Let Mercantile Claims assist you with Macdonald Forest Hills Hotel & Spa Timeshare Release, Claims & Compensation
Owners of Macdonald Forest Hills Hotel & Spa timeshares often find themselves confined in infinite contracts with rapidly increasing maintenance fees which ultimately stems from a mis-sold timeshare contract. Over recent years there have been a number of ground-breaking rulings regarding mis-sold timeshares by many timeshare groups and resorts which have resulted in refunds and compensation. Many owners of Forest Hills Resort timeshare contracts are entitled to, or have already made claims citing reaons for them wanting out of their timeshare as huge increases in fees including maintenance fees, aggressive fee collection procedures enforced by the timeshare scheme and contracts committing timeshare owners to paying fees “in perpetuity”
Potential to be amazing, unfortunately not!!
We stayed here for two nights at the beginning of December. Our stay was meant to be a luxury spa break experience which we received as a gift and I know the purchaser spent a lot of money on.
First impressions as you pull up to the hotel are wow, beautiful amazing scenery of the Loch – the outside of the hotel itself had an authentic feel about it, even for being a Macdonald chain… however this is where our good experience of this resort ended.
Receptionist upon arrival was rather rushed and rude, we asked if our dinner had been booked that night as part of the package (i’d called 2 weeks before arrival and booked dinner, afternoon tea and spa treatments) it had not so we had to dine earlier – also if spa treatments and afternoon tea times had been booked.. she proceeded to tell us to check ourselves!
We got to our room and there was a damp, mouldy smell which was stronger when inside the room.
Dinner on the Friday night (we had booked the nicer restaurant to kick off our weekend with a lovely meal) – we ate in the Garden Restaurant. It was awful to say the least. Our main courses were horrible, Haddock & Chips and Salmon dishes… I did not even barely touch mine and we left before even ordering dessert – it was that bad. The wine we ordered, £12 in Tesco…. £48 pounds here!!
2 cans of Diet Coke…. over £7 odd!!!
Pint of Local beer, flat & undrinkable… £6!Our breakfast experience didn’t get much better…. we ordered the Salmon & Eggs (£3.50 supplement) the plate came – with last nights dried out Salmon… no eggs, no toast.. just a plate of rock hard Salmon. When we prompted the waiter, he came back with an egg cup of scrambled eggs – that’s it – no bread, no toast, no bagel.
The next day – full cooked breakfast was not much better, they forgot beans and bacon – and had to be prompted again.Good Point*** The spa was lovely, the treatments were really good and the spa staff were friendly, helpful and attentive- they catered treatments to our exact needs. The spa facilities, pool, sauna, jacuzzi were extremely clean – they were well kept, the staff were always checking the water.
The dreadful weekend experience was then topped off with cold showers in the room, and on checkout being charged for items that should of already been included in our package. When we brought this up at reception – the response was as if we were causing a hassle by asking them to check and remove the charge.
The area which the hotel is in is absolutely incredible, the local village Aberfoyle and Kinlochard are lovely little places with the most friendly locals. The views, walks and sights to see are enchanting.
** turn right as you come out the hotel and about a 10 minute walk along the Loch there is a lovely unique little cafe “Wee Blether Tea Room” – they do the most delicious cafe food we have ever tasted and the staff are 5*!!In the village of Aberfoyle we visited the Faerie Tree Inn for an evening meal -outstanding food, lovely setting and the most amazing people!
All in all, visit the area – but don’t stay at Macdonald Forest Hills…. it was a disappointment, and ruined our special trip. The potential of this resort is insane, but unfortunately it’s a huge let down
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Alternatively, give us a call on 0800 470 3900.
Our team here at Mercantile Claims are always on hand to help you with any issues, concerns or questions you have regarding your timeshare contract. Below we have listed the most common questions we receive on a regular basis. If you have a more specific question please contact our team of experts and we will respond with an answer as soon as possible.
Disappointed
I want to post this so people know exactly what they’re paying for.
Just going to echo what everyone else has said here – it sounds like there is a real trend to these negative reviews. Quite disappointed in this stay, especially considering the price + the fact that this was a Macdonald hotel, from which you usually expect a high-standard.
We were really looking forward to staying at this hotel as the location is beautiful and reviews had stated that it made a nice, relaxing break. However, the hotel did not live up to expectations.
Despite calling ahead and asking for a room on one of the upper floors preferably with a nicer view (not a hefty request when you’re spending nearly £150 per night) we were given a ground floor room that overlooked the carpark – as in, the windows literally opened onto the main carpark.
That meant we couldn’t open the curtains properly in the morning without EVERYONE looking in as they walked past, so there was literally no privacy. When I went to ask if we could move rooms, the person at the front desk was really unhelpful and just uninterested.
I get that not all the rooms have stunning views, but it would’ve been nice for the hotel to follow up on my request after agreeing to it, and at least trying to help out upon issue.
The actual room itself was grubby, worn and dated. It wasn’t noticeably dirty, but the walls, furniture and carpet all looked like they’d seen better days by a long shot. So not the nicest place to spend a relaxing night. I really feel like they’ve spent a fair amount on ensuring that the grounds and communal areas are very nice, but little to no effort ensuring the bedrooms are up to the same mark.
Lastly, breakfast left something to be desired. It took ages, and when it did arrive it just wasn’t really worth the wait. The buffet selection was generous, but off-putting as was surrounded by flies.
Genuinely quite disappointed that I spent £150 to just not enjoy myself on one of the nights of my holiday.
Had we have stayed longer than that night I 100% would’ve found somewhere else to stay.
Outdated smelly lodges
We stayed here in mid March, after visiting other MacDonald hotels I had no qualms at staying here.
It was our first break away in a while due to family circumstances and we were both really looking forward to it. Experience didn’t start well, we were told on the booking confirmation that you were unable to check in until 5pm, arrived at 4pm thought we would try, most hotels have rooms ready in advance, so went off to reception to check in, they shoed us off to lodge check in, which actually closed at 4pm, then back over to hotel again… luckily (I suppose) one of the lodge staff were in the lobby, so they took us around to where the lodge was.
On entering the lodge, it could be seen that it was old fashioned, outdated, nothing quite like the pictures and oh my god the smell… it smelt like someone had cooked noodles every day for 10 years. We quickly put the suitcases down and attempted to google a shop for air freshener to find no WiFi code anywhere in the lodge manual, so back over to reception to get the code (literally no phone signal) I have never had to go a shop to buy air freshener for a stay anywhere but it was just unbearable.
First few nights after spraying air freshener were pleasant enough apart from the cold- the lodge was freezing! We went over to the bar for the drink, which is quite expensive. By the weekend other people in the lodges upstairs and next door had arrived.. we knew this due to be able to hear every single footsteps the other people made.
We are quite into our fitness and wanted to stay here because of the facilities, but the gym is no bigger than garage with very limited equipment.
Lighting to the lodges needs to be improved as we constantly had to use our phones to make sure we didn’t stand on any toads.
It was supposed to be a relaxing break which in the end up stressful and we decided to leave early. On departure we went to hand the keys in, only to be hit with a £40+ electric bill for 4 days?! We had hardly been in the lodge, out most of the time due to the smell and noise. They tell you to leave a light on for a security reasons and then charge £10 a day for the use of lights? Wouldn’t use that much running my house.
Over all very disappointed with lodges and would never go back!
Sadly let down by staff
We have stayed at this hotel four times but can sadly say now I don’t think we’ll be back.
Whilst staying there for two nights we witnessed the male receptionist inappropriately discussing other guests, which is most certainly so unprofessional and just something a high star hotel should not adhere to.
The table service was not up to the same standard we have had in the past and sadly the shower in the spa was broken and the facilities in the spa were quite filthy as were the changing rooms. Your hotel has such a beautiful surrounding landscape, but I feel with having stayed at similar high star hotels, your hotel needs a lot of attention in comparison.
Sorry MacDonald Forest Hills but I hope you take this as constructive criticism and not just another moaning guest!
So disappointed
Stayed here on January 1st for 1 night. Bought as a Christmas present at a cost of £277.00 for 2 people with dinner bed and breakfast.
On the plus side the grounds and setting were stunning……the downside was the hotel and staff. The restaurant was fully booked and we were advised that we could eat at the Bistro (Rafters).
When the food arrived Mcdonalds would have done a better job than this so called 4 star MacDonald Hotel.
We did complain but this fell on deaf ears and the staff had no interest in our feedback.
Would not stay here again or recommend to any friends or family.
Hope this review helps anyone who wishes to spend their hard earned at a Hotel that accommodate their needs.
Wouldn’t recommend, awful hotel
My wife and I stayed at the Forest Hills Hotel & Spa last weekend, to say I was not impressed would be a massive understatement.
Firstly, booking on the website was a bit of a nightmare, trying to select an offer (with dates selected) kept looping me back to the same screen, then when I eventually managed to price the deal I wanted, it was double the price of the offer advertised… I decided to check alternative dates to find the price advertised was not available on any date whatsoever… I did email MacDonald Hotels to query this but they were not helpful.
The scenery around the hotel is fantastic and showcases what Scotland has to offer wonderfully well, unfortunately I cannot say the same for the hotel.
Check in was fine but no assistance offered up to the room, ok no big deal.
On entering the ‘Executive’ double room (No. 202) we discovered it to be dirty with cobwebs on the ceiling.
The windows looked like they hadn’t been washed in months and all surfaces were thick with dust.
Strangely, there were two TV’s in the room, one mounted on the wall that did not work and another, sat in front of the vanity mirror (preventing my wife from using this area to get ready for dinner) with a cable draped from the back of the first television over to it, rather unusual and unsightly.
Other things to mention about the room would be the broken ironing board, broken plug whole in the bath/shower and the leaky / dirty shower – in general, the room was just dirty, disappointing and extremely tired.
They charge over £100 a night on a Sunday and more on a Friday & Saturday for this.
Dinner and drinks in the restaurant were nice but the hotel did try to overcharge us at dinner, the additional items that had been added to our bill were removed after we pointed them out.
Breakfast was nice however charging a supplement for a slice of haggis which costs the same as a slice of black pudding in any shop I’ve been in to just reeked of trying to take advantage of foreign tourists who may like to try it when they were in Scotland.
To top things off, on check out, the hotel had ‘forgotten’ to take the £10 discount of our bill for booking directly.
This hotel is shoddy at best and dishonest at worst, I definitely would not recommend visiting this hotel any time soon, Fonab Castle in Pitlochry or Airth Castle on the other side of Stirling provides a great example of how a Scottish countryside hotel could / should be run
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