Fairmont Windsor Park — Hotel in Borough of Runnymede

I am giving this place 2 stars as I can't fault the room, the breakfast or the wonderful relaxing spa. However, my experience during the dinner service was horrendous as has the subsequent correspondence with the hotel (or lack thereof). We stayed for one night, on a Secret Escapes offer, on 31st August for a wedding anniversary break My dietary requirements were noted on our booking form (namely vegetarian with a couple of food intolerances) and the confirmation was duly sent by the hotel - their e-mail also included the 'cake schedule', a list of who had ordered celebratory cakes, the message, when they were staying, etc. When we pointed out the error and potential GDPR breach to the reservations staff this was not acknowledged. We spent a lovely afternoon relaxing in the spa and our room (a King room) was bright, airy, clean and fully equipped. At 8pm we went to have dinner in the Moreish restaurant. Due to my intolerances the only item I could potentially eat on the starter list was the Caesar salad - this was listed as vegetarian but contained anchovies. When I queried this the waiter said they could remove the anchovies. This would leave me essentially with a plate of lettuce - there were other options that could be added (salmon, chicken, etc) but nothing vegetarian. I asked our waiter to check with the kitchen as to what they may be able to make for me. He reluctantly left returning some time later to ask 'the chef would like to know what you would like'. In a 5 star hotel I would expect the chef to tell me what he could make with the fresh ingredients he has in his kitchen, I should not have to tell him. More time ensued and our waiter finally returned - at this point we had been in the restaurant over 40 minutes and had not ordered. We were also still waiting for our drinks ordered nearly 30 minutes previously. We were told that the chef could make me some stir fried vegetables and rice. As the only suitable vegetarian main course was risotto I declined on the basis of not wanting two rice dishes. I asked if they could get me an artichoke salad from the 1215 Restaurant as I would have eaten this as it appeared on the menu- apparently they couldn't as it was too far for them to walk. I asked to speak to the restaurant manager - Alden is the rudest man I have ever met. He told me I was being difficult and inflexible, at which point we walked out at 8.45pm, just as our drinks were finally arriving. The reception staff we went to see were very helpful, particularly Charlotte, and at 9.05pm on our wedding anniversary we were eventually found a table in the bar, where Kyle went above and beyond to attempt to rescue our wedding anniversary evening. We enjoyed the food as much as we could and Kyle's friendly service was faultless, but our evening had sadly already been ruined. The final insult being that when we checked out the following day, even though we had not used all our dinner allowance the hotel wanted to charge us 12.5% service charge for our meal - note: this is not mentioned in the Secret Escapes Terms and Conditions. We told the reception staff how our evening had been ruined and they called the Reception Manager, Patricia. She listened to our complaint, agreed with us that in a 5 star hotel the staff in the Moreish restaurant should have been more accommodating and she promised to follow this up. We also mentioned that a box of chocolates was included in the Secret Escapes offer and we had not received it. She spent 10 minutes looking for the chocolates for us, finally returning to say they were not in the usual place but if we wanted to wait for even longer the Housekeeping Manager would bring some down. We declined and left. Patricia e-mailed offering us a complimentary meal for two. However, as we cannot see they have made any amendments to their menu we have now declined this offer and instead asked them to send the box of chocolates we were promised through the post. Some 3 weeks later our e-mail has not been responded to and no chocolates have been...

The hotel and grounds are of course wonderful and you’re greeted and taken care of by very strong staff. My son loved the swimming pool and play room as well as the playground and woodland area. Food wise it was a let down. There is very little flex with the menus to cater for vegans and I imagine those with allergies. Other than the vegan afternoon tea, which was ok, but not excellent in taste or inspiration, there were few adult vegan options and practically no vegan options that are suitable for young children. Vegan people tend to have vegan children, and this is most often completely ignored by restaurants. Tomato pasta is a lazy and boring option for a child. You need to explain to those staying with you, especially those with children that you visit rooms at 8.30 at night or later to ask if we need anything. Many of us venture out all day with our children and come back shattered and their bedtimes are typically 7-8pm. We were woken twice by this service because I didn’t know I had to specifically request not to have it or to press the dnd button, which my son had actually done on the first night giving us the impression all was fine. The fire alarm going off four times on the second night was horrendous and led to a completely sleepless night for myself as it was so anxiety inducing. Then followed by at room visit and then followed by a phone call which just led to an eerie feeling of being violated and not just left alone in peace to sleep. The alarms are something that cannot be controlled for to some degree but four times when it was a false alarm. The fridge in the room also or something in the room at around 8.30/9pm would make the most horrid sounds, banging and clanking. For me my sleep was deeply affected and I wasn’t able to rest after long active days in a way I’d have expected. This needs work to inform people of how to ensure they get the peace they need and the desire to be left alone to rest, without intervention. The food overall needs work, it was either very salty of very bland, no balance and just didn’t feel up to the standard of the hotel. The dessert option for vegans also, was lazy; we do eat chocolate! We eat all sorts of wonderful foods, so defaulting to fruit and sorbet when you can make yummy vegan friendly desserts and cake beautifully these days is disappointing. Service charge should only be on the in room dining and set menus. I would rather tip the waiters who served me than have 12.5% taken. I did this one night but after that it wasn’t sustainable. And the service was ok. Not impeccable. The standout was the bar helping with some bread for my son annd being anttentive and the afternoon tea trying their best to cater for my son but to no avail. Overall my son loved it there and that was important. It just needs some things ironing out to ensure that individuals get the experience they desire from it. For me I was exhausted and that was largely down to the distress caused by interference with the...

This was our third consecutive year returning to FWP with my family. We first visited in 2022 and have continued to return back to the hotel every year in the August half term. Each year that we return, the hotel improves, and the service gets better and better which clearly indicates that they take on customer feedback and truly implement this - which is a total credit to their fantastic management.||Firstly - the doormen in particular Tony is a real asset to FWP. From the moment you step out of your vehicle, the service he provides, is the best I have ever experienced. He is attentive, personable and extremely accommodating. A real gem! ||The activities schedule for children at the FWP also just gets better and better - a special thanks to Liam who clearly worked really hard in organising the children's activities and really made sure the kids had a total blast - there was so much for them to do that we could truly set back as a couple and watch our son enjoy the garden with other hotel guest children - it was a delight to see so many families visiting! ||Breakfast service - fantastic! A nice variety and the staff were extremely efficient and helpful! It was a 4 hour breakfast service and they really worked around the clock without any change in their service! ||The only negatives perhaps were the children's swimming times. These are really restrictive and mean that parents have to plan their entire day around the swim times as the kids just cannot go in as they want. We had to rush breakfast to ensure we could fill in swimming times given our slots. This was also reduced to one hour session per child per day which I think is very unfair as a guest staying at the hotel all day to allow a child simply an hour to enjoy the pool particularly when there is an adult pool outside and a jacuzzi for the adults. I can appreciate that some adults would want to enjoy the main swimming pool without kids but I think during the half terms when the hotel fully appreciates families with children will be checking in and they are so accommodating with the activities perhaps some leniency should also be afforded to swimming times and these should be flexible during these periods so as to allow guests to enjoy the full amenities of the resort, ||Likewise - front of house at the reception desk could be more accomodating. I found reception staff to be a little standoffish and not that interested. ||The doormen were fantastic but when we returned late at night - there was no one available to assist us at night which wasn't great as we had to go around finding someone to take our car with a sleeping baby. ||These really aren't negative which would be enough for me not to return but I hope management take this feedback on board. ||We look forward to returning...