The Chester Hotel

We had a family meal at this restaurant, and the experience was excellent. The food was delicious, the portions were just right, and the presentation of the dishes was well thought out. The staff was professional and friendly. We truly appreciate the great service and the quality of the food. Without a doubt, a highly recommended place.

Went to the Chester with a group of friends to celebrate my birthday. The location and visual appeal of the Chester is fantastic. I have to say that I can't fault the food it was lovely I had the Cheese Souffle to stat and the Hake Kiev for main, dessert was a gingerbread crème brulee and I expected it to be more than just a crème brulee with a gingerbread biscuit. It was still delicious. Overall service was fine although inexperience of waiting staff may have contributed to the slightly erratic service which is why I couldn't give 5 stars. Overall I would return as this may just have been an off night.

I had a booking for 4 nights in 'The House' - a 4-bedroom property within the grounds of The Chester Hotel and had pre-paid £1888 when I made the booking, as requested by the hotel. Unfortunately, due to Storm Floris, my flight from England was cancelled and I was advised that there was a 'danger of death' to travel to Aberdeen. I emailed the hotel the day before I was due to arrive at 11:08am - nearly 28 hours before the check-in time (3pm) of my booking to inform them. The hotel informed me that I was not entitled to any refund. I suggested even a 50% refund would be acceptable but again they refused. The hotel's Terms & Conditions on their website clearly state: > Cancellation Policy - Please note, if a booking is cancelled after 2pm the day before check in, then The Chester Hotel will charge 100% cancellation fee of the total amount due. I had emailed at 11:08am the day before, two hours and fifty-two minutes before their '100% cancellation fee' should apply. The hotel said that 'as a gesture of goodwill', they could either change the name of the booking to someone else, or I could reschedule a new booking within '3 months'. I am an international businessman and my schedule is planned more than 6 months in advance. I asked if I could reschedule in 2026 as I planned to come to Aberdeen then, but the hotel refused. All my friends and associates are based in England and they would have faced the same issue as me travelling to Aberdeen given Storm Floris. As it looked like I was going to completely lose the £1888 I had spent, I offered the 4-bedroom, 4-night stay - a total of 16 room-nights, to homeless charities in Aberdeen but the hotel said that wasn't allowed due to 'safeguarding' reasons. Clearly, they felt that performing such a charitable act would lower the tone of their establishment. I thought it could have been a good PR opportunity for them and even notified the local press. This is an unkind, uncompassionate and greedy hotel that does not care about its guests. Looking at their publicly available accounts at Companies House, they made substantial losses in 2023 and 2024 and have accumulated losses of of over £16m in their P&L. The latest accounts show they owe creditors a staggering £27.6m pounds. I am a firm believer in karma, so time will tell whether running an operation in this manner will lead to success or failure. I think I already know the answer. As far as I am concerned, this is one to avoid. Let's hope the big bad wolf, Storm Floris, doesn't blow their house down. > Thank you for your reply. At no point was I "aggressive and threatening". I was polite and courteous at all times. I do not like leaving negative reviews and stated that I would rather give you an opportunity to resolve the matter. Only as a last resort did I state that I would be leaving a review due to your lack empathy. Even though I paid in advance, it was not made clear to me that it would be entirely non-refundable. I have attached a screenshot of the hotel's Terms & Conditions from their website in which it clearly implies that a refund would be due if the cancellation is made more than 24 hours in advance. I offered the hotel an opportunity to provide a 50% refund but they refused. I was not asking to reschedule the booking "years in advance" but for the first quarter of 2026 - less than 6 months away. I have found the hotel to be very defensive and they communicate with their customers like a defence barrister rather than a kind and caring organisation. They have received many other negative reviews, yet the only negative review they have ever responded to is this one which is most surprising.