Celtic Manor Resort Reviews 

As a group of 4 adults, one 5 year old and one 6 year old, we booked the Santa experience, to give our 2 little girls a magical experience. We were impressed with the beautiful Christmas decorations in the lobby, sadly the experience, from the adults perspective deteriorated.
Having been ushered to our nominated table, it became evident the table had not been cleaned from the previous party, this was done as we sat there. Next, luke warm coffee was delivered by elves who appeared to lack enthusiasm. After a very long wait our food arrived. The tiered stand contained shop cakes, not even a home baked scone! Prior to the event I doubly checked my previous food allergy information, of cocco, and assured it was recorded, however a cake with chocolate on it needed removing, to be replaced by a biscuit type replacement, obviously shop bought. As our food arrived we were called to take the girls to see Santa, leaving our food at the table.
Santa was amazing, the girls enjoyed the magical experience. The girls were given a gift each, these gifts proved to cause a drama. Both girls had very long loose hair and the propelled toys became entangled in each individual child's hair, resulting in tears and one child had her hair so badly tangled in the gift from Santa, it warranted the hair being cut to release the toy!
Due to the lack of entertainment, the children made their own fun, much to our despair, in playing with the fake snow, scattered on the floor.
I did honestly complete the follow-up questionnaire, on our thoughts about the aforementioned event, ending with we wouldn't book again, and to date no feedback in return.

We stayed in the ambassador suite and we absolutely loved our stay. The staff was so polite from the time we walked through the doors. The room we had was so clean and had everything you could ask for. One particular person at the grill restaurant called raz served us and had the best service. Made us feel welcome and comfortable. Definitely would come back .

We waited 45 minutes for a Danish pastry! The service is dreadful. Coffee arrived after 20 minutes but the order was wrong. I took the coffee because I couldn't wait another 30 minutes!! The whole place looks run down!

The food at an event I was at has given me the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had (it was the only food I had that day). It has completely wiped me out, meaning I’ve missed out on hundreds of pounds of work in the lead up to Christmas and has also made the build up to moving house (in two days) beyond stressful.

My daughter and her family plus another family booked at the hotel for a few days. My grandaughter is 5 years old,
On the first day the dear little girl went to a loo accompanied by her Mother ,A huge and heavy door suddenly closed crushing her little index finger in the hinge. No mechanism to gently close the door.
She was in extreme agony with blood flow. Staff on hand were immediately supportive.
At the Newport Hospital the surgeon and staff said this type of accident with the huge hotel doors was not the first time an accident had occurred.
The treatment to the end of her finger was .Later affected her writing ability.
We later emailed the General Manager Julie Hammond and the owner Sir Terence Hensley Matthews via the PR executive about the unfortunate incident, Result ...silence.
Took several telephone calls to receive a response. This was "oh yes this rings a bell"
My daughter did receive a refund but none for the other family whose break was also ruined. Doors at Celtic Manor must be made safe. To this day apart from a note from the health and safety person at the hotel there has been no full recognition of the injury to a small girl
In my experience if serious complaints are professionally handled, that is good business. Celtic Manor and its team have failed miserably. Footnote, my little Grandaughter has been incredibly brave throughout.

Please do not book with this place , my husband bought me a massage voucher here , 4 months later , complaints sent and lots of phone calls and no one calling back , we are left with a voucher for a massage costing £93 which has been paid for but we can't use .
The spa is being refurbished so every time I am being told someone will call me back . No one ever has. We asked for a refund , they can't refund on vouchers even tho we are unable to book .

I’m so surprised at these poor reviews as my boyfriend and I have just returned from a spa day and overnight stay there and cannot praise it enough.
The staff were courteous, helpful and professional at all times and in all areas of the hotel, the facilities were fantastic, our suite was stunning and the food was superb. A special mention for Chloe in reception who was amazing.
Exactly what we expected from a 5 star resort.
We are already planning our return visit and cannot recommend it highly enough.

My wife and I went to see the lights with our granddaughter and decided have something to eat at Merlin’s what a mistake that was service was average. Ordered the Celtic burger a filled panini and a margarita pizza for my Granddaughter with all the food came fries We waited for 35 minutes for the food when it arrived the the burger was so over cooked it was not edible the fries were so under cooked I think they just defrosted them and put the fries in the bowl forgetting they had to be cooked.My wife’s panini was supposed to be mozzarella and pesto but could not find any mozzarella only pesto puddles of it and the pizza was under cooked and soggy my granddaughter is 18 months and said no for the first time. I am a retired chef and I can’t believe how bad the food was and it wasn’t cheap never again.

After several years of being a member, the quality of service continues to completely nosedive at Dylans Gym. Continued closures, out of service areas, equipment and water stations and a 'not our problem' approach from senior management leaves both staff on the ground and members visibly exasperated.

This month's saga of closures without any kind of offer of reduction in billing, despite being the most expensive facilities in the area by a country mile, is a bridge too far for me! I'll be looking at membership for Bannatyne's Newport or Nuffield Health Cwmbran, and saving myself both the grief and a small fortune!

We recently stayed at the Celtic Manor Resort and, sadly, our experience did not reflect the high standards we expected.

After completing online check-in and entering our card details (which appeared to go through), we received a call at around 9:20 pm asking my husband to come down to reception because the system hadn’t saved our payment. We were already in bed at the time, so this was very inconvenient.

Our room on the 10th floor also had a continuous fan or air conditioning noise that made it difficult to sleep. I reported this issue, but it was logged incorrectly, and nothing was resolved during our stay.

At check-out, the manager kindly waived our parking charge and offered a future discount, but we later discovered that breakfast—which was included in our booking—had been charged to us in error. I contacted guest relations several times, including the assistant front of house, Deborah Reynolds-Forde, but have received no reply or refund.

It’s disappointing that such a well-known resort has not followed up or resolved this issue, especially after multiple polite attempts to contact them. The setting and facilities are lovely, but the lack of response and accountability have left us very disappointed.

Don’t book any vouchers with the spa it is a nightmare trying to book anything or even speak to someone. They were supposed to call me back to book but no call back. The phone number doesn’t work due to technical difficulties please call back. I will never book anything at the Celtic Manor again absolutely hopeless !

Avoid organised nights e.g. firework displays unless you want to pay paper money for a small, poorly mixed hot chocolate or want them to sell spaces in your private pod to strangers. All about milking you for money...

I received a spa treatment voucher from my children as a birthday present. (i am 70) The choice of treatments for men is very limited. I enquired on booking for a masseur (male). Not available. I have travelled across Europe and Asia staying at 5* hotels and i have to say this experience was one of the worst. Men do not have a chaging room in the spa, I was asked if i wanted a robe - glad i said yes otherwise i would have been walking around in swim shorts. I booked a whole body massage. Was told to leave my swim shorts on for the treatment. The masseuse was clearly uncomfortable having to do the treatment, spent most of the time on my feet and calves. Completly avoided any contact from just above the knee to my back. Did my back, did not do my shoulders or chest when I was asked to turn over and gave the worst head massage ever. Not once did she say what part she was gouing to massage and at one time i was left laying there not being treated, with my eyes covered. I later realised she was heating the oil, but she could equally have been checking her phone for messages. I am so glad i did not pay - do not use these facilities, especially if you are a man. I did not feel relaxed or enjoy the expereince. If you are going to offer a mens grooming spa service make sure your staff are capable of being professional in service delivery Will never go there again - and i live locally

I’ve got to say — the concierge team at the Celtic Manor are absolutely fantastic.

When I checked in, I realised I’d forgotten my bow tie, so I mentioned it at reception and they said, “No problem, we’ll sort that for you.”

All good… until I got ready later, after a cracking shower, and realised I’d also somehow forgotten my shoes. So, down I went to concierge again, stood there in my trainers explaining my situation. They just smiled and said, “Leave it with us, we’ll see what we can do.”

Sure enough, not long after — knock on the door, room 508 — and there’s a lovely gentleman standing there holding a pair of size 10 shiny black shoes, saving the day.

Now that’s what you call 5-star service. 👏

Recently visited the Forum Spa for a Swedish massage and was unfortunately disappointed with the experience. The session felt rushed and lacked the attention to detail I expected from a venue of your reputation. The therapist seemed to be going through the motions, which made it difficult to relax or feel the benefits of the massage. I hope this feedback helps improve future services, as I was looking forward to a more tailored and thorough experience.
Next ill try Newport Beauty & Holistic Clinic, Usk Wellness Centre, The Parkgate Hotel Spa with good reputations and therapists names

Driving range is good and the olive tree is good! Went to an event that was absolutely nightmare!

Great service by Matt at Merlin’s Bar, food was fantastic and came piping hot.

We had some drinks and asked for a ham sandwich as the menu offered classic sandwiches and I believe ham is a classic sandwich. The guy inbthenohotonehonpurportrdvto becs manager said no we could not have ham sandwiches. My wife went to the reception to find a manager and they said of course you can have a ham sandwich. This guy in the bar needs to shape up and do his job and be customer orientated in a hotel of this class

I recently stayed at this hotel and, while the property itself has great potential, my overall experience was quite disappointing.
To start with, every morning started with a queue for breakfast, if you didn’t turn up before 8:30, often more than five minutes just to be seated. For a five-star establishment, this shouldn’t be the case. On top of that, a service charge is automatically added to bills at the bar and restaurant without asking, which wouldn’t be such a problem if the service matched the price – unfortunately, it really doesn’t.
The staircases are not well maintained, as shown in the photos. It seems that since most people use the lift, little effort has been made to keep them in good condition.
The facilities look impressive at first glance, with a pool, spa and a variety of activities such as laser combat, archery, golf, and high ropes. However, access is limited and unnecessarily restricted. For example, the pool can only be used twice per stay in 45-minute slots, and needs to be booked in advance. As for the activities, they all come with an extra charge, even for hotel guests staying a week or longer. This constant sense of being charged for every little thing makes the experience feel less premium and more like being squeezed for every penny.
To be fair, the buildings, grounds, and equipment are well-kept – you can see the effort put into the facilities. But it’s let down by the poor service, restrictive policies, and additional fees. Even parking isn’t included, adding another £20 a night to your bill.
It’s a real shame because this could be a truly excellent five-star resort if the management improved the guest experience and focused on value rather than add-ons. As it stands, I’d rate it around 3 to 4 stars at best.

This resort does not treat long standing leisure members well. Constant issues. The latest being 4 months of trying to access the online members account area for bookings & events. Being told that IT are looking in to it but being ignored with no resolution to the issue provided & no accountability taken by them but they are more than happy to take your money every month!