Stanley House Hotel & Spa - Blackburn

U4275EVjessicas

I had booked the Taste of the Spa Package at Stanley House for my Hen Party and we all had the best time. The 2 hour thermal spa experience had a variety of relaxing saunas, steam rooms and much more. The pool had the most beautiful scenic views too. Our 2 course meal at Fred’s Brasserie was very delicious. All staff were so friendly and helpful. Thank you very much for such a wonderful experience to always remember. I highly recommend Stanley House Taste of the Spa package and look forward to visiting again in the future.

LindadaSav

I have mixed sentiments from my visit to the spa. I cannot comment on the hotel; instead my review is based solely on my visit to the spa for a spa day experience. ||||In general, I'd say the facilities and grounds are absolutely stunning. I was really impressed with the quality of decor and general impression of all the buildings and facilities. ||||However, although the spa facilities were high quality, I'd say the experience itself in the thermal suite wasn't what I expected. The thermal suite itself was pretty small which wouldn't be an issue except there were far too many bookings scheduled for the size of the area. It was rather crowded but worse...incredibly noisy. I had booked this experience for some peace and tranquility but the thermal suite didn't by any degree feel peaceful. It felt more like a public swimming pool. I cut my time in the area short by instead seeking refuge in the spa lounge, which by contrast, was extremely peaceful and comfortable. ||||Thankfully, the friendly staff and excellent treatment I received (massage) made up for the disappointing thermal suite part of the spa experience. ||||The food was really nice; high quality ingredients and tasty. ||||So overall, I feel it would have been an excellent spa package in a beautiful location but I'd urge the spa management to review how they schedule bookings so that they aren't oversubscribing timeslots which compromise the quality of the spa experience

Merchant18

We recently stayed overnight and was pleasantly surprised. ||After reading some reviews we was nervous but arrived and was checked in smoothly and stayed in Room 1. ||It was gorgeous, lovely roll top bath and separate shower. |Very spacious room and large comfy bed. ||Breakfast was perfect, food was served quickly and hot and I could not fault anything. Highly recommend.

kimrA3555TX

Twilight spa package. |Upon arrival at the spa the staff were polite and welcoming. However no offer of fizz just soft drinks or tea/coffee.|Changing rooms had empty glasses and cups and only one locker was offered for both me and my husband. We then had to go back to the waiting area and wait for several other couples to get changed to go down to the thermal suite. The spa was busy and areas congested, there was not enough space to hang robes and towels. And one of the loungers was also broken. Floors were covered with water- ankle deep in places- not draining away or cleaned during the time we were there. After our time in the thermal suite, we went back to get changed for our meal. The waiting area was closed and there were no staff around to discuss.|On arrival to the restaurant the staff were aware of our booking and our table was ready. Our drinks and menus were brought swiftly and the waiters and waitress were friendly. We were given two different menus but when we asked we were told they could offer anything on either. So we ordered a lamb kofta starter and lamb rump main and burger. Service was quick - although all the food was cold. Unfortunately, we also noticed other customers complaining too- the offer was to reheat or wait for it to be replaced- sadly the couple next to us ended up eating separately!|We decided not to bother ordering dessert as it was disappointing to say the least. The burger only came with fries, no side salad or coleslaw or dips which was a shame for a main that cost £19. The lamb rump was a tiny portion with a hefty price ticket of £29.|Finally we asked for the bill as we were leaving and I was called over to the bar to discuss the voucher that was redeemed when booking. This was when I was told that I could have a free half of peroni or a glass of wine as part of the voucher. I didn’t want this as we were ready to leave. The waitress said she couldn’t remove a drink that we had had earlier in the evening as the system wouldn’t allow this. She then went on to explain that the lamb rump dish has an additional supplement of £10 which had been added to our bill. This was not on the menu nor mentioned. The waitress was clearly getting fed up with me at this point and other customers were also waiting to pay. I asked how much the bill was after the two vouchers and I would pay it - it was an additional £41.70, so I gave her £45.00. She refused to take the cash as the business apparently accepts card only. Again this was never mentioned. |Overall a disappointing meal and misleading information. |Wouldn’t rush back or recommend.

sarahgB2603HF

Spa break was a total disaster from start to finish. Hotel is absolute chaos and was clearly taken over at some point by people with zero experience. We were gobsmacked at how disorganised it was. It would have been comical had we not been so looking forward to it (and it hadn't cost £280). All original furnishings and decor which made this place so beautiful and historical have disappeared, replaced with cheap, tacky furnishings and decor. Just really bizarre. From check in to check out, it was shambolic and absolutely filthy. Corners cut everywhere. The food was the worst part of the whole day, we left after multiple disasters and a 30 minute wait for cold soup and frozen bread, despite food being part of our package. It was genuinely that bad and just not worth the energy. We were absolutely starving and had to order take out. The spa is showing signs of aging now as clearly not being maintained, and is a bit like swimming in the pond it looks out on, only the geese in the pond don't have to share their space with 20 other people being marched in every 3 minutes.|Please don't part with your well earned money. I wish we hadn't. More exhausted now then when we set off. |No idea what has happened to such a wonderful place, but I would be ashamed to work there!

Emma C.

Avoid! A very condensed version of the email I sent them..

Great location/ good rooms/ peaceful/ pleasant staff/ nice small spa.

Messed up both our bookings for the spa and afternoon tea due to a lack of communication between staff members. This ultimately ruined our experience and resulted in us having to squeeze the spa in after checkout the following day.

Terrible afternoon tea, no meat, soggy sandwiches, cheap desserts.

Terrible breakfast, I had a hair on my bacon!

Had an initial reply to my lengthy email requesting a follow up phone call- had no further response to my email.

Received £50 drinks voucher when we mentioned the issues on site, didn’t manage to pull back our bad experience unfortunately.

Wouldn’t return and haven’t recommended to those who have asked.

Avoid- there are plenty of other spas in the area where you would have a much smoother experience.

Attended mid April, for a friend’s 30th.

Rick A. (.

Went to the spa as a standalone afternoon tea and spa package. The afternoon tea was quite lovely, but the spa was just okay, and not really worth the money for it, slightly nicer than one attached to the local public swimming pool, but not double the price worth. Pool was pretty heavy on the chemicals, giving me sore eyes. Sauna and steam rooms were quite reasonable.

Staff were lovely though, no reflection on them.

Spa was nice enough as an add-on if you were staying as a guest in the hotel, but wouldn't recommend as a standalone experience.

LeahT370

Me and my colleague were due to stay here tonight on a business trip. Unfortunately, due to a car crash our trip was cancelled. ||I called up straight away to rearrange our booking for 3 weeks time on an off peak Monday night - The kind lady on reception offered to change our booking to another date due to the circumstances and said if I emailed a new date she would get it authorised by the manager, which I did. ||The manager replied saying that they require 48 hours notice to rearrange a booking, which I understand but I had no way of foreseeing a car crash to cancel our trip. Baring in mind our rooms were advertised as available again online after I called up and the fact we wouldn’t be using room service/breakfast etc, I would expect any manager with empathy and wanting future bookings to be accommodating and at least change the date or offer a large discount. The most we have been offered is 10% off our next stay - when it was already £35 cheaper booking through booking.com than booming direct in the first place. ||I would not recommend this hotel if you are travelling for business or any distance, as there will be zero flexibility should an emergency arise. Very disappointing.