Dunston Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort - Norwich

Luke

Highly disappointed. Came today to have a look at the health club as I'm in search of a new health club. Thought I would stop in for coffee and lunch with the family first and this is where the disappointments started.

Understand this - their menu suggested a Soup (£8.95) and an egg mayonnaise sandwich (£8.75). I wanted to order both but they had an offer of a soup/sandwich combo for £15.95 (saving £1.75 Not a huge saving but still, makes it easier to order the combo right?).
When it came, I couldn't believe that I had actually been served the soup on the same plate as the sandwich and the soup was actually a tiny bowl as oppose to a normal portion. So in actual fact I wasn't saving £1.75 as I was getting a smaller portion and I didn't get a bread roll with my soup. Absolutely disgusted with this and it had already put a sour taste in my mouth over this experience. The bread was also dry and I was missing items from the sandwich which the menu said I would get.

Then we got coffee. I couldn't order a latte as their frother wasn't working so I had to get us both black coffee with hot milk on the side. The hot milk didn't make the coffee any milkier and when we inspected the milk more closely, we found it to be very watery. Asked at the bar which milk they were using and I was told that hot milk comes from their machine and that it comes out watery like that. So I had to ask for more milk this time but cold milk in order to have 100% milk and not 50% milk 50% water.

Finally to mention, the windowsills looked like they haven't been cleaned or dusted in a couple of weeks. Large build up of dust, cobwebs and dead flies were in view whilst we ate. Lovely.

After this I went to visit the health club. £64 per month is what I was quoted. The lad on reception showed me around, he was knowledgeable and friendly but the fact is, the gym is like a maze, on different floors and contains equipment and machines from the 90's. Horrible sweaty humid smell throughout the entire gym and underground with no natural light.

I once knew Dunston Hall to be a very plush location and experience, whether you were there for the bar/restaurant or staying as a guest. Now I see it as a very old rundown place that I wouldn't want to stay in or visit again. Needless to say I won't be taking out a gym/golfing membership there. If I was to suggest a price I would pay to stay there, I'd suggest £50 for the night.

Oluwatosin Adesina

We spent one night at the hotel, the staff, room and location were great. However we thought the food could’ve been better quality for the amount that we paid. Furthermore, whilst the pool and spa facilities were very fun, they could’ve been a little cleaner. Overall had a great time.

Rabia Mirza

Avoid at all costs – shocking experience!

My partner booked a stay at Dunston Hall as a birthday gift, primarily for the spa, as we rarely get time together. Unfortunately, the experience was incredibly disappointing and far from the luxurious spa hotel advertised. It’s more like a run-down community pool than a spa hotel.

To begin with, the hotel did not have robes or slippers available for guests, despite being marketed as a spa hotel. All of the robes were being laundered (on a Saturday...) and they have stopped giving guests slippers...this set the tone for what would be a terrible experience. We only had one opportunity to use the spa, and it was a nightmare. The floors were dirty, dated, and tiles were coming loose which was painful without slippers and dangerous. Worse, the ladies' toilets had leaked all through the changing rooms, flooding the entrance. Without slippers, we had to walk barefoot through toilet water to get into the spa – absolutely disgusting and unhygienic. Staff were also using the towels meant for guests to tidy up the mess, which I understand they may not have had a choice but to use. I'm surprised they let people into the spa, asking them to walk over the wet towels, not letting them know it was unsanitary toilet water.

Once in, we managed to swim one length of the pool, which had a rickety step, and spent just 10 minutes in the sauna, which had dirty, mud-stained windows, before a staff member came in and told everyone to leave due to worsening flooding. We were forced to walk through the filthy water again to exit, spending a total of 20 minutes in the spa.

To make matters worse, the 'fresh' towel in our hotel room smelled strongly of swimming pool water. When we asked for a refund, the staff were unable to and instead offered us a free drinks voucher and waived the late checkout fee – something we weren’t even going to use given the terrible experience. This felt like a completely inadequate response to the appalling situation.

To the company that owns this hotel, please give us our money back. It's the right thing to do given the experience. This was meant to be a birthday gift that turned into an absolute nightmare. It would mean so much if my partner could receive a substantial refund, considering the kind intention behind this gift and the fact that we spent a total of 20 minutes in the spa.

To anyone considering staying here: this hotel is absolutely not worth the money. The facilities are dated, poorly maintained, and misrepresented. I urge anyone considering booking this hotel to save their money and look elsewhere. Even on a good day, it’s not worth it. Avoid at all costs!

Brader Bang

Beautiful, relaxing hotel stay. The grounds were peaceful and tranquil, service was okay although the lift was out of order, the jacuzzi was out of order and the air con didn’t really work in the room. The food we had at dinner and breakfast was amazing, couldn’t fault it and was thoroughly enjoyed!!! The only real let down of the stay was all of the out of order services and the room was a little outdated but we still really enjoyed our time here ?

Matt last

Stayed in January on a one night Spa Break.

Spa: Service was excellent from the Spa reception with clear information and directions to the pool facilities (which are not directly connected to the Spa).
Both our treatments (full body exfoliation and facial) were excellent .
The pool area featured a spa and steam room, along with a jacuzzi.
The pool was freezing, not comfortable to chill out in, but fine if you wanted to swim for fitness. It was extremely busy, likely due to being the last day of the Christmas holidays.
Quite impressed with the cleanliness as staff were scrubbing surfaces down during the day.

Bar restaurant : Food was average and a little overpriced for what it was. £9 for a basic tuna sandwich with a few tortillas is too much.

Main restaurant: Service was good, however we were given the wrong starter and when challenged, the staff commented they didn’t have what we wanted (but only told us this when challenged). They did offer this for free.
Both main courses were average but not amazing, but they were nearly within the £32 per person allowance.

Breakfast: We went to breakfast at 08:30 on Saturday morning and it was extremely busy. Nonetheless we were seated within 5 minutes. Food was again average. Both cooked and continental options available. The pastries were worth a mention as they were particularly good.
Unfortunately I discovered a lump of hair in the melon dish. When I reported this to a female staff member she removed the hair but then walked off, leaving the dish for others to use. This was quite disgusting.

Room: We had a standard King room which was clean, warm and comfortable enough, however very dated and in need of some modernisation.

Overall, the highlight was the spa treatments. The hotel itself was a disappointment considering the high price point and certainly not on the level of other similar properties I’ve stayed at nearby.

Julie S

Looked forward to a cosy winter break sat in a gorgeous hotel & grounds.||Staff were all attentive & friendly. Breakfast was buffet style, very good selection of pastries, fruit etc. hot food could have been better. ||We only ate dinner but it was not disappointing, good menu selection. We had the afternoon tea which was top lovely. ||Room was basic but warm & clean, would have preferred a small fridge.||Only downside was, once you left the room it was very cold and we felt the need for a jacket even eating dinner. It was disappointing that for the size of the hotel it lacked comfy warm loung areas, so we spent a lot of our time out of in our room. ||It was lovely weather and we visited local areas & the coast . I feel if it had been cold weather we would have stayed in our room more. ||Great area for walking & sightseeing, but if like me you travelled with an older person these options were limited.

Adventurer311129

Love this hotel and been visiting for many years , ok it needs a little sprucing up in places but that’s its charm it’s a massive hotel and needs plenty of maintenance ! |I had a fab back, neck head massage from a super young lady called Ami , she really was at the top of her game! |My only concern was how cold the hotel was outside our room , hallways were very cold and a jumper or coat was required for both breakfast and dinner , this was a shame . Like I said it’s a big hotel and temperatures were freezing outside so maybe it’s a small price to pay! |Will not stop us from visiting again just maybe in the warmer months!

Compass54028156409

My daughter and I had a fantastic and relaxing stay at Dunston Hall. I requested to change our room upon arrival to a room with better view and the customer service staff has done it for us promptly. We enjoyed the fine dining at the Brasserie with excellent service of our host, Matilda. There were also variety of scrumptious breakfast available which made our morning start really well. Thank you.