Greywalls Hotel & Chez Roux

We've always enjoyed a Sunday lunch at Greywalls but on Sunday 23rd June we had such a new experience of the place. There was a significant change in the staff and experience of the staff. A real lack of the usual finesse and charm. There were servers dressed in suits instead of smart service attire, a real change in atmosphere and service. Although all polite and trying to do the right thing, the welcome, table service and plate service seemed clumsy and unpolished. We were asked by three different members of staff for our drinks order which had been taken by the first member of staff already. There was water spilt on the table by the server when issuing water, but we had to ask to have something to mop it up with so the water did not spill onto the guest each time they drank from the wet glass. There was the poor quality "food auction" by the server when the food arrived to the table of the four of us in the otherwise empty dining room. "Who's having this, who's having that." Not what we ever had before at Greywalls. We would have welcomed a pre-lunch drink but on arrival we were whisked into the dining room. There was no offer of bread or other things that would've added to our lunch and also added to the income for Greywalls. There were also language barriers and misunderstandings when placing the orders. In short, it was a team of servers who really need some training and help with how to interact, manage and create an experience for customers. A complete lack of any finesse. We had coffee outside in the garden afterwards, beautiful gardens, lovely setting as ever but again, things were missed by the polite girl who served us. There wasn't enough milk, no biscuit or shortbread and again, a lack of training, ability to notice things that need attention and finesse. I had a main portion of mussels for my lunch, very fresh and pleasant but nothing special at all, could've and would've been much tastier with a sauce of something you'd want to dip your bread in! Sunday Roast was pretty average too and really lacked in flavour or anything memorable. I wonder if there are staffing issues as we saw no management anywhere. We met friends who were attending for after-noon tea, they expressed the same experience and that they felt the service was simply not there and it all lacked the usual charm and elegance it once had. Hopefully just a bad day or have things changed so significantly? Maybe worth one more try and then sadly, not worth the drive.

My second stay and this one was just as good as the first. Wonderful (Lutyens) building and (Jekyll) garden with a great atmosphere and friendly staff - we even got to see the tortoises this time! Evening meal was lovely and breakfast was fine. My companion did have a mutter to me about the 'supermarket white toasted bread' which she felt was a bit disappointing at breakfast compared to that on offer at the previous evening's meal, but other than that, no complaints. Until next time...

My second stay and just this one was just as good as the first. Wonderful (Lutyens) building and (Jekyll) garden with a great atmosphere and friendly staff - we even got to see the tortoises this time! Evening meal was lovely and breakfast fine. My companion did have a mutter to me about the 'supermarket white toasted bread' which she felt a bit disappointing at breakfast compared to that on offer at the previous evening's meal, but other than that, no complaints. Until next time...

We stayed here for 2 nights on a road trip around Scotland to visit the Scottish Open. The hotel is in a beautiful setting adjacent to the sea and next to Muirfield golf course and a short walk to the Renaissance Golf Club where the Scottish Open was being held. The hotel looks beautiful and the grounds around the hotel are very well kept and were looking lovely when we visited. We were in a cottage room, the hotel is old and unfortunately that meant that with overseas visitors above who were awake very early, we heard every footstep, conversation and what they were watching on TV, so this was not conducive to any type of rest or relaxation. The rooms are traditionally appointed but the pillows were very poor quality- we needed 3 each ! the bedcover was stained, there was no Sky TV , no mini bar and thick dust in the wardrobe shelves which covered our clothes. We were looking forward to breakfast as this has the Roux name but we were extremely disappointed, this hotel seems to be stuck in a 1970’s time warp- no vegetarian or gluten free option ( we were neither offered not asked), a bowl of cold thin supermarket toasted bread, stale croissants and pastries, very limited breakfast menu and incredibly slow service- polite requests for coffee three times ! Anaemic omelette and cold Scottish breakfast, to be honest we were a bit shocked as with the Roux name - synonymous with excellence, the breakfast food was appalling, Upon departure the manager didn’t even ask if we had a good time/ had a good stay, we stayed here many years ago and it was fabulous, I don’t know if it has changed hands or just has new management, but it’s incredibly overpriced, out of date and tired, the main part of the hotel looks like an old school house, we would not return, it’s not worth the money now by a long stretch.

Have wanted to come here for a long time - what a disappointment- not family run now and you can tell it’s a business only.food was Nice , staff just doing their job , no friendly manner- perhaps the only native was the restaurant manager and he was flustered when we arrived. The potholes at the front were shocking- this was in January!…. This is my third attempt at writing this and no I cannot recommend. It’s needs a good clean and had its day!