Crossbasket Castle

Lovely location and hotel. Delicious...

Liked: The hotel is set in beautiful, quiet grounds. We stayed and ate in the new hotel building, not the actual castle part. Everything was very new and clean and our room was spacious and had a balcony which is a nice touch. Bed was large and very comfortable. Bathroom was also spacious and had a separate shower and large bath, all toiletries are provided except toothpaste.Well-stocked mini-bar.There is a lovely sating area at a fountain just outside the main castle where you can have drinks. Service was pretty slow out there though and my husband had to go inside to order. Then we waited quite a ehile for the drinks to come out. Not sure if staff forget you are there.We had lunch and dinner at the hotel and the food was delicious!Lunch was in an atrium-style restaurant called Foveran's. It was relaxed and pleasant and staff were very nice.Dinner was in Trocadero's with live music which was great.Breakfast was in Foveran's and the food was average.Overall our stay was lovely but there were a few minor things that could have made it better.
Disliked: I booked the overnight stay as part of my husband's birthday and added a note asking if there was a possibility of a birthday banner to be placed in the room for our arrival. Dissapointingly my message was not acknowledged. I thought this was poor serrvice for a 5* hotel.An ipad in the room was also a nice extra. Although we didn't know how to put the screen light off and it kept us awake. My husband lifted it off the dock in the middle of the night intending to put it face-down and the radio suddenly came on loud! The only way to stop the radio playing was to put the ipad back on the dock and suffer the light. This disturbed our sleep.There was no decaf choice of coffee in the room which was disappointing as I cannot have caffeine due to health reasons. I didn't get round to asking for some but they should be there as standard.There were nice robes and slippers in the room, although the robes would be too small for anyone on the bigger size.Although lunch was delicious it was pricey, my starter (open toast) was £12 and main (hake) was £25.At dinner a waiter introduced himself to us and said he will be looking after us for the evening, he asked if we were celebrating a special occasion and was told yes, my husband's birthday. This was another opportunity for the hotel to acknowledge guest's choosing to celebrate there and I thought perhaps a gesture would be extended, but it wasn't.We were then served by at least another 3 different staff in the hour or so we dined which contradicts the first waitier telling us they would be looking after us all evening.Breakfast was the biggest disappointment! Small choice with no continental meats or cheeses. No buffet or cereals (only porridge) as stated on sample menu. All foods had to be ordered and meant waiting longer than planned to eat. I was served food on a cracked and chipped plate. Bacon resembled a dogs rawhide chew. Toast wasn't warm & fresh, neither were pastries.