Macdonald Houstoun House — Hotel in Great Britain

We were gifted a spa day for two after having some very stressful months. Booking it was ok, we had to call a call centre for the whole Macdonald group that scheduled our spa day. When choosing our treatment we were informed that a specific massage is not available. Upon hesitation the women on the phone just said a massage is a massage which was rather unprofessional but at the end she is right.

The day of the spa we were called as our treatments were cancelled due to unexpected (and understandable) circumstances we were still offered use of the facilities but decided to move the whole day. As an apology we were offered free afternoon tea.

The hotel entrance is a run down glass area like an old shopping centre rather than a luxurious 4 star hotel. The first receptionist that came out just told her colleague “can you deal with this” and disappeared. The outside of the spa was also run down. When entering we were greeted by a lacklustre reception area and a sight of a swimming pool - distinctively different from a spa pool. Whilst waiting, a workout group started and blasted music. Fine for a swimming pool and great for the local community but not a spa. We were given a standard unfluffy robe, a tiny, thin and sad towel and floppy single use slippers.

The changing rooms were wet, with few dry spots to set items down. The womens room had two cubicles whilst the men had none. Most cabinets were in use. After the changing rooms you reach the showers at which point the slippers were soaked. The showers were ok but smelled a little bit like pee.

The facilities are a joke. There is 1 standard sauna and 1 steam room which was the hottest, loudest and steamiest one we ever been in. The design was reminiscent of London Underground and the benches were tiny. The pool was surrounded by sad brown tiles and to the right was the stained cover of the pool on rusty metal brackets. We were not able to take photos as it was busy. Part of the ceiling was wet and dripping but not mouldy. The chairs and benches were hard and stained. Since the benches were barely long enough to put the feet up and the floor was wet it was not nice to sit. The loud class lasted around 45min after which a lot of the people stayed. There was a steady stream of members(?), actively swimming lanes. The pool was divided into family lane and active swimming lane - again, clearly a swimming pool, not a spa pool. Due to the amount of people there was no opportunity for a nice relaxing paddle. The pool is accessible via metal ladders, no staircase. There was no massage shower, in water sitting area, jacuzzi or outside area. The sauna and steam room were constantly occupied making the experience feel communal, not relaxing. There is no special kids hour, so there was a screaming toddler. We left early to wait for our treatment time outside as this was at best a small public swimming pool with a sauna rather than a spa. It quite frankly felt uncomfortable and out of place to wear a white robe when being surrounded by a bunch of people during their workout sessions.

The treatment area is decorated cheaply and felt like a high street massage place. The massages themselves were fine, however, one of the therapists would not stop talking. I felt uncomfortable to say that I would prefer to just relax. Usually after you get on the bench the only questions are “are you comfortable” and “is this pressure okay” so continuing the small talk from before getting on the mat is unprofessional. If the customer doesn’t start a chat, don’t chat. We were shown the relaxing room after the treatment and told that there is water there - no glasses were available and there was nobody to ask for more.

The afternoon tea was the only acceptable thing. It took place in the tower room of the main hotel. Nothing amazing or unusual but for the price we calculated it at it would be fine. No options of tea were given. The bagel pieces with the salmon were a bit stale. The scones were on the drier side.

We will definitely not come back here and would not recommend this place...

The only way to describe the experience I had a MacDonald Houston Spa was that I was ‘catfished’. I never knew that was possible with a Spa. Let me take you on the journey which led to this statement.

I had come to Scotland for my birthday, sister and I wanted to have a spa day. We were looking around and saw pictures of the Houston House spa and thought ‘this looks lovely’.

Driving up to the hotel, the grounds were pretty, but the building was in desperate need of a paint. We were told to walk to the spa, and we very very quickly realised we had booked a day at the gym and NOT a spa day. As you walk through the doors you are greeted by personal trainers. I was expecting to walk into a tranquil environment with the smell of essential oils, not gym wear and chlorine. There wasn’t even an offer of tea or coffee or water… literally anything. I felt like I was doing a fitness assessment at a dining room table.

When we were checked in, we were told that as we opted to have a 55min massage and 25min facial instead of vice versa we had to pay in an extra £15 per person. Making the total ‘spa day’ £300. The audacity of this is unbelievable, it’s the exact same of time. In fact, I would think less product would have been used as we had an express facial. What possible justification do you have for this?

We were handed robes, which smelt like they had not been dried properly and shown to the dressing rooms aka gym change rooms, where we slipped the rope over our clothes due to the course over used gowns. These were worse that gym change rooms. We were surrounded by a wet floor, sweaty people and a smelly change room. It was so far from a 4-star spa. We were told the ‘spa day facilities’ were the pool that was being used as exercise and shared with non-spa using people (as in not for relaxation purposes).

We asked where the spa was and were told to go upstairs. We thought here is the moment we were looking for. Only to genuinely laugh. There was literally some Poundland fake candles and one room which was the ‘relaxation’ room. It was practically a doctor’s office waiting room. Again, no spa music, or aromatherapy diffusers… literally nothing but some couches. A bland brown room with random chairs and zero views.

Our treatment started 10min late with no apology. I understand the hotel is old, but the room was cold and light- literally the opposite of a warm, tranquil, and cosy environment. It also appears as though the Wolverine gets treatments based on the state of the floor (image attached).

The actual treatments were fine, the therapists were fine. After the treatments were done, there was no after care. I have spa treatments very often and the therapist always offers a glass of water afterwards and waits outside to lead you back to reception or whatever. It was like a one-night stand, action then a sneak out afterwards.

We changed and left, we thought we may get roped into doing a Zumba class if we stayed too long.

We went and had our lunch with was included in the package. The hotel was clearly run down, the walls need a paint, and the carpets need a clean. The lunch was ok, we were told though that we only had £25 to spend, that was never communicated to us and nor was it on the spa day description. If we hadn’t thought to bring money with us, we would have been stuck. The food itself was mediocre and my burger was burnt. I vomited the same night so I’m quite sure that burger made me I’ll.

After all of that, my birthday spa day was horrible and neither myself nor my sister left feeling relaxed, in fact quite the opposite.

You need to rethink calling your tiny little area a spa because it’s not- honestly. It’s a treatment space at best. Your spa should be away from the gym and perhaps overlooking the gardens.

I have had about 20 Spa days in my life, they are my favourite and this one was awful, it felt cheap, and it didn’t even care enough to have small touches such as music or refreshments’ have never felt so cheated out of money in my life and I would discourage anyone...

My partner and I were looking forward to a relaxing spa night at Houston House, especially after seeing the photos on SpaSeekers. It looked like a great, local option, so we booked. On arrival, the grounds were lovely, with ample parking, which made a good first impression. However, when we checked in, we were informed that our room wasn’t ready yet. We were a few minutes early, so we didn’t mind being asked to wait and maybe grab a drink. However, as a bottle of Prosecco was supposed to be waiting in our room, we hadn’t planned on hitting the bar immediately. Still, we decided not to make a fuss, left our bags in a cupboard, and headed to the bar. We were told the room wasn’t ready because of a delay in receiving linens, with no estimated arrival time. After about half an hour (and a £20 bill for drinks), we checked back, only to be told our room was still not ready. To make things worse, they had us booked in a twin room when we’d reserved a double. Thankfully, they were able to switch our reservation, and we headed up to our room. I asked about the Prosecco, and they said they’d bring it up, but we asked for it with dinner instead, as we were eager to get to the pool before it closed. Once in the room, it looked nice, but we quickly noticed there were no slippers, which we needed for the spa. It took me nearly 30 minutes to figure out how to call reception because there were no clear instructions in the room. Once I got through, the receptionist asked if I could come down for the slippers, but since we planned to wear them to the spa, I asked her to bring them up, which she did promptly. The spa itself was surprisingly detached from the main hotel, requiring a walk outside, which wouldn’t be ideal in bad weather. Inside, the steam and sauna were pleasant, but the changing rooms left much to be desired, with untidy toilets, scattered toilet paper, and even old plasters in the showers. After the spa, we returned to the room to freshen up, only to find there was no hairdryer provided, which was unexpected given the pool facilities. This meant I had to towel-dry my hair before dinner. Dinner was a bright spot—the food was delicious, and the staff were wonderful. The bed was comfortable, though it was odd that the TV was mounted on a wall at an angle that didn’t face the bed, with visible wires, which affected the room’s ambiance. The next morning, we went to the breakfast buffet, which offered a decent selection. We asked for lattes, but the staff informed us the coffee machine was broken, so we had only one option—black coffee, served quite weak. We then ordered a full fry-up, which was included in our spa package, though there was an extra charge for certain items like eggs Benedict. When our breakfast arrived, it was obvious it had been sitting under a heat lamp; the bacon was tough, which was disappointing. After breakfast, we went for a walk around the grounds, as we’d heard there were gardens and a tennis court. Unfortunately, the path led us to a construction area with a “no entry” sign. I ended up stepping into a large muddy puddle, soaking my shoes and trousers. Back at the reception, I asked for a hairdryer to help dry my clothes. I was initially questioned about whether I’d checked all the drawers in the room (I had), and when a hairdryer was provided, it was broken and seemed on the verge of overheating, so I had to go back down for a replacement. At checkout, the staff were polite, and overall, the people we interacted with were friendly and helpful, but the experience felt disorganized and frustrating. While small details like interviews happening in the tiny reception area, staff with bin bags near entrances, and visible storage rooms with open doors might seem minor, they added up to a sense of poor management. I also learned from another guest that they’d experienced a delay due to linen issues and were offered free drinks at the bar, whereas we weren’t, which...