Salt at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa

Review summary

1. L

   Lesley

   London

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Nice friendly big hotel, bathrooms need a refresh. Very comfortable bed. Ate lunch at hotel was really nice pea and ham soup was lovely and club sandwich was good. Had dinner at Salt but everyone moved to bar lounge area as hotel was quite bit was still good and food was good husband had pork, he thought was good but would have preferred a crispy skin. Being gym members we got 20% off food and drink so that was good too, overall pleasant stay on way to family in England
   

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2. P

   Peter

   Gloucestershire

   19 reviews

   2.0

   19 reviews

   Dined on December 8, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   We booked a table in Salt (the restaurant); it was closed! We had to eat in the bar area. The menu had incorrect calorie values! I asked for ketchup; they delivered bbq sauce. We both had mushy peas; they were cold! The server was ok, apparently kitchen issues. Not a good experience!
   

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3. J

   Joel

   Cheshire

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 3, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   Food in general was ok but a lot of issues. First of all we paid for a hotel package that included dinner and breakfast. In reality it gives you an allowance of 25pp towards the normal menu and if you are having a starter then it is almost impossible to have a meal that falls in the budget. We aren’t tight with money but for 2 of us - Bread, 1 starter, 2 mains which were the cheaper ones on the menu, a couple of sides of sauces and some extra chips and a glass of wine and 2 pints, it came to £120 so in essence we had to pay another £70 on top of the package we had already paid for which wasn’t cheap. The value for money is a bit of a rip off essentially and what you would expect in a high end restaurant in a city centre. Over breakfast - make sure you make the most of the other things on offer as the cooked breakfasts aren’t very big. There was also drilling and banging going on which wasn’t exactly relaxing over food. It took a fair while for the food to come out which is fine as we were in no rush but dinner wasn’t massively warm and one steak was meant to be medium and was almost blue. Waitresses were nice and attentive and one saving grace was they brought out a surprise desert for my partners 40th which was a nice touch but with the cost of everything else, it seemed a bit of a empty gesture. On a final note, worth asking what isn’t available as first choice was not available and the waitress looked annoyed that we hadn’t been told about this beforehand
   

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4. LR

   LouiseR

   Derbyshire

   3 reviews

   4.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on November 24, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Breakfast was table service, which I felt was a big improvement. Staff were lovely. Room was upgraded. Food was good. The Asian salad didn't have any kind of dressing on it, therefore it was very ordinary. They don't serve cocktails. Pork belly was good with a lovely cider gravy ( I requested more which wasn't a problem ) you pay extra for sides. There is a £5 supplement for a few of the breakfast items eg avocado. We had a lovely time. Bed and breakfast was only £60 ppl which is good value especially when you can use the lovely warm pool, even after checkout.
   

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5. K

   Katie

   Lancashire

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 16, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Food is lovely, really nice. Service was terrible, waited 40 mins for a drink and was brought the wrong drink and partners drink came 5 mins later. Took an hour to get our starter and then another half an hour after to recieve our main. The bill was high considering smaller plates and then they automatically add a 10% service charge when the service was terrible. Lovely place and food though.
   

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6. J

   Julie

   Cheshire

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 28, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   We were staying in the hotel for my husband’s birthday and decided to eat here although the staff were lovely upon arrival to restaurant we were told that there was no fish dishes available on the menu given that we both eat a lot of fish narrowed the menu the food was okay but won’t rush back very disappointing after a lovely day in the spa
   

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7. G

   Gary

   Cheshire

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 12, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   We dined on Saturday evening and although the experience was ok it wasn't great. The restaurant wasn't busy only having about 5 tables and a group of 12 golfers eating. The service was ok but I felt the staff were either not trained properly or were too busy somewhere else. The food was a good standard but nothing amazing. We ordered the £5 bread bored for a starter and expected breads with balsamic and oils etc but we received 1 bread roll and a blob of butter, When I questioned if this was the £5 bread bored the member of staff said, "Yes it is, you usually get 2 rolls but we don't have them so we have given you 1 roll". I asked for oils etc and I received a small ramakin of mixture of oil and balsamic.
   

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8. L

   Lindsey

   Cheshire

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on September 14, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was absolutely stunning, but I do think the service could be better, especially when a tip is added to your bill (I dont agree with discretionary tips) I do also feel the wine was slightly overpriced when it's bought by the glass
   

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9. P

   Pamela

   Cheshire

   3 reviews

   4.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on August 24, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 2

   The food is delicious but my husbands steak was requested medium and it was definitely rare in places. He could not eat it but this was removed from the bill without issue. The restaurant was very busy with large groups of men, presumably golfers, and they tended to be quite loud. Language not always appropriate for a restaurant, especially with children around. But it is a golfers hotel so to be expected. This was our 3rd night at the hotel and on the 2nd night we had to ask to move tables as the language on the next table was unacceptable to me and offensive. The staff I have to say are extremely well trained and polite considering how young most of them appear to be. A credit to the place.
   

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10. P

    Pamela

    Cheshire

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on August 23, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 1

    No complaints with the food or service but we had to ask to move tables as three men at the next table were loud and using offensive language. Not appropriate in a restaurant. Unfortunately due to the move, our main course got lost somewhere and we had to ask for it! However it was excellent when it arrived and our bill was reduced as a result of the mistake.
    

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