The Raithwaite Estate

Absolutely loved my few days at this beautiful hotel, The Beach House, the main hotel, Saltmoore, the Sanctuary Spa and grounds are stunning! Everything about it was perfect and the service was amazing… definitely hope to visit again in future

We booked this hotel for a special birthday celebration, but sadly the experience fell far short of expectations. Check-in was our first challenge. Despite confirming our name three times, the receptionist still couldn’t locate our reservation and was adamant that we were named something else. It was only on the fourth attempt that it finally appeared under the name initially stated. Our room was another letdown. It looked like a converted garage from the outside, it was not clean, and it lacked the luxury feel heavily promoted online and across social media. Annoyingly, the lights in the bedroom were incredibly dim so you couldn’t really see with them on and the windows were small with it being in the roof. We also lost count at the number of dead and alive spiders in the room. We had reserved spa beds (confirmed three times) only to arrive and discover they weren’t reserved ready for us at all. Dinner at the brasserie provided a few more surprises. We were moved three times as the tables offered weren’t suitable for what we ordered, and when we finally sat down, the table itself was dirty. To the waiter’s credit, they were apologetic and admitted it hadn’t been cleaned. After a 50-minute wait, one starter arrived but the other one didn’t. We were then told they would just put it under the heat lamp while they cooked the other, which at £11 per scallop didn’t exactly feel acceptable. The plate given was also dirty. Upon paying, our server said that they wanted to check we didn’t get the £50pp deal because they wouldn’t want us to overpay. They then confirmed that we didn’t have the deal and it was just awkward. At this point the whole situation had become so bad it was almost comical and we saw the funny side. On a positive note, the food itself, once it arrived, was nice. But overall, this hotel doesn’t deliver the experience it promises, particularly for the price charged (£400 for one night not including dinner). The staff meant well but they often seemed as confused by what was happening as we were. If you’re after a special getaway, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

We visited this hotel with high hopes. Following our stay we were sent a link to give feedback. We were even chased for it on the grounds it helps them to improve and is valuable to them. We completed it and have never heard from them since which is yet another disappointment. I have pasted our feedback to the hotel below: ‘The hotel has so much potential but we were disappointed with several aspects. For the price you charge we expect the offerings to be similar to that of Seaham Hall, for example. The lack of turn down service and room service is disappointing. Especially as we saw a person in the public eye seemingly get room service the same week, after we were told it isn’t offered. The corridor carpets were filthy during our stay, often with tonnes of dead flies and wasps there for hours. The brasserie was nice but we asked to be sat in the main restaurant and were sat in the orangery which was more informal than we were looking for. The service at dinner was very slow. We also had a package with dinner included but we’re misadvised on what this included, despite the waitress checking with her manager. When I booked this we were told the fine dining restaurant would be open by our stay. As it was a special occasion it was disappointing to learn this was not the case, when it was too late to change plans. It was my wife’s birthday and, whilst the card was appreciated, I felt a small gesture would have been appropriate. All this being said, every single staff member we met was extremely friendly and the massages in the spa were some of the best we have had. Overall we potentially would return but not until the hotel is more polished.’

Lovely hotel with a nice spa. Large room in the beach house, however the room was extremely cold. The lobby and hallway was very warm, but the room was very cold. The balcony had not been cleaned in years it looked liked.. bird muck and full of cobwebs so we didn't want to sit out.. shame that let it down, when everywhere else in the hotel is such a high standard. Lovely staff and hotel and would stay again if the cleaning was improved :)

Highly recommend the place especially for couples wanting a romantic weekend away with spa facilities a bar and the comfiest beds I have ever slept in