The Chester Grosvenor

“Wedding Anniversary”

We stayed at the hotel for our 10th wedding anniversary and we were not disappointed. The hotel kindly upgraded us to a Suite. Food and drink was lovely. The staff could not do enough for us.

“A little disappointed”

We decided to book here for my special birthday as I hadn’t been able to celebrate the previous one properly due to Covid, and the hotel had been recommended by friends. The car park was pretty busy (not the hotels fault) and we had to park a couple of floors up. Check in was very smooth and our… more

We decided to book here for my special birthday as I hadn’t been able to celebrate the previous one properly due to Covid, and the hotel had been recommended by friends. The car park was pretty busy (not the hotels fault) and we had to park a couple of floors up. Check in was very smooth and our bags were taken to our room for us. Our room was large and comfortable, with a small entrance hall and a door you could close to the main bedroom. There was also a mini bar (very expensive) and coffee and tea making, but no coffee machine which was disappointing. The bed was comfortable though! We also had a small seating area. The first thing I noticed was that the carpet was covered in glitter so needed a more vigorous hoovering. I decided to have a bath and the top of the inside felt as though it hadn’t been cleaned properly, and the telephone cover was covered in soap. A continental breakfast was included but they wanted another £12.50 each to upgrade to a cooked breakfast making an already expensive stay even more so. However the old fashioned table service at breakfast was lovely and the coffee very nice. I think the biggest disappointment, and I know you shouldn’t expect things, but my husband had contacted the hotel to see if they could make the stay a bit more special ……. And the answer was no - not even a glass of wine in the bar. Never mind I then emailed the hotel with a question about the room and have not received a reply or acknowledgement. Whilst we enjoyed our stay We won’t rush back

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“Reflection on former stays”

Living in North Wales we would visit Chester Grosvenor regularly. Having had fantastic meals and unbelievable service in the Arkle and countless lunches and dinners in the brasserie, we approached our latest stay with some trepidation. The elephant in the stay was the now imminent closure of this … more

Living in North Wales we would visit Chester Grosvenor regularly. Having had fantastic meals and unbelievable service in the Arkle and countless lunches and dinners in the brasserie, we approached our latest stay with some trepidation. The elephant in the stay was the now imminent closure of this historic, iconic institution in Chester. It really is unbelievable that the incredibly wealthy Grosvenor Estates would let this Hotel close. Whilst I appreciate the running of the hotel has been subcontracted to a hotel group who are not in a position to spend the necessary cash on refurbishing the building surely the Grosvenor estates are. So on to our stay. The arrival , reception and bedroom have all down graded to below 5 star standard. I can’t recall a time when I was allowed to take my own bag to my room. The hotel corridors were screaming for refurbishment. The bedroom hadn’t been improved in 10 years. The staff are , not surprisingly ,under considerable pressure. The number of times the closure was mentioned was a surprise but not one I could criticise them for, they seemed to have been left in a very poor position with no certainty and no plan. When asked what was happening one member of staff said they would be the last to know! What a shame on the management all round! Despite all of the above we had a great stay. Food at dinner and breakfast was very good and despite the appalling position the staff faced they all tried their best Would love to stay again but hopefully in better, happier circumstances.:

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“Disappointing”

We arrived at The Chester Grosvenor without a booking, hoping for a last‑minute stay to mark our anniversary. The door staff were genuinely helpful and welcoming, which made a great first impression. Unfortunately, the reception experience didn’t match that warmth. Even after mentioning our celebra… more

We arrived at The Chester Grosvenor without a booking, hoping for a last‑minute stay to mark our anniversary. The door staff were genuinely helpful and welcoming, which made a great first impression. Unfortunately, the reception experience didn’t match that warmth. Even after mentioning our celebration, there was little interest or effort to make the stay feel special, something echoed in other reviews, and sadly true for us as well. The lift issues were the biggest concern. On the first day it felt a bit unreliable, and by the second day it had stopped working entirely. With no signage to the stairs, we had to return to our room, feeling quite anxious about being stuck on the floor. When I rang reception to report the problem, the response was far from what I’d expect from a hotel of this standard ; incorrect directions to the stairs, no apology, no reassurance, and no check that we were alright. At checkout, there was no “How was your stay?”, so we didn’t raise our concerns. It felt as though the staff were simply going through the motions. We appreciate the hotel is closing soon, and part of our reason for staying was the feeling of “if not now, we’ll miss the chance”. But the rooms are very tired, and, as it seems, so are the staff. What should have been a memorable anniversary stay ended up feeling quite underwhelming. Overall, a disappointing experience.

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