Britannia Palace Hotel Buxton & Spa

Unfortunately, this hotel was very underwhelming and not at all the relaxing experience advertised on Booking.com. The car park was full when we arrived, with no overflow parking available, and the staff seemed unwilling to help or even make suggestions. We had accidentally booked a twin room instead of a double and asked reception whether there was anything they could do, happy to pay extra. We completely understood that this was our mistake, but the receptionist immediately told us they were fully booked without even checking the computer or appearing willing to explore any options. It wasn’t the fact they couldn’t change the room that bothered us, but the lack of willingness to help. We stayed in the twin room and pushed the beds together. However, the room itself also felt quite subpar. Barely any plug sockets and there was a large gap underneath the door, which meant light from the corridor came into the room and we could hear people walking past; it offered very little privacy and certainly wasn’t what we would expect from a hotel of this price point. The same attitude continued when we visited the pool. We were told we needed a ticket from reception to prove we had access and were simply sent back there to get one. As reception “rarely answered the phone”, this meant walking all the way back rather than the staff member making any attempt to assist or check this for us. Once in the pool, a large group were playing ball across almost the entire pool, leaving the majority of other guests confined to one corner with very little space to actually enjoy it. There appeared to be no intervention from staff, which again made the experience feel far from the relaxing atmosphere advertised. However, the food was lovely and the staff in the restaurant seemed much more accommodating and friendly. Overall, the biggest disappointment was the customer service. We weren’t expecting staff to solve every issue, but we did expect them to at least try to help. The whole experience felt far less welcoming, relaxing and accommodating than the hotel is portrayed online and not worth the spend.

The beautiful old hotel has been absolutely wrecked. How grand and lovely things look get ready to be REALLY disappointed. The service was absolutely awful theres kids running around not knowing what they're doing, at dinner a woman walked around asking several tables if what she had in her hands was what they ordered a allergy nightmare waiting to happen. There was only around 8 tables eating at the time so its not as if it was full. Then the room smelt discusting, the curtains were ripped the bed was like sleeping on a wooden plank. Then for breakfast every single table had used dirty pots and plates on, to the point guests were moving them to other tables so they could sit down and eat. At one point they had a massive que to get cups as then hadnt been washed. In the room it was so hot that we needed 2 fans on and the plug sockets next to the bed are old rounded sockets so we couldnt use them. What an absolute waste of a beautiful building. Your general manager needs sacking. I will say the food after it actually got to the table for £14 was actually okay. This morning there was a line of people waiting to complain.

We booked this hotel for a 1 nights stay whilst we were staying in Chesterfield as we were looking to visit Buxton on our way home on the Monday. Lady in reception was very nice and checking in was very good. We were on the 3rd floor and luckily we had a lift that was right next to our room as you came out of it. We were in room 312 and to be fair, the price we paid for the size and style of the decor was about what we expected. The room looked like it had been updated to a point but maintaining the age and look of the hotel. The hotel itself was very big and probably in it's day would have been quite stunning. It is perfectly located and within walking distance of the shops, bars, cafés and the theatre. Downside - We ordered some food in the evening to eat outside where there are umbrella's and tables and chairs. Outside could be made more special but there were cigarette stubs on the ground and umpteen empty glasses and cups on every table that had been left and none of the staff had bothered to clear. When our food order eventually arrived, they had ran out of some of the food items but hadn't told us prior to placing our order. We also had to wait nearly an hour and by the time the food had arrived, it was going cold and the sandwiches had gone dry and a little crusty!!. They seemed to me to be short of staff but we had a lovely lady called Fiona that offered us a refund on some of the food items. At around 11:45pm the bar had closed and we decided to go to bed. A nice gentleman on reception called Dave gave us a couple of free bottles of water and some extra sachets of coffee, tea and milk etc. When we got to the room, considering we were in the middle of a heatwave, on entering, we were hit with a very hot room. The sash window would only open a little bit and there was a small fan on the mirror dresser. There was no fresh air coming in from outside and the whole room was unbearable. The bottles of water we had originally recieved in the room were warm. I tried the sink to try and fill it up with some cold water to put the bottles of water in to cool down but when you ran both taps, both taps ran hot and warm water!!. We decided to take the duvet out of the cover and try and sleep under the cover itself but it was still very warm and humid. I don't know how we managed it but I think we had around 2-3 hours sleep. At around 5am, we were still both awake so we decided to pack away and forget about sightseeing around Buxton but instead get on the road and drive back home. Met Dave on reception and explained why we had decided to pack up and go and he gave us 2 bottles of water to take with us. Summary: Lovely old building but definitely could do with updating or even just a fresh lick of paint or 2 as it has the makings of a lovely hotel given it's prime location and history. Couldn't fault the staff and they did their very best considering what appeared as being a very understaffed hotel.

Really can't find any fault to warrant less than 5 stars for this hotel. Rooms spacious and beds comfy, plenty of choice for breakfast. Lots of parking (cost £5 per day). Really nice hotel, we're definitely coming back.