Surrounded by tranquil Cheshire countryside, Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa is a fabulous resort that boasts two of the very finest courses in the North West.
The Championship Course is the headline act, designed by the legendary Donald Steel, it remains one of the best hidden gems in the country. Alongside the 18-hole Premier Course and 9-hole Arderne Course, Portal is completed by the largest indoor golf academy in Europe.
Terrific resort facilities match the courses to provide one of the most sought-after golf break destinations in England. Following the completion of a ₤11 million investment, the hotel at Portal is a real delight and is a golf break destination where you can truly relax and unwind. Some of the best features include the state-of-the-art spa and the delightful Ranulf Restaurant.
With a choice of three great golf courses, and facilities including the largest indoors-golfing academy in Europe, and a fantastically well stocked pro-shop, The Portal Hotel has established itself as a world-class championship venue, ideal for all standard of player.
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Golf Courses at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa
Championship Course
The Championship Course at Portal is relatively unknown to a wide audience, but having opened in 1990, it is one of the best courses to be completed in England in the modern era. In fact, it was named ‘Golf Course Of The Year' in 1995, and is the star of Portal's golfing complex.
Designer Donald Steel has created a challenge that is characterised by unique and distinctive holes; expansive water hazards and cascading waterfalls are among the tests. The signature is typical of Steel's magnificent 7,041 yard layout - the long third tips the scales at 607 yards, with a green guarded by a beautiful lake.
Signature hole- No. 14: Par 3, 136 yards (White), SI 17 (Men), 4 (Ladies)
The Championship signature hole plays to almost an island green, with water around the front, side and back of the green and a couple of waterfalls too. The best entrance would be straight down the middle, as this would avoid two large trees which overhang either side, and could easily rebound your ball back into the water.
While the Premier Course at Portal will always be in the shade of its award-winning sibling, it is a cracking course in its own right. Overlooking the Cheshire Plains, the par-71 parkland track is shorter than the Championship Course, measuring 6,582 yards, but benefits from the same stunning water and woodland backdrop.
Both courses are consistently maintained in immaculate condition, and together form the basis that has made Portal one of the best destinations for a golf break in the north west.
Signature hole - No. 15: Par 3, 205 yards (White), SI 11 (men), 17 (ladies)
The 15th on the Premier is a breathtaking hole. Playing very high up, the elevated tee is almost on a cliff face and the approach has to be judged well, due to a sheer drop to the low-down kidney shaped green. Accuracy is paramount on this hole as there are trees which overhang on both sides and bunkers to the left and right of the green.
Course Information
Par
71
Designed by
Tim Rouse
Opened for play
1990
Tees
White
6,582 yards
SSS 73
Yellow
6,293 yards
SSS 71
Red
5,688 yards
SSS 74
Arderne Course
The Arderne Course at the Macdonald Portal Hotel is a 9 hole par 30 golf course and is a fantastic test of your short game. The course comprises of 3 par 4’s and 6 par 3’s and has a total yardage of 1724. There are two sets of tee’s so this course can be played twice. The Lee Westwood Golf School use this course for practicing so you never know who you might catch a glimpse of!
Accommodation at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa
The accommodation consists of 85 rooms and 6 executive suites, all of which are complete with a mini-bar, internet access, tea/coffee making facilities, en suite bathroom, satellite television and a work area. The suites boast private balconies, which afford fantastic views of the beautiful estate surrounding the hotel.
The investment scheme encompassed the entire property, and as such, the public areas are equally as plush as the deluxe bedrooms, ensuring that your golf break at Potal will be comfortable from the first moment to last.
Food & Drink
The Salt Brasserie is among the region's best - choose from the finest Scottish-bred beef and lamb, or the fish, sourced from the famed Loch Fyne Oyster Company. For something more laid back, unwind with a drink or snack in the Lounge Bar, overlooking the beautiful Cheshire Plains.
Leisure Facilities
Indulgence is the buzz word in Portal's state-of-the-art Spa. The relaxing tranquil environment will soothe mind, body and soul, and is complemented by the sauna, rock sauna, aroma steam bath, salt infusion suite and ice bath. In addition to the 18-metre swimming pool, the complex offers a fantastic range of beauty treatments.
How to get to Macdonald Portal Hotel and Golf Club
Macdonald Portal Hotel and Golf Club is located in Tarporley 11 miles east of Chester, approximately 27 miles from Manchester Airport and Liverpool Airport and 20 miles from Winsford train station.
Service excellent. Food very good. Overall very satisfied.
10 / 10
Great course, staff are really nice. Booking with golf travel was really straight forward to. Thomas sorted everything out and made the booking really simple. Would definitely book again.
10 / 10
Excellent. Very quiet - which was fine by us. Bar prices bit steep but food was good, staff very friendly, room warm, big beds.
10 / 10
Great hotel the rooms are fantastic the golf was brilliant the only thing i could say was they were under staffed so did take quite long for the food to come.
10 / 10
Accommodation was clean and tidy. A funny smell on entering our room. The wardrobe door was broken.
8 / 10
Nice hotel,unfortunately they are short on staff.The food was fantastic,unfortunately due to staffing levels.It took 1hr 50mins in the restaurant.I had to ask 3 different people to finally get the bill.
6 / 10
Disappointing slow service in restaurant Saturday night, meals that came out were not as per menu, carrot and ginger soup was actually carrot and coriander and when enquired waitress said would get bank to us and never did
Also dessert said with custard and cane with ice cream, again didn’t come back to us after enquiry
10 / 10
All staff were exceedingly friendly andaccommodating during our stay.
8 / 10
The rooms were very comfortable with 2 king size beds and room to move around. The bathroom had a bath and shower cubicle.
The food over the three day was without fault with three choices for each course, the breakfast was one of the best I’ve had with mushrooms that tasted like they had been picked in the field not soggy and tasteless, sausages that had flavour and eggs fried with firm white and soft yolk.
The bar was buzzing with a wedding party and unfortunately there were not enough staff but those that were there worked well under pressure. Prices were reasonable and with the help of 20% off and a £10 drinks voucher we survived !!
Would recommend and return.
10 / 10
i had read recent reveiws on the hotel saying pricey lack staff but we had a fabulous time here and would recommend to anyone
6 / 10
Room was a bit stale need a good airing and no free water surprising for a Macdonald. Overall site was well kept. Service was prompt and smiling. Excellent breakfast choices
10 / 10
Brilliant hotel, staff very helpful & polite
10 / 10
The hotel was the best this group had stayed in during our last seven years. The staff were friendly and helpful, nothing was to much. The rooms were outstanding Not one adverse comment was made of my party of 96. Very happy to return again.
6 / 10
It’s a basic hotel. Rooms we were allocated were ground floor and smelt of damp.they were adequate for the purpose of one nights accommodation. Food was very disappointing. Our evening meal was booked by ourselves as YGT forgot to book our meal time. Dinner was poor. A choice of 3 starters,3 mains of gammon, salmon or vegetarian pasta.
All plated before hand and served canteen style. Not enough food. We asked for extra veg. But this was not forthcoming. Breakfast was buffet style. Overall pretty poor would not go again. We walked into the village in the evening and had a pleaser evening in the local pubs. A couple of pubs served food. Which helped a number of hungry golfers.
10 / 10
The hotel is very nice, the bar prices was a bit steep. The food was very nice.
8 / 10
The reception staff were very friendly and helpful.
The bar staff are fantastic adverts for this hotel,great fun and very helpful. the restaurant staff are very nice and again very helpful.
Its a real shame that a complex with such beautiful golf courses dont seem to know anything about golf as the Tee times are crammed in and the pace of play is appalling.
8 / 10
10 / 10
Hotel and the facilities provided were excellent. Spacious room.
Breakfast was a good standard. Evening meal meant 3 courses from a set menu or £25 off the a la carte. We had the second option which gave you 2 courses and the food was top notch.
Bar prices were expensive so we took a 5 minute taxi ride into Tarporley on our two nights and found the pubs warm and welcoming.
The only down side was despite being given our 4 tee times by YGT, when we arrived at the course, none of these times were reserved, nor were any other times. This is the 5th time I’ve booked with YGT and never had this problem before so I put it down to a hiccup rather than an on going problem. The pro was very good however, and sorted us out so we didn’t miss any golf
10 / 10
A first class hotel, I cannot fault a single member of staff, everyone was friendly, charming and helpful.
10 / 10
We had one problem, on the first night the dining room was terribly understaffed and they had split us into 2 separate tables. I told the overworked and very stressed manageress that I had agreed with the hotel manager, during my visit in March, that we should have 1 table each night. She sorted it out entirely to our satisfaction.
8 / 10
General experience very good, staff were very friendly and helpful. Only issues were .. the Bar ran out of Beer (Bitter) each night (3) we were there. (Wasn't us Gov' we were only 4) Plus each evening there was 1 or 2 items on the Menu unvailable. However, Good Food.
4 / 10
the hotel ruined the break by over booking the meal booked for 6.30 a year ago they changed it 2days before our trip to 9.15 not good aparty of 24 only 16 dined as it was to late for some hotel not intrested over 100 diners in the room and 1 bar staff same in the lobby bar no good enough for a 4 star the staff were great though not go thier again and not recomend it ruined my trip for me as i had organised it
10 / 10
Lovely large bedrooms with 2 comfy armchairs. Elemis toiletries a very nice treat too. Breakfast and dinner both excellent with hot plates and v nice presentation. Spa area and swimming pool fabulous
6 / 10
The hotel is very well appointed and the rooms are spacious and comfortable. Very good beds and showers. It is let down badly by the standard of catering. We had a party of 16 booked in the restaurant and we were then told it was a buffet. On arriving in the dining area our table was taken by a number of other people watching the Masters. The buffet had obviously been laid on to cope with the Masters event however the quality of the food was appalling. Many other groups were also complaining.
Breakfast was only slightly better although this was in the proper restaurant.
4 / 10
Our trip was a bit of a nightmare from start to finish. The place was completely overbooked, overpriced, they kept trying to charge us for stuff when we had already paid for everything, had to argue to get into the restaurant which we were told we had and then spent 2 hours in there for a 2 course meal, then they tried to charge us for someone else table, had to come off the golf course because it took 2 of us 3 hours to do 9 holes because it was so busy and slow. I could go on all day about how poor the experience was.
10 / 10
This was a lovely hotel with lovely staff food and rooms. Golf course on site was lovely and the site up the road was also very good but sadly very inclement weather on day 1 meant we only really got one full round of golf so missed out on the first day due to heavy storms and bitingly cold winds. Hope to return for the full experience sometime. Can recommend.
4 / 10
We were disappointed with the condition of the Hotel. Thread bare carpets in the Bar area etc. This Hotel was advertised as having a Multi Million pound refurbishment but there was no evidence of this. The temperature in the Hotel was always very cold. The reception staff were quite rude when I asked to take a swipe of my debit card instead of a credit card, they did not allow this, which I found peculiar. The food in the Restaurant was very poor, both for dinner and breakfast. We even had to serve our own Tea and Coffee from thermos flasks, these drinks were luke warm as was the buffet breakfast, the foreign staff were unhelpful and unpleasant. This Hotel was nowhere near its 4 Star Accreditation in my opinion. We will not be returning.
8 / 10
Ok
8 / 10
EVERYONE IN OUR GROUP THROUGHLY ENJOYED OUR WEEKEND. THE STAFF WERE GREAT AND FOOD IN RESTUARANT WAS EXCELLANT. HAD GREAT NIGHT IN THE BAR, BUT PRICES ABIT STEEP
10 / 10
Hotel has excellent facilities with a great choice of food and drinks.
10 / 10
Great hotel. Everything was spot on, nice rooms, nice food, friendly staff and a good atmosphere around the hotel.
10 / 10
Lovely welcome, very nice hotel, clean accomodation, staff giving good service, food excellent, 2 good golf courses well maintained.
only down side was the weather on one of the days.
Really fabulous 2 days which we all enjoyed and recommend to anyone.
8 / 10
Lovely hotel, but the sign on the main road was covered by a hedge where the arrow shows left, but because we couldn't see this we went right for 4 mins then decided to turn round, we were also asked if we had booked our time slot for eating, we didn't know about that either before the trip
8 / 10
Staff very helpful, very clean and rooms were comfortable.
