Macdonald Portal Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort

I stayed at the MacDonald Portal overnight to attend Oulton Park raceway the following day. There’s ample, secure parking (inc EV chargers) the hotel is nicely appointed, the rooms are spacious and very comfortable. The beds are superb. All the staff we’re more than helpful and the restaurant food was delicious. I will definitely start again in the future and can’t recommend it enough. (Must remember to bring swimming trunks next time too!)

Excellent service and great room. Gym had plenty of equipment and was spotless. Lovely location.

We found the hotel was just an average one. We failed to see how it could be regarded as 5 star by previous guests. On reflection we would have been better staying in a good Premier Inn or similar and visiting this hotel's spa facilities as a Day Guest. The spa, gym and swing side of this hotel were certainly above average.

Fantastic stay. Upgrade was well worth it. The receptionist was extremely helpful to accommodate a safe room to store our bikes. Buffet breakfast was slightly lacking choice but service was great. Pool, sauna, steam rooms were excellent and clean but the roof could do with a paint if I was really critical. We would differently stay again and next time I’m different playing golf next time.

Amazing luxury spa in the centre of a huge golf park - staff were amazing with excellent food and great comfy rooms. Bath and shower in each room.

Pool area needs some TLC our room was clean. Bed super comfy. Wouldn't stay again as we have stayed in better 4 star jotels

Very cleans and good value accommodation. Excellent room service and great bar server ( young man). Menu was very limited and not great value. Pool was a plus.

Easy parking - nice countryside - local chip shop - local town of Tarporley has nice bars - good sized pool - terrible decor around pool ceiling, walls & changing rooms - no air con

Area was lovely outside peaceful. Great spa services. Staff polite. Room clean .loved the fact had a bath and shower separate. Water dispenser available on all floors. The pool area could do with a paint, as pipes looking bit rusty and ceiling peeling in areas. Would been nice to have a jacuzzi.

What was Great: 1. It's a lovely countryside location. 2. Ample parking 3. From check-in to check-out, the staff were wonderful (special mention to Joe). 4. Nicely presented interior spaces 5. The room was well furnished, decorated, stocked and clean. 6. Pool, Steam rooms and saunas were excellent and the gym was well-equipped. 7. Golf courses were excellent Needs work: 1. Restaurant's evening meal was average for the price 2. Breakfast was decent for £18 but to charge a surplus £5 if you wanted avocado or eggs bene instead of a full English was wrong and unnecessarily disappointing. 3. Pool area was missing a Jacuzzi, which is usual and they had the room.

Very Disappointing Stay – Not a Relaxing Spa Break What was meant to be a peaceful overnight spa break turned into a frustrating experience. The pool was overrun with unsupervised, screaming kids throwing inflatables and even salt, making it impossible to relax. We weren’t given the grey dressing gowns others had — apparently, they’re only for guests having treatments or staying in better rooms, which felt unfair and discriminatory. The room was average, with no soap by the bath, dirty towels, and poor soundproofing. We barely slept due to people shouting outside our room until 2:30am. When reported, reception simply said “OK” with no apology or concern. Definitely not worth the money — we won’t be returning.

The property and rooms are not clean. It needs a refurbishment

Our stay was very brief but I feel I have to make a comment on the cleanliness of our room. The carpet required cleaning and hoovering at the very least. Previous occupants towel was hanging behind the door. On the plus side - the bed was very comfortable.

The room was spotless, lovely beds and pillows everything was perfect in the room, loved the Elemis products in the bathroom. Dinner was superb I recommend the Burger! Breakfast was cooked to order it was served hot and was so tasty, Claire&Olga looked after us very well, lovely ladies, Alison and the reception team made us very welcome and were very helpful, we will definitely be back!

need to sort out service and cleanliness. Tables in bar area not clean (morning to evening). Breakfast tables in dining area not wiped down. Staff not courteous when walking around/ in front of guests.

Rooms are clean and showers are good, Staff are very friendly and helpful.

Room was immaculate, the staff all very helpful and couldn't have done any more for us. We also attended an event there and the organisation was superb.

My wife and I stayed here as we were attending a wedding nearby. We arrived early and luckily our room was available for early check in. The reception staff was really helpful and even assisted with arranging transport to our venue. Our room was clean and spacious with very comfortable beds, with plenty of room utilities at hand. Bathroom also clean and spacious and toiletries provided. We booked breakfast which is buffet style with delicious food to suit all needs

No phone to call reception Room smelt badly of damp Skirting boards filthy in corners Carpet wet bathroom wall side think shower leaks No fridge Kettle broke No robes Sink cracked Room dated and old Curtains smelt very bad There was a draft from the windows Breakfast vastly overpriced and hot buffet was sparce and cold had to ask for eggs Continental buffet basic Overall badly maintained rooms wouldnt stay again

Lovely big room, tastefully decorated. Clean room and bathroom. Quality toiletries and very comfy bed. All staff friendly and professional. Would stay again.

Had to wait until 4pm for our room to be available. And even then the receptionist had to physically leave her position to confirm it was ready. The noise down the corridors during the night was unbearable. Gone midnight kids were still shouting and running down the corridors.. At one point in the silent hours we even heard a dog barking from in a room. Same dog was heard in the morning. I dont remember ever seeing dog friendly on the listing? I wouldnt have booked if it was. Overall quite disappointing

Hotel and staff wonderful. Down side, no soap at the sink in the bathrooms and no USB port in the bedroom.

Good hotel bed was 2 angles pushed together so dipped in the middle but nice spacious room.

Spacious, peaceful stay – with room for improvement Overall, I had a lovely stay. The room was very spacious, with a large, comfortable bed and a generous bathroom. The location is beautiful and quiet, ideal for a relaxing break. The spa looked great, though I didn’t get a chance to use it this time. One downside is the lack of air conditioning – the room got quite warm at night. The decor is quite dated and could do with a refresh. The shower was a bit frustrating – I couldn’t regulate the water temperature properly, which made it less enjoyable. Staff were friendly and helpful, and everything was clean. With a few modern updates, especially to the bathroom and cooling, this could easily be a five-star stay. I’d definitely consider coming back.

For a four star it is looking a bit dated and the room we had was in need of updating and repair, (Room 317 - Broken sink). Great location if you are a golfer. The pool area was ok, nothing special, again looking tired, you only get a robe if you are having a treatment. Evening meal was nice, but restaurant was full of golfing parties and very loud. Breakfast was the biggest disappointment. Totally disorganised, a shortage of crockery and cutlery and ran out of food. You had to ask for everything and the staff were not very attentive. Their main focus is golf, there was people pushing golf trolleys around the hotel, even into their rooms. If you are on a golf deal when probably ok price, but for everyone else expensive for what it is.

Lovely location. nice staff. The problem was that our room smelt musty and damp. The smell infiltrated into the bedsheets and our clothes. Also there was no air conditioning in the room and the window only opened a small amount. It was a very warm day so the room was hot. Unfortunately we arrived at the room late in the evening so it was too late to report and change room

Staff very friendly, room good size

Lovely locality, clean and spacious room, very comfortable bed. Pool and steam room fantastic. Room on the lower ground floor, disappointing view, large over grown hedge, made the room very dark

Been on a road trip this week and stayed at 7 properties through the UK. The McDonald was the most expensive - and the worst standard No air con in a hot ground floor room, terrible WiFi connection constantly dropping, very basic room, 4 breakfasts ordered (family room) and 1 delivered / which was very expensive and small Just a bad experience and a poor hotel

Lovely big room, tastefully decorated. Clean room and bathroom. Quality toiletries and very comfy bed. All staff friendly and professional. Would stay again.

This hotel is a great place to stay in a lovely location. We have stayed here on a number of occasions and the only thing that continues to let the hotel down is the service in the restaurant at both breakfast and dinner. They are not attentive and are very slow. This is such a shame but would not stop me staying here again.

Definitely my favourite place to stay I was delayed on route and ended up checking in super late, the staff couldn’t do enough for me and were really accommodating! Love this hotel but the staff are even better than the hotel!! Fab fab fab!!!

The room was spotless, lovely beds and pillows everything was perfect in the room, loved the Elemis products in the bathroom. Dinner was superb I recommend the Burger! Breakfast was cooked to order it was served hot and was so tasty, Claire&Olga looked after us very well, lovely ladies, Alison and the reception team made us very welcome and were very helpful, we will definitely be back!

Shocking service again at this hotel. Seems to survive putely from the Golf Tripd and Blue Rinse bus tours. Use for work over the years and always let you down no matter which manager you complain to. A shame as the staff do try, but it is terrible. Sat for a half hour at breakfast and nobody even came to take my drinks order. Wont be using ever again. Far better hotels locally.

Looooong wait to be checked in, nearly 20 minutes with no other people in front of me!! Didn’t set-up the pre-auth a/c properly after taking £50 so had to pay for drinks separately at the bar (twice after them promising to sort it out after the first time) Had to go and sort the issue out myself and it took another 15 minutes just to be seen to sort out the room a/c and eventually had to go and knock the staff door to be seen, along with another couple who had been waiting for ages before me. Mum & Daughter Afternoon Tea on the table next to me was abysmal and given a ful refund and spoilt their special occassion….the cucumber was completely slimey and the clotted cream virtually frozen. No other white wine apart from Chardonnay available…No Pinot Grigio or Sauv Blanc. Asked for Pint of Orange Juice and Lemonade for evening meal (got a pint of lemonade with a small splash of orange squash) Ordered Prawn & Crayfish Cocktail (they turned up with Pate after about 20 minutes) then had to wait AGAIN and when the cocktail turned up the lettuce was black and disgusting. (See picture) Chips that came with the steak were literally swimming in grease and the chips were so hard they broke when you tried to cut them. All of the above was reported as the issues arose!!!….shocking service from a reputable hotel chain and I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone to stay there unless they severely enhance their service offering and standards.

Room was immaculate, the staff all very helpful and couldn't have done any more for us. We also attended an event there and the organisation was superb.

My wife and I stayed here as we were attending a wedding nearby. We arrived early and luckily our room was available for early check in. The reception staff was really helpful and even assisted with arranging transport to our venue. Our room was clean and spacious with very comfortable beds, with plenty of room utilities at hand. Bathroom also clean and spacious and toiletries provided. We booked breakfast which is buffet style with delicious food to suit all needs

Amazing property and outstanding service. Staff were great.

I waited more than 2 hrs for my bathrobe to be delivered to the room. Then I asked 3 x different members of staff for an in-room service menu, but still no sign after 4 hours.

The hotel is in a nice setting and the room was a decent size and comfortable. The hotel is beginning to look a little tired. It would possibly have been a 4 star review, but when we arrived early Sunday evening, there were no staff in evidence. After about 5 minutes, somebody finally appeared and checked us in. They make a big deal on their website about their restaurant, so we booked dinner bed and breakfast, but we're told we couldn't eat in the restaurant, only at a table in the bar, which was not what we expected or wanted. When we went to the bar, there was again nobody around, when the barman finally arrived, he ignored me and made some coffees for someone else. When I said that it wasn't acceptable to wait such a long time and then be ignored, he said he didn't care and if I continued to complain, he would shut the bar, because he had resigned and was leaving the next day. It transpired that there were apparently only 2 front of staff on duty, despite there being quite a lot of guests in the hotel. The food wasn't bad, but I found it disappointing to be sniggered at by the waitress for having ordered fish and chips. As I live in the South of France, it makes quite a nice change

Nice place for a city escape

I stayed at the MacDonald Portal overnight to attend Oulton Park raceway the following day. There’s ample, secure parking (inc EV chargers) the hotel is nicely appointed, the rooms are spacious and very comfortable. The beds are superb. All the staff we’re more than helpful and the restaurant food was delicious. I will definitely start again in the future and can’t recommend it enough. (Must remember to bring swimming trunks next time too!)

Stylish property, fabulous view

Lovely place to stay and very accommodating as we had our horse lorry as we were competing at Kelsall international.

Great hotel and location.

Great hotel in beautiful grounds.

Easy parking - nice countryside - local chip shop - local town of Tarporley has nice bars - good sized pool - terrible decor around pool ceiling, walls & changing rooms - no air con

Everyone was very helpful and it is in lovely quiet surroundings

What was Great: 1. It's a lovely countryside location. 2. Ample parking 3. From check-in to check-out, the staff were wonderful (special mention to Joe). 4. Nicely presented interior spaces 5. The room was well furnished, decorated, stocked and clean. 6. Pool, Steam rooms and saunas were excellent and the gym was well-equipped. 7. Golf courses were excellent Needs work: 1. Restaurant's evening meal was average for the price 2. Breakfast was decent for £18 but to charge a surplus £5 if you wanted avocado or eggs bene instead of a full English was wrong and unnecessarily disappointing. 3. Pool area was missing a Jacuzzi, which is usual and they had the room.

Just back from a lovely weekend celebrating birthday and engagement at the portal golf and spa resort, greeted by two really pleasant and welcoming staff at check in informed us on all useful information regarding hotel, restaurants and spa. The views and grounds around the hotel was Beautiful. Hotel was fully booked but was always easy to get booked in for food the bar had a really pleasant atmosphere about it and all the people stay here was really chatty so great weekend all in all definitely will be back

Nice place, friendly staff. Very expensive wine for a basic hotel. £18 for a large glass and no bottles of red under £40? Didn't really fit the standard of hotel.

The room was spotless, lovely beds and pillows everything was perfect in the room, loved the Elemis products in the bathroom. Dinner was superb I recommend the Burger! Breakfast was cooked to order it was served hot and was so tasty, Claire&Olga looked after us very well, lovely ladies, Alison and the reception team made us very welcome and were very helpful, we will definitely be back!

Overall was good, but really let down by the restaurant. Evening meal portions were tiny and expensive Lack of staff on bars and serving food. Pre ordered starter didn't arrive until the main course, despite chasing two people. Nice hotel but let down by the restaurant.

Room was clean and great overall, TV could be upgraded to a smart one really.. Breakfast- not the best. Sausages awful. Not a big selection. What annoyed most is that you have to wait 20min for coffee and tea as theres just one jug each? Terrible… get a few jugs and leave for people to get it themselves and not put a pink haired woman to run around with them, go refill for ages and do it all over again. Wheres logic in that? Where is class, where is customer comfort? Spa treatments overpriced £100 for a massage or £79 with a discount for a back stroke. Steam dangerously overheated, Pool freezing, Sauna’s bench broken, no jacuzzi to chill in. Menu on their website hasn’t been updated, so don’t be surprised to be charged more and have subpar food. No more scallops on the menu and replaced with Bass? Really? Probably the best fish to pick with no nutritional value and over price it. Biggest shock Large glass of red wine Malbec £18 significant difference between a glass of rose £9 20th Jan 9am Male Receptionist Rude, learn some manners and customer service. Overall expectation and reality- disappointing. Would not return or recommend sorry.

Enjoyed our stay overall. Comfortable room, good facilities. Evening meal was great. Breakfast, choice of eggs a bit lacking. Had to ask for a couple of items.

My wife and I stayed here as we were attending a wedding nearby. We arrived early and luckily our room was available for early check in. The reception staff was really helpful and even assisted with arranging transport to our venue. Our room was clean and spacious with very comfortable beds, with plenty of room utilities at hand. Bathroom also clean and spacious and toiletries provided. We booked breakfast which is buffet style with delicious food to suit all needs

Very cleans and good value accommodation. Excellent room service and great bar server ( young man). Menu was very limited and not great value. Pool was a plus.

Lovely hotel and rooms are large comfortable and quiet. The service in the restaurant at both dinner and breakfast was bad and food ok but not great, and for this reason alone I won’t return.

Really easy and friendly check in. Food was very nice and the service was excelent.

Stay was good, staff very pleasant and helpful. Restaurant very cold and food only average, much more cosy to eat in the bar.