Balcary Bay Country House Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

I visited this hotel with my Mother and Grandmother this weekend and it was a lovely weekend. My Mother and Grandmother had previously visited when the hotel was owned by its previous owners and had had an absolutely fantastic time and experience and so I was looking forward to being there too. This review is purely my experience and in no way intended as an attack; hopefully it's constructive feedback that can be used for improvements. ||||The positives: ||The location is lovely; very rural and for those looking for nature walks and beach excursions, the hotel is perfectly situated. The hotel itself is a lovely, grand building. The food is nice and the general ambiance is nice as well. ||||The Improvements: ||The hotel appears to be very much a family run business which sometimes adds to the charm of a place but here it seems to work against it. The owners Mum appears to be the house keeping and sadly doesn't seem able to maintain the standards expected for the price of the hotel. Towels weren't replaced and beds weren't properly made with covers simply thrown over the bed rather than being properly made, damp towels stuffed in radiators etc. That said, bins were emptied and rooms are kept reasonably clean. ||||The hotel stock management does need a lot of improvement; during my stay the hotel 'ran out' of the following items: ice, potato scones, Pinot Grigio, mango sorbet, Bailey's cream liqueur, etc. Things that either feature on menus or are very common for hotels and venues to have. You get the feeling that there isn't a back up stock kept and so when it runs out, it needs replaced immediately rather than a 'get another bottle' situation. Prawn Marie Rose Cocktail was delivered with no brown bread, as stipulated on the menu, Brussels pate came without the oat biscuits promised but instead a digestive and a jacobs cream cracker. ||||In terms of service, this improved over our stay. There was a male waiter who was about to leave the hotel and may have not been as into it as he perhaps should have been. Claire and Molly were both very nice and helpful and once the man left things did improve very much. However, the fact that there appears to only be two staff members who aren't family members points again to running the place as cheaply as possible. This is fine if it's done in a way that doesn't impact guests but there were many times throughout our stay when the table wasn't cleared as quickly as it should have been, the bar was empty and you had to actually find a staff member to order a drink, check out, etc. It seems that everyone is spread just a bit too thinly to make things work smoothly and that's a real shame because the hotel deserves better, as do the guests. ||||The owners need to manage stock better, clearly define the roles of staff (one on bar, two waiting tables, one on reception etc.), and, I would say, make it a point to stay at other, comparable hotels to take notes on how things are done. As it stands everyone seems to do a bit of everything but communication falls apart leaving guests repeatedly being asked the same questions, being given wrong orders etc. ||||Really the hotel is lovely; the food was nice (although the menu is a bit simple, doesn't seem to have regular changes, and has an Asian edge to it which isn't entirely in keeping with the hotel itself), the rooms decent. All in all, it's a nice hotel but its current operation isn't giving it, or the staff, the ability to shine as they should. ||||Dining. Dining is an odd one - one could be forgiven for thinking the hotel only had one or two rooms occupied because it was only two or three tables occupied whenever we dined (it didn't - one waitress mentioned they had 24 covers one night). I think this might be a conscious choice on the hotel's part to keep the service manageable for the smaller wait staff and kitchen staff. This causes the dining experience lose the feeling of being in a busy, popular hotel, and gain the feeling of being the only one in an empty room. The ambiance suffers a lot with this. More kitchen staff and wait staff would allow a busier pace and a more lively atmosphere. ||||Pricing. There are areas of the pricing which are really far too high. Bircher muesli (basically porridge with walnuts and strawberries in it), a Scottish full breakfast, fruit juice etc. do not a £25 a head price tag make; even if it is Organic. The coffee, at £4.50 per cup (I believe) is too expensive, although it is delicious, - even if it is triple certified as Organic. The profit margin on these kinds of aspects of the stay are enormous but these profits aren't seeming to be moved into things like adequate staff levels, professional housekeeping etc. If you're going to charge this type of price, it all should flow together into one comprehensive experience, which it doesn't at the moment. ||||As one of the guests commented; if Premier Inn can make a bed you can bounce a coin off of, this place really should be able to as well. ||||This is quite a frustrating review to write because nothing nothing happened that was overtly bad, nothing was horrendous, everything is just lacking the polish, professionalism and smooth operation that you expect in a hotel of this calibre. My overall feeling is that it was a nice stay but that I was overall a bit disappointed that I hadn't stayed in the hotel's heyday when things were apparently a lot better, hence my response of 'everything was okay' on leaving. And it was - but I know that this place can be so much more than it is now. It's letting itself down and given time and a determination to get things sorted out, there's no reason this hotel can't be a fantastic...

We have been coming to Balcary Bay for years now. We are very well travelled and this hotel is still one of our favourites. My husband’s family is from the area and my sister in law had her wedding here. This is the first time we have visited under the new ownership and we were not disappointed, in fact quite the opposite. Diana and Vic are incredibly welcoming and you immediately feel part of the family. Being a family run hotel everything is down to the finest detail to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Their staff are incredibly friendly and very efficient and professional. I’ve worked in the hotel industry before, some with major companies such as the Hilton and some with family run businesses, the latter being my favourite. Nothing was too much for Diana. She cooked everything fresh and adapted all the meals to my liking. Due to health reasons I have to keep to a vey low carbohydrate diet which is normally difficult for chefs to adapt but Diana knows her stuff and catered everything around me. The rooms are idyllic and if you need anything extra nothing is too much trouble. The prices are on the high end but with the service you get - they are well worth it. You have to remember this is a family run business and you are getting good organic locally sourced food that is cooked from scratch and not just your run of the mill cash and carry stuff. I know many people want their pie and chips and their full English breakfasts and buffets in the morning but believe me the portions are good enough and you never leave hungry. My only suggestion would be is to perhaps give people an idea of prices on the menu so there are no shocks as to the payment at the end. As much as Diana is all about health and cooking and baking healthy meals and cakes you can still indulge if you wish. Nothing is off the menu if you ask for it. I personally am very pro supporting local businesses. We all know that you get what you pay for and although I have a restricted diet I am very much a foodie. Yes drinks and meals are more expensive but when you’re family run it’s only you that have to pay your overheads, no one else. I can’t rate this hotel high enough. They accept pets but there has to be a boundary. Not everyone likes animals whilst eating in the dining room and not everyone wants them lying on the floor in a quiet lounge. I agree that there should be bowels of water in the conservatory for dogs to help themselves to but don’t forget they are trying to cater round everybody. I am a dog lover myself but I would never expect a hotel to run their business round just me. All in all my husband and I had a five star stay. We will definitely be returning again and it is still to date one of my favourite places to stay. Diana and Vic keep doing what you’re doing you have a real gem on your hands. Your warm welcoming (and heathy) approach to your guests is second to none. Thank you for making our stay, as usual, a wonderful experience. We will definitely be back soon....

where to start? at the start probably!||reception, having a bit of work done so normal entrance door blocked off, with a temporary poorly signed one. this led to a dark passageway with no further indication of where to go, finally got there to be thrust into a confused couple trying to check in but having some issues about payment. polite foreign young man then led us to room, beautiful room, bay view, clean, well decorated, everything you need. ||evening meal excellent but very disorganised, young girl taking orders but not very clear as some language confusion which meant daily specials which we might have had, but we didnt. suggest that along with the regular printed menu there is also a daily special printed as well? also what was an issue with some guests was that they were dinner bed n breakfast but the menu had prices on, which were for non residents, but caused some concern when residents thought they were going to be charged! again the language barrier was an issue clarifying things. ||breakfast was fine but two days in a row there were mistakes, not just us but other guests as well, why bother taking orders if you then get something totally different, once might just be a mistake but when it is constantly happening there is an issue with the system. drink prices were extortionate with dinner, basic bottle with dinner was £35 nice enough but three times shop price, £20 or £25 might have been more reasonable, this tallys with the room minibar prices where a can of pimms was £4 etc. ||so summing up, best ever setting, bay view room second to non, hotel immaculate, just very disorganised, not sure if new current owners have been in hospitality previously, but they certainly wont be there for very long if they dont buck up their ideas pretty quickly, which would be a huge shame as they are lovely, hard working, and deserve it to work. going to give it five stars as i really believe it can work out. it would be good to have management respond to all the recent reviews, people do like to hear responses...