The Raithwaite Estate

Having read the mixed reviews, I was keen to try out this hotel for myself. In line with many reviews below it was a mixed experience. The location is good but it's not as close to the beach as I expected - it's a 15 minute walk to the sand, mostly down the tarmac drive and past building works at the entrance. There are lovely walks around the estate but no information on these was provided - we had to work it out for ourselves. The grounds are lovely, and neither these nor the spa were busy during our stay. The lounger booking system worked well for us and definitely took the stress out of wondering if we'd have somewhere to sit in the spa. Our room - Orchard Suite - was beautiful, and spotlessly clean, with a large sitting area which wasn't evident from the photos. The toiletries are lovely and a good selection of tea/coffee/biscuits was provided. The terrace was nice to sit out in but we didn't use the bath as it's overlooked by the balcony of the room above. There was also a machine of some sort on the other side of the wall which made a noise at regular intervals, and there was some building-related noise too at times. We ate a delicious dinner and were well looked after by the evening dining staff in both the pizzeria and the brasserie. The downside... for the price we paid, I would have expected more information about the walks/local area to be provided and a quieter terrace in the room. This would not have bothered me if the service at breakfast and the rest of the day had been better. Staff in the terrace bar were very personable but not swift in any respect - we learnt to order drinks well before we wanted them. Breakfast was a fiasco, and nowhere near the experience I'd expect when paying this amount. On our first day we were told that several staff members had called in sick, but things were not much better on the next day, when we went down late in the hope that the crowds would have cleared. We were told several times that the hotel was busy as it was the school holidays - surely this can be anticipated? We waited for over half an hour for coffee - apparently delayed by the long list of speciality drinks which needed to be prepared for other guests. A cafetiere arrived with a single cup of coffee in it, so we had to ask for more when the hot - or rather lukewarm - food arrived after a further 20 minutes. The buffet was underwhelming in terms of range, and multiple items needed replacing - all of which only seemed to happen after guests told the staff about it. The staff were apologetic and we were given some credit towards our wine at dinner in recompense, but it is clear that the strategic thinking needed to cope with a full hotel is not in place. I'd hoped that following the earlier comments about this, things would have improved, but clearly not. As a start, I'd suggest giving some the job of monitoring the buffet, introducing a booking system for breakfast, and working out how to make coffee in under half an hour. Top tip? Book a room only and avoid the stress of breakfast.

Took my daughter for afternoon tea for a birthday treat, very disappointed with service and value considering it is £45 pp. when arrived staff asked for any allergy, daughter wanted gluten free, we asked for a cold drink first and the member of staff just never came back , waited about 10 mins for another member of staff to take orders, none of us wanted the smoked salmon and that initially caused a problem, my daughter didn’t get a gluten free scone which I didn’t understand, the hotel itself is beautiful and nice seating outside but certainly won’t be returning or recommending afternoon tea for the price and service

Very poor service …. Waited an hour for our breakfast Waited another hour for lunch which came cold . Asked to leave the spa at 4pm while my wife was having her treatment and I still had mine to come , was told to sit in the garden ! Hotel and location is stunning but this not an acceptable service for a so called premium hotel at a vast of £720 for a one night stay

Disappointing stay. The investment in the hotel is impressive, it looks great. However the processes and under staffing let it down. Dirty water carafe, long delays at breakfast, forgotten orders, dirty seating (breakfast is in the same location as dinner, croissant remains still there). Spoke to manager whilst we were they. She said they would investigate and didn't get back to me

This is a new hotel but it looks well established, fantastic welcoming staff and and a lovely large room. Dinner was excellent as was breakfast with great choices. Nicely located for Whitby and surrounding areas.