Celtic Manor Resort Reviews 

Absolutely appalled by my experience with The Celtic Manor Resort – Rafters.

They took £40 from my account without authorization, and despite reaching out multiple times since Monday, I have been completely ignored. No apology, no explanation—just robotic, emotionless responses from staff who clearly don’t care about their customers.

I had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency—a loved one in the hospital—and the lack of empathy from the team was shocking. I’ve been a loyal visitor for years, but after this disgraceful treatment, I will never return.

A Christmas voucher I didn’t even purchase has somehow resulted in money being stolen from my account, and instead of addressing the issue, they’ve chosen to brush it aside.

I will be taking this further to expose just how awful my experience has been. With my connections at Wales Online, I intend to ensure others are warned. Stay well away from this company.

From the outset, bad first impressions - the clueless reception staff member doesn’t know how to check me in and has to disappear into a back room to bring someone out to help her… check in takes 15 minutes.

The room is shabby and in need of refurbishment. Very 2000s and I’m sure ok at the time. The bathroom is well designed and spacious. The towels could do with renewal. The bed was comfortable.

I called housekeeping the following morning to get some laundry done. Apparently housekeeping don’t show up for work til 8am. Reception says they will get them to pick up when they’re on. At 8.20am no one has picked it up. Call down to reception. Oh dear. They will radio housekeeping. I am hungry.

8.50am no one shows up. I go down to reception. Ask to speak to duty manager. The hotel doesn’t have one, I am told. I am asked to wait in a side area. Ten minutes later the same receptionist comes to me saying she is the front desk manager. I complain about the service. I get nowhere.

I go for breakfast. It’s in a place called the Olive Garden. It looks like a plague of locusts has swarmed over the place, with waste food and used dishes all over the tables. Someone asks for my room number. Doesn’t tell me it’s all buffet. Hot drinks from a machine. Awful. No milk on my table. I find another table with some milk. Scrambled eggs dried into the buffet dish. A young waiter comes by and stirs it up. Bacon is like dried shoe leather - probably cooked at 6am and under a heat lamp since. Nothing is freshly cooked. You would do better to eat at Magor services.

Hugely disappointed, I decide to check out. I am told that there is ‘nothing to settle’ when I ask. I leave, paying £20 for the privilege of parking overnight yat the hotel….

Later, I check my credit card app. The hotel has put pending charges of almost twice the value of the reservation on my card. I call the hotel and ask to speak to reception. Eventually I am put through to someone who is not from reception. We go around and around with him evading my questions. I can’t get him to tell me how much I have actually paid for about ten minutes at which point it is clear that I have paid for one night. So there was something to settle? I feel like a fool for not getting a receipt or invoice for the one night. I end up paying for two nights despite staying for only one and being led to believe that was what I would pay for.

In sum, this hotel is supposed to be a five star hotel. It is supposed to be one of Wales’s premier hotels. It is not. It feels like a very, very badly run heavily used Premier Inn. There is no sense of service or quality. It is most definitely NOT five star.

Read all the reviews on this site. Don’t waste your time. It would be a big mistake. You can do better at the chains or small privately run hotels. One is across the road.

The reception staff were incredibly helpful and supportive of a booking transaction my son had made on my behalf.
I especially commend Gwenno, Nikki and Phoebe. I also want to thank Eve who looked after me especially at breakfast in the Olive Tree. And thanks to the “strawberry” chef👍
A most enjoyable stay. Thank you

TWENTY TEN COURSE WAS UN PLAY ABLE!!!!!
YET CHARGED FULL PRICE
ALSO, I EMAILED THEM TWICE TO CHANGE OUR TEE TIME BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TEE TIME
WE GOT MOVED INTO A 4 BALL
OUR ORIGINAL TEE TIME WAS THEN FILLED WITH A 2 BALL
BUT THEY DIDN’T SWAP US WITH THE TWO IN OUR ORIGINAL TEE TIME
THE PHONE OPERATOR LIED AND SAID THEY WERE PART OF A GROUP
I SPOKE TO THE TWO GUYS AND ASKED IF THEY WERE AND THEY WEREN’T
GOING BACK TO THE CONDITION OF THE COURSE
£90 FULL PRICE TO PLAY COURSE THAT WAS THE WORST I’VE EVER PLAYED
SENT TWO EMAILS SINCE THE ROUND SAT 22ND FEB WITH NO SURPRISE NO REPLY!!!!!
STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCAM OF AN ORGANISATION

We booked a table for two a couple of weeks ago but had to cancel so my husband attempted to do this twice online but the system was down and wouldn’t let him. On the third attempt it said it was too late to cancel. We didn’t panic as the system had been down so we COULDN’T cancel so we weren’t at fault but they then charged us £40!
When my husband complained they refused to refund him and after a few emails they only offered a £20 voucher towards a future meal!

Don’t book a table if there’s any chance that you’ll need to cancel it because their system won’t let you cancel and then they shamelessly charge you even though the issue is their fault,

Exceptionally poor service. They have charged me for a service I did not receive and have fobbed me off without giving me a refund. Multiple phone calls were made, multiple promises to call back, and even called into reception to sort, but still, they haven't delivered on one of their commitments to return a call, never mind return the money they owe me. They've been given so many opportunities to fix this issue over 3 days and they haven't. I dond't believe they have any genuine intention to resolve so they have effectively stolen my money

Unable to speak to anyone on the phone on multiple occasions ; kept on hold for 15,20 ,40 minutes without answer or anyone coming back to me . Finally made a new call & asked to be put through to a manager so that I could make a complaint ( not wishing to express my exasperation to a receptionist ) . I was then left hanging /holding for 25 minutes before giving up . Astonishingly poor service for such a supposedly prestigious hotel .

I have received a voucher to spend in the Celtic Manor Spa, I called 3rd January to try and find out what services were on offer and to book in.

The person answered the phone and said she would get someone to call me back, took my name and details but no one called me back.

9th January, I called again where I was told, they didn't have access to bookings but would get someone to call me back, no one did.

10th January, I called back to be told they would need to get a supervisor to book me in, I didn't understand I just wanted someone to tell me the services and take my voucher. I informed the staff that someone had already told me I would receive a call back since the 3rd and no one has, I had an apology and reassurance that her supervisor would call me back to book. No call received.

Today Monday 13th January, my 4th attempt to book in, staff answers, she doesn't have login for book spa treatment so will get someone to call me back. I again told my story of trying to book in since the 3rd of January with no one calling me back, again a blanket apology and reassurance someone would call me back.

Shortly after someone did call me back, in a rushed manner, not able to give me details of both spa locations and their services. Told me she would need to transfer me to another department, this rang and on answering was disconnected.

I am still not booked in and it doesn't appear anyone is able to actually fix this problem.

I've emailed them today, explaining the issue and asked to arrange a refund of the voucher.

Very disappointed with the service to simply speak to an actual person in the know, get information and book in.

Food was cold. Rooms have no sound insulation.
Staff where nice though.
Paid my outstanding invoice to find the company had kept my bank details ilegally, a week later charged me again. Now trying to get a refund.
Avoid avoid avoid! Do not stay at this place awful!!!!

Duplicated charge to both my company credit card and my personal credit card. Now having to fight to get credited £551 to my personal account. Poor customer service I'm afraid.

hemos estado por trabajo y todo OK. El servicio y atencion al cliente despues de la estancia de capa caida a pesar de sus estrellas. Te tratan bien hasta que pagas, luego se olvidan de ti completamente

I really try to stay positive of the celtic manor as it's such an impressive hotel and I used to work there and most of the people work really hard, but unfortunately I have to make this review.
We were over charged £90, luckily I always check things so pointed this out and the refund was given also free parking as an apology.
Then when we got home we realised we left my husbands rather expensive aftershave, two of them on the TV cabinet, these were left there 100% but have not been handed in so unfortunately the celtic manor have people working for them who aren't trustworthy and are quite happy to pocket a bottle of £90 aftershave 😡. Head of housekeeping say they are doing all they can but basically blamed me for leaving it there. Yes it was left, we were in a rush, but you would expect the staff to be trustworthy and hand it in. I am Livid to say the least as I spent over £1000 on that 2 night stay with spa treatments drinks rooms and food and they have the cheek to steal from me and blame me. I hope the person who took it has double back. And I will be taking it higher, perhaps Terry Matthews needs to know what dishonest staff he has working for him. 😡

Booked through AMEX Travel and they had significantly misrepresented the room I was getting. AMEX blamed the hotel and they did upgrade me but only after providing all the screenshots of booking - initially denying any wrongdoing.

The accommodation is not what I would describe as luxury but the food & service at the restaurants on the golf course is very good.

Poorly managed place but not the worst experience in the world.

Ordered sandwiches in merlins bar. 5 mins after order went thru the waitress then put the specials menu out on the tables. Wasn't even mentioned at time of order. I asked for sourdough bread but was told they don't do it. My friend's burger came out in a sourdough bun!! Coffee was luke warm. Asked for it to be made hotter. Menu advertised sandwiches with salad. Got a small paper dish with spoonful of coleslaw in it and some very oily and cheap crisps. Overall experience was not of a five star standard. Staff need better training by far.

What can I say. They claimed to be five star but they are nowhere near this level anymore. The buffet and breakfast quality has gone downhill rapidly and prices have gone up?!

The service in Merlin’s bar can only be described as dreadful. You are left waiting for period of over half an hour trying to get a drink. This is supposed to be a five star hotel.

The hotel is in need of a massive Upgrade. It’s looking very dated And overpriced for what you get.

The staff seem to be quite unhappy and constantly moaning about the management.

Recently, even the International rugby teams refused to stay at the hotel.

Such a shame as it used to be a fabulous place, but no more.

Well, Celtic Manor, where do we start? Tried to log out online, but apparently, my booking never made it to the app, so I had a lovely little check-out mystery on my hands. I quick-dropped my keys and still owe some cash for room service, though I’m sure the £50 deposit will be more than enough to cover the price of frozen pizza and a side of mozzarella sticks (a gourmet feast indeed).

Let’s talk about the staff, though—genuinely lovely people, but the entire stay felt a bit... odd. The vibe was somewhere between "understaffed scramble" and "unexpected holiday rush." Maybe everyone else decided to come that weekend because my app sure wasn’t working.

Then there was the two broken lifts. Nothing screams "luxury stay" like getting a workout lugging bags up and down the stairs. Top it off with door keys that didn’t work—because of course, why would they?—and we had ourselves a real adventure.

Ah yes, the parking. Now, £10 may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but at this point, throwing that in might have been a nice touch. Instead, I found myself wondering if I should pay my car to park in this precious bit of gravel.

Back to that frozen pizza and mozzarella sticks—set me back a whopping £50. Charcuterie was passable, so there’s that. Fortunately, the room itself was beautiful, which was a huge relief in light of the scenic hike to reach it.

And then, the pièce de résistance: the spa rules. Turns out, if you’re with a same-sex partner, the sauna and steam room are off-limits. Call it a “unique” approach to hospitality.

All in all, Celtic Manor, you were... an experience.

Overall our stay was amazing can not say one bad thing regarding that.

But when we have had a room service breakfast the hollowing morning wich cost £22.50 plus the tray charge , the food was horrible, mushy and just not tasty at all, the only thing I wouldn’t do on my next stay is order breakfast as it’s a little bit of a waste of money and I could only eat the sausage

If there was zero I would give that I have been waiting for a refund for 2 weeks and had nothing they keep saying its been refunded to the card used but still nothing not sure why was this place such a big deal every thing was not worth the money.

As a party of 3 we came for afternoom tea on 17th september. It was 20% off per person and i was paying so i thought id bagged a bargain.
Food was lovely, service was good. However when i came to pay i was not given the 20% off and was charged full price, without wanted to look cheap infront of my family, i paid it and rang up when i got home, i waited in diffetent queues on the phone for it to then go dead, rang again to then get put through to the olive tree, then no one answered so went dead, ive messaged on facebook, have rang a further few times, got through was told the refund has been put through. A week later had a phone call saying they needed more digits of my card, rang back, they then said they had processed it again, it has now been 34 days and i still have not had my refund.

Im really sad about this and such a shame but i wont be returning here.

Visited with 3 friends on 12th October for a Spa day which had been booked for months. Was very surprised to find that there was a charge for parking. Checked in @ Spa reception where we had to wait for towels, robe & slippers to be prepared although we were expected. Went to changing rooms, no lockable lockers available in fact very large number broken. Had to wait for staff to attend who already knew there was a problem with lockers, then had to put all our bags (including valuables in room behind reception with no security this all took a minimum of 45mins. Toilets needing cleaning. Area around showers smelt disgusting of drains.Entering Spa area pool roped off & ceiling panel removed whilst 2 men worked. Jacuzzi wasn’t working properly & a member of maintenance was actual in it wearing swimwear & googles trying to do repairs whilst at least 10 people were sat in it. Floor around pool area extremely slippery & very dangerous. Not enough loungers/seats. Massage disappointing, wasn’t even asked if any particular areas needed addressing. Some seats in dark relaxation room were soaking wet. All in all this was a terrible experience & not at all relaxing. The only good part was the lunch. We will never ever go here again. To think that this is suppose to be a 5 star hotel with spa is a joke. I would recommend anybody to think twice before booking a spa day.