Overall my wife and I had a pleasant stay. The facilities are good, and the spa was very quiet, but a couple of things mean a lower star rating than we would otherwise have given. Firstly, there wasn't much space to sit by the pool - only 4/5 beds - all taken when we arrived - and no chairs. Secondly, and far more importantly, the jacuzzi was out of operation. The sign said "cleaning in progress", and some people were ignoring it and getting in anyway. I'm glad we didn't, because later, the staff told us that it was effectively an acid bath after someone had left the chlorine tap on overnight and they were trying to get the levels down! What amazed me was that no one thought to put a "Danger - No Entry" sign up. When I raised this with the staff , they compromised by adding an "out of order" sign to the "cleaning in progress" one. Interestingly, the staff hadn't thought to mention this to us, either when we checked in at hotel reception, or when we signed into the spa.
Actual treatment lasted 15 mins and not 30 mins. Extremely poor customer service checking into hotel. An e mail of complaint has been sent to them and so far ignored.
Beautiful place.Pool and steam room spotless. Food tasty and good price. Staff excellent. Would definitely go back.
The spa and treatments were lovely, and the spa staff were very nice, but we had a few issues. Firstly, the changing rooms are very small. Luckily it wasn't particularly buys but if it had been, we'd have struggled. I'd say no more than 6 people could fit in there, which is something to consider if you are a large group. The pool, jacuzzi and steam rooms were very pleasant, and the gym is well equipped.
We had been told to go to the restaurant for 12.30 for light lunch. Our treatments were at 1.30 and we struggled to get there in time because the waiting staff seemed to have forgotten about us. They took 15 minutes to bring our drinks order, by this time we had decided on our lunch, but when told this when she arrived with the drinks, the waitress just said "I'll be back in a minute". Ten minutes later, she returned and took the order which then took a further 30 minutes to arrive! Presumably they had been waiting for the bread to toast in the sun or something...I could have gone home and made my own toastie in that time! FYI, speed eating a toastie isn't particularly relaxing.
So, we returned for our treatments. The massages and facials were of good standard but I wasnt a big fan of my manicure, which seemed rushed. My nails were left wonky and after being filed weren't cleaned up properly so the nail tips weren't smooth, and nail dust was left on the nails which the therapist then painted over, meaning the polish was bumpy. That being said, the other members of my party were happy with their nails. After my own tidy up job, the polish did last quite a few days.
We had a card swipe taken at the beginning of the day in case we wanted drinks etc. getting this back kind of undid all the relaxation! We were told to go to the main hotel reception. Receptionist ignored us for a good 15 minutes and then finally decided she could see us and told us we should go to the bar to discuss the matter. We did, but the barmaid there couldn't understand a word we were saying and thought we were asking for more drinks. The head barman was able to help us eventually, explaining that as we had by that point paid in cash for our drinks, the money held would just return to my card in the next few days.
All in all, I would recommend Owston for the spa facilities, gym and massages etc, and the spa staff are lovely, but there needs to be some communication with the main hotel staff to ensure that the relaxation of the spa day isn't undone by inept customer service elsewhere.
Basically rude staff but amazing treatments
Rubbish food but great priced drinks
There was no signs... Sort it out, people don't like been lost in a hotel !!
Upon arrival the receptionist was rude and very unhelpful,
Never been before so had no idea what the protocol was, as there were no signs signposting anything inside and out of the hotel we got a bit annoyed but as soon as we entered the spa area and treatment centre all the stress ran away !! Back massage and facial were brilliant would definitely recommend it for the day.
Went to the restaurant for dinner enough on the menu but I really didn't like the meal especially for the money we paid for the meal.
Bar area was lovely and well priced drinks which always puts you in a good mood