acting appropriately). It's not really clear when booking that the use of the spa (even just the swimming pool) is £25 per person per day on top. It's well hidden and after staying at many hotels we've never experienced one who charges use of the facilities on top. Treatments etc of course are extra but not just the use of the facilities. Two parts of the spa were closed too (for maintenance) and we weren't warned before paying. The long corridors with no decor and just plain walls is depressing too. It could be so much better, but just does not live up to the 5* rating it claims to offer. All in all I don't think the is a warm and welcoming hotel and wouldn't choose to stay again for the price we paid.

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