On separate occasions I have witnessed two of the younger female staff (mid-20's) passing cigarettes over the counter without putting the order through the till, clearly theft is tolerated by the staff in the shop.

anonymous, 7 February 2012

Used to have a decent cafe here but it appears to be under new management. Half the place is a building site. Despite this, it's still the least worst services along the South Wales stretch of the M4. But that's not saying much.

Chinny Hill, 5 February 2012

Ok perhaps I would not choose it as my top picknic location but I think it has the cleanest toilets on that stretch of the M4. 10/10 for the guy who cleans them zealously every morning!

Rod, 24 January 2012

Seaveral times on my way back and forth to Bridgend I have stopped at Magor services and thought it one of the better motorway services, but that was when it was owned by 'First Services'. What a disappointment when I visited last week for something to eat. No salad bar anymore, and the food on show looked as if it had been there for hours, dried up and definately not appealing. I turned round, got back in my car and decided to get back home to eat. Roadchef, what have you done to my favorite services. I shan't be going in there anymore.

CMH, 22 January 2012

Have just got back from a visit to Magor Services, as it was lunchtime I decided to nip in and grab a quick burger.

When I arrived (12.45) the place was empty, thought that odd as last time I visited a motorway services at lunchtime there was a huge crowed waiting to be served, I soon discovered why this place was empty. After waiting to be noticed the girl who was supposed to be serving wanted over, I won’t mention her name which was clearly visible on her badge to save her embarrassment, suffice to say she was scruffily, sullen and sported a big cold sore on her month – nice touch.


After all off 30 seconds my ‘food’ such as it was saw chucked onto an unlined, wet plastic try and shoved towards me. Now I appreciate this is not The Ivy, but surly a modicum of politeness does not hurt and as for putting the chips into a try that no doubt had been reused dozens of times already, that is plain unacceptable.

Anyhow, I found a seat and opened my paper wrapped burger, I am still unsure if this was a mistake and perhaps the paper was part of the mean, as frankly it would have been more nutritional to keep it on. It was disgusting, literally 5mm thick, burnt and tasteless. I immediately took it back to the counter and this time spotty’s equally sullen male colleague asked if there was a problem, I held up the slice of cremated leather and said if this iis really what it was supposed to be like, to which I was told ‘its not burger king any more’ . Needless to say I asked for my money back and left as fast as I can, and I assure you I will never ever be back. If your passing and feel the need to eat, can I suggest you chew on some car matting, I promises it will taste better and at least you can eat in pleasant surroundings!

Finally, you also cant drive out of the services by following the car park arrows - as they now lead into some car wash and if like us you get caught in front of a another car it takes ages to reverse between the bollards . Perhaps spotty and sullen’s dad also does car park planning!

Emma Tarrent, 29 November 2011

Stopped whilst returning from a work trip in Cardiff. Services were busy (being a Friday afternoon) but managed to find a space and get parked no problem. Was taken aback by the high prices in the services own cafe (£3.95 for a ham sandwich in a packet!) so went over to Costa instead which is much better quality.

JB, 8 November 2011

Stopped on my way back from West Wales with a few friends, car was filthy so decided to use the car wash, does not take cash so you have to use card, wheels takes ages to process (thought it had been rejected it took so long). VERY very expensive, almost £10, and wheel came out as dirty as when I went in!!

Tried to contact the number on the door and guess what, no such number - people in services said it was not owned by them and were not interested. Total rip-off

Samantha, 27 October 2011

I just experienced THE worst customer service of my entire life at the petrol station at these services. The person serving me was called Lyn and I can safely say I have never been spoken to more rudely in my life. I am not a complainer and have never gone to lengths such as this to report bad customer service, however, her attitude and aggresive approach to me simply asking for a hot chocolate upon paying for my petrol has left me utterly gobsmacked! how this person, clearly untrained in basic communication skills- let alone customer service, ever get a job in the first place is beyond me.
As the first point for service in Wales- Magor Services, you should be ashamed to hire such rude and aggresive staff. What an embarrassemnt to Wales itself!

lisa, 16 September 2011

As a local resident I only go in for fuel,but the whole place is a dump.I hope now that Roadchef have taken over it will be as good as their other services I visit around the UK.

Tim, 4 September 2011

I had the displeasure of having to use the toilets at this service station today. The toilets were a health hazard, two urinals were blocked and full, and the sinks were disgusting. In the food areas tables were uncleared and the staff scruffy. I shudder to think what state this service station would be in on a busy weekend!

DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE STATION.

Mr A Owen, 17 August 2011

Called in last night at about 2am, needing a coffee and some food having flown in from Malaga to Bristol, en route to Cardiff. The chap in charge was extremely friendly and said they could cook from a list (I think in essence frozen food) - we chose sausage, egg & chips each. Hub also asked for beans.
We ordered 2 lattes which were amazing. Just what we needed - and in a large mug too. The food came out and it was humongous! Hub realized his egg was missing. The chap went away and within moments delivered a freshly fried egg. We scoffed the lot and it was lovely. Living on the Med we're used to tipping though I don't think it's the custom so much in UK. However we left some cash on the table by way of a thank you.
I have to say the rest of the food - rolls, paninis etc looked super & very edible.

All in all a lovely service station with friendly 'can do' staff. Makes a pleasant change. Well done!

Jane Johnson, 20 May 2011

I am a welsh person living in England and a frequent traveller across the bridge. Magor Services is a grubby, shoddy place with unappetising food and dirty toilets. The staff do not look interested in their customers and most of them could do with smartening up. This is the first stop as you arrive in Wales and you should be ashamed of this place that should be one of your flagships. What kind of impression are they giving visitors. The only time it seemed 'reasonable' was when the golf was taking place at Celtic Manor but it wasn't much better even then, just more staff with badges and sashes that said 'welcome to Wales' - what a joke!!!

margaret sedgwick, 3 May 2011

I had a very pleasant visit to this service station. It's so nice to see an independent shop with much lower prices than other services with a M&S or WHSmiths. The staff in the shop were really helpful, especially one gentleman who gave me directions.
The toilets were very clean and fitted with those special sensor flushes, which is always a bonus.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was a little disappointing, the attitude of one member of staff at the hot food servery was quite rude and the food did not look nice at all, but luckly there was plenty of snacky food in the shop and there was a burger king.
Overall, quite a nice place.

Mia, 29 April 2011

I had to stop for a Tacho break. Truckpark was full, so i parked in the empty coach park. The Jobsworth attendant was moaning, explained truck park was full, he stated not my problem. i had to threaten him with a smack if he didnt wind his neck in.

Ian, 16 April 2011

My friend and I stopped late on 19th March 2011 having just arrived back in Wales after being on holiday. We wanted a hot meal, ordered fish and chips after having been assured that the fish was not frozen. The meal arrived - it looked and tasted dreadful (costing £7.95 each). My friends fish was not cooked properly. We left 90% of it. Today we have spent the day on the loo! So much for good old British food - more like rubbish. We will never go there again.

Sue Jones, 20 March 2011

We have been breaking our journey between West Wales and Surrey at Magor for many years now, and would like to say that we find the facilities clean and well maintained, and the staff always friendly and helpful. There is a good atmosphere there which sets it apart from many other service stations.

Could the Manager please email me the name of the highly scented shrub which borders the central walkway from the car park down to the main building, as we should like to plant this in our own garden

Many thanks

Gavin McFarlane

Dr Gavin McFarlane, 12 November 2010

i called into the garage at magor services after a very long journy this eveing to find a brand new building with a cafe area with a wide selction of goods hot food and coffie the prices was very good for a motorway services too the shop and cafe was well stocked clean and tidy andrew and ross served me this evening and thay are the 2 nicest members of staff you could ever ask to meet both of them was very polite and very helpful both of them were great with all the customers while i was there and made everyone feel welcome and i hope the mangers of esso are proud of them as i would be if thay worked for me

gemma jones, 7 September 2010

I drive up and down the motorway network and my views on Magor could not be more at odds with your last comment, although it is small in comparision with the big sites like Leigh Delamere it has great friendly staff, their prices are lower than the “big boys”they prepare all their food on site,
and it is always clean. I thought the wishing well at the entrance was a nice touch, give your loose change to a kids hospice!
I wrote to them once about the price of the drinks and the managing director rang me up! How many outfits do that?
Don’t know if anyone from First looks at this site but if they do KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

Steve Maynard, 23 August 2010

stopped for lunch, had one spoon of leek and potato bake and four new potatoes, spuds were rock hard and the bake was inedible, staff gave my money back but no apology, under cooked childs portions are not acceptable for £6, i had a burger king instead for half the price.

Mike Edwards, 21 July 2010

I don't visit motorway service very often because of the outrageous prices they charge!!! But last Sunday I was meeting up with a couple of friends as we coming from different parts of the country to go away for a few days.We decided to have a breakfast,and in hindsight I wish I hadn't the quality of very cheap ingredients that tasted so bad I couldn't eat it and to top it off the customer service till operator argued with me over the cost of the breakfast because the counter assistant had added one more item that what should of been on the plate,then shouted down to the servery to tell off the counter assistant of his mistake. I was totally shocked by this and felt very embarrassed by it.
If the only place left in the world was Magor services to have a breakfast I would starve.And I would recommend any wanted food to go some were else...

Nick Horler, 16 July 2010

In need of light refreshment i chose to visit this service area. Unfortunately what greeted me was not easy on the eye,
the place as a whole was unclean and very unappealing. As i was leaving i noticed a newly built garage on the foreourt displaying a cafe sign. It had a car parking area so i popped in and was greatly impressed by the cleanliness of the shop and the service provided by staff. I bought a coffee which was absolutely stunning and a steak slice which was really fresh and tasty. there is a seating area there if you wish to eat in that i was impressed with. Well done to the petrol station, at least someone got it right.

R Perkins, 16 June 2010

Never again! If I had I noticed the pile of vomit on the path on my way into the service station I may well have turned round and gone somewhere else - my daughter saw it but did not mention it, at the time. It was still there when we left!

The large door mat, in the entrance, was all rucked up and as we entered the building. I saw a person tip up - as we were leaving I saw another person trip, on the same rucked up mat (half an hour or so later)

The BURGER KING meal was really bad - I have written to them about that...

The play area has an odd notice - we read it more than once but it definatly says you have to be OVER 12 years old to use the play equipment....?

The floor in the eating area (BURGER KING) is carpeted and the carpet is filthy - you can imagine what goes onto the floor and a carpet is not easy to clean - my shoes were sticking to the surface as I walked across to the table.

The chairs had ketchup on them.

The staff were not rude they were just dull and bored and I feel sorry for them working in such a sad, dirty and rundown place.

The customer care telephone number on our receipt no longer works.

aileen, 12 April 2010

most of the staff had bad attitude.

philip, 29 March 2010

It's hard to believe that in rainy Britain the only place that you can have a family picnic is outside. We were thrown out of the restaurant even though we had bought coffee.

Catherine, 27 March 2010

Toilets were very clean. Staff in the restaurant were attentive. Good selection of hot food available. Restaurant and seating area was spotless. If I had to find fault, the coffee could have been stronger. Well done First Group. Shall definitely visit again.

Mark Beazley, 7 March 2010

this makes magor the best in monmouthshire simply because it has burgar king

michael jones, 27 February 2010

shower facilities are discusting,no locks on doors/dirty/staff unconcerned/ certainly not monitered!! considering what they charge for overnight parking this is a joke

a brown, 17 February 2010

Cory Delap, who works in the Burger King franchise, is the most delightful employee ever. His happy, smiling friendly manner was a breath of fresh air during a long arduous journey.

Pamela Temme, 5 September 2009

Most of the petrol pumps were out of service. What a waste of time, we won't be back!

Rob Treich, 10 August 2009

Having always rated this service station the best ever, I found it not so on my last visit. The staff serving breakfast ignored me whilst in conversation then told me I could not have mixed items of food that were not a full breakfast. But then told me I could order separate items. (The food was fine) Unfortunately the coffee was undrinkable. The only smiling face was the person attending the tables.

Allan, 17 July 2009

we stopped here for our packed lunch on our way to wales.
We had the dog with us, and this was one of the few MSA's that has an area for dog walking, and a nice picnic area, which was clean and tidy.
Well done!

daniel burfot, 17 July 2009

I'd just like to say how helpful the blokes at the garage were on Sunday night. After a long drive my tyre burst just near the service station so I went in for assistance and they were truly wonderful.

Helen Williams, 14 July 2009

I found myself having 2 nites out in a HGV on 11-12-07-09 the truck park was both laterally and longitudinally not level this made it imposible to get a good nights sleep the showers! I would not wash my dog in there even if I one and lastly I could not afford to eat in your restaurant.I do hope things improve or if you do not want HGVs on you site just put a sign up saying so to save us the trouble of turning off the M4.

Nigel Leafe, 13 July 2009

Small and dated, but a great cup of coffee (hot and a full mug, not just foam). 2 coffees & 2 cakes less than £7, which isn't bad for a service station. Staff very friendly & helpful. Getting a ticket for parking lost me a few £s in the machine, but get your ticket from the shop, much easier.

Jane, 14 June 2009

Having personally worked in this place, ill let you in on a few home truths.

There are rats, due to poor hygene. It only passes on inspection because restuarant disinfect and actually clean the day before. The use meat from a few days before to make currys and other meals, it's just pure disgusting. I would recommend anyone visting to just run and use the toilets and then leave sharpish. The shop is overpriced, and the car park is a mess. Consider hiring a cleaner.

Your Mum., 24 March 2009

i have read the comments, and i can't believe the total rubbish written..... RATS!!!!! like the place wouldn't have already been shut down.......... The negative feedback wouldn't have anything to do with the place being in Wales would it??????

Lin Jones, 13 March 2009

i have used the food halls in this service area 4 times and each occasion i have left the food that i had paid for because it was cold ,staff stand around talking whilst you are waiting to pay,the quality of the food is very low standard. i use the motorway very often and now use the LEIGH DELAMERE service area where although prices are as high the quality is far superior.

anonymous coward, 6 March 2009

GOD! there are some moaners on here!!!!!1
it is not even that bad stop being son sad and get other it it is no bigt deal theres some dust or some staff pointed to a list whats point in reading it when theres a list for people to look at

bored now, 3 March 2009

Hi,
4 of us called at this services at 1.30a.m.01/03/09.We stood at the food service counter for what seemed an eternity;eventually a lady appeared and proceeded to stare at us(she enhanced her appearance with a mop and bucket).We asked what the was available-a sign was just pointed to.A question about the meals was begrudgingly answered-infact we felt we were merely an inconvenience!Needless to say we left.
I an a company director,and to be quite frank this attitude and behaveour stinks for a company in the public eye.We were not expecting 5 star dining -just egg and chips!!Obviously more care needs to be taken to monitor your staff.By the way-WELCOME BREAK were superb!
Yours faithfully
Andy Collingwood

Andy Collingwood, 1 March 2009

the flyers around the place say that Egon Ronay found the food far better than the ' big chains '.....i think that it may have been a Ewan Ronay that was passing thru and happenned to give his opinion??? oh yeh, and winner of 'Loo of the year' to boot
i got one word to say for this place...
DON'T!

malcolm, 27 February 2009

Im not going to lie to you the food is bad and what they call a breakfast is just a joke, i have never in my life had one as bad. crete and spain do better.

ness and bryn, 28 January 2009

Not bad, normally stop here for a toilet break on the way to cardiff from Cornwall.
Expensive though, and staff are not over helpful (not bad, not good).

Pete, 22 December 2008

Having worked at Magor services for 2 and a half years, im surprized to read some of these comments. Staff are rude? Some maybe, but the amount of customers that are rude to staff is unbelievable. Rats? I dont think so, as i said i worked there for 2 and a half years, and i never once saw a rat. Some of you people are full of crap to be perfectly honest.

Sarah, 9 November 2008

As this msa been sold?

Karina, 9 October 2008

Originally opened by Granada to cater for the traffic that would use the new Severn Bridge and would bypass the old Aust/Severn View services beside the old Bridge. See Severn View for more details. When Granada bought Pavilion group back in the 1990s they were seen to be too big a company and were forced to sell two of their sites. Bolton West on the M61 and Magor, both of which were then bought by First Group.

Alan Simpson, 24 June 2008

I know there are no rats in the kitchen there. Nothing better to do that spread stupid rumours ?

snakeman, 5 June 2008

Very poor quality of sandwiches plus what looked like a human hair, very unpleasant

Alan Hadwen, 28 May 2008

The worst service area in the country - over priced , bad service and dirty. There were rats running around the rear of the kitchens when I was there- it should be closed down

Mike Diamond, 22 May 2008

anonymous coward, 21 April 2008

Visted these services yesterday, absolutely disgusting! The toilets were dirty, and had no toilet paper, or soap in either of the disspencers.
I then moved on to the foodcourt, the I took two mouthfuls of my sausage, and it put me off sausage for life.

The tables were full of rubbish, plates and trays, and the staff didnt seem to care.

I went into the shop, they also couldnt careless, and they short changed me of £10. The guy serving me argued it was correct, but i wasnt going to move untill it was checked.

The person in charge checked and the draw for £10 up. He didnt even appologise!

Guys seriously, dont bother, total waste of time.

First... but LAST visit...

JJ, 27 January 2008

I have to say this is the worst service station I have ever been to. It is dirty, the staff are rude and the food is horrible. The tea is the worst you will get in Wales. I make a point of going here every time I go to South or Mid Wales (about 4 times a year for the last 5 or 6 years) as it is beyond belief!!

Lizzie, 28 December 2007

I think Magor services is the nicest, cleanest, and has the most polite staff in the country. The staff in the shop are very helpful and were very polite towards me and my family.
I would quite happily return some day.

Bryan, 19 December 2007

the service at this place is discusting and the staff do not treat u rite they sell overprised items and the boy in the shop is a cheeky boy telling me 2 get out it stinks rle rle bad disgraceful

James Woods, 19 December 2007

Quite honestly, I cannot rate this services low enough. It should actually get a negative figure. Everything about it is awful.

Sarah, 24 October 2007

Stayed in Travel lodge - filthy towels,room dirty. £55 oh and £10 for the dog ? Geez ; Ate in Restaurant , was appalling ;food swimming in grease; food left out from lunch; £18 for three shocking meals - rip off. The fish looked like it had been cooked 12 hours ago ; you could have had spaghetti bolognaise but the there was no spaghetti ! and they was no gesture to cook any .. rice or chips Sir ? What a joke. I shall avoid First Services next time.. change name to LAST.

Tony Eames, 31 August 2007

I found this mtorway service station to be a disgrace when I visited it yesterday afternoon. Progressively I have noticed how dirty the car parking area has become - cigarette ends, waste paper and general untidiness giving the impression that the proprietors do not care. Inside, however, was worse, in particular the ladies' toilets area where toilet paper on the floor, unflushed lavatories and mess was everywhere(my wife's comments). The men's area was poor, washbasins in need of cleaning, the floors wet and toilet paper on the floor.
You may well tell me that coach parties or excessive numbers of visitors ar to blame. When we were there there were no coach parties and the car-parking was not particularly full.
I find it disappointing to write in this way as in the past the service area has been good. Nevertheless there has been a gradual worsening in my experience, from visits over the past 12 months. I hope you will do something to arrest this decline otherwise it will join the ranks of so many service areas as places to avoid at all costs.

gareth jones, 16 April 2007

Having worked their several months ago i just have to say that the hygiene standard that the magor bracg uses is terrible, the food sits out from 11:00 till about 11:00 pm if it has not been eaten in that time. the juices are often gone off and starts to separtate. the amount of oil used to cook food is crazy you would get a heart attack just looking at it let lone eating it.

Mystery, 12 January 2007

Friday Jan 5th 2007 bought a pot of coffee. The glass was cracked and the handle was broken. Returned the pot to the counter and received another. Then I watched the broken coffee pot given to another customer. I informed the customer and they hit the roof with the assistant.

They also refused to accept my DEBIT card in the shop as I had not spent enough. Banking rules on DEBIT cards are that they have to be accepted for any amount.

Bob Jackson, 7 January 2007

i have been commuting from bristol to cardiff for the last 10 weeks and magor is the first services i come to in the morning. i have not once been satisfied with either the service or the food from the "restarant".
today was the last strew. i ordered a breafast from a guy that had quite i serious burn on his right hand.
the injury was not covered, yet he was still aload to handle food that is being served to the public.
when i proceded to get a mug of tea, i had to stand and wait for no less than 3 mins, while TWO members of staff stood around fiddleing with the till.
when i finaly ASKED to be surved, and mentioned that i had been waiting for sometime and my breakfast was now cold, i was told that I had come at the wrong time.. because of a shift change. aparantly it was my fault.
i will now be traveling the extra 15 miles to the next services, and i would advise anyone else to do the same. you can expect better from a burger van.

matt ash, 12 December 2006

I had the worst breakfast ever at this restaraunt today.It was the big breakfast at £5.99. It was a disgrace. The hash browns and fried bread tasted of fish they were disgusting.Bacon was cold,sausage was solid,scrambled egg was revolting ,the only plus was the baked beans.I tried to complain but a coach party had just arrived so everyone was busy and I could not wait.

Matthew Mair, 22 November 2006

Brilliant service at petrol station. A bit dissapointed that cash machine is always out of use when i go there. Maybe you could get a new one???

Lynda Morgan, 13 October 2006

I HAVE JUST VISITED FIRST AND I GOT TO SAY THE YOUNG LADYS DERVING FOOD WERE A DELITE AND COOKED MY FOOD VERY WELL AS ALL THE STAFF I SEEN WERE VERY PLES\ANT

Kyle Smith, 2 September 2006

hi, we would like to comment on your poor service at burger king. Firstly we are not very pleased with amount of time we had to wait for our meal. Secondly the prices are very expensive compared to your other nearby outlets. Thirdly we are disgusted with the quality of the chips because they were cold and slighty frozen. Lastly we ordered our meal and waited 10mins for our food while other people who orederd their meals after us received their meals before us. We would appreciate if you would contact us back asap, many thanks.

Luke Simms, 29 August 2006

I run a fleet of coaches and stopped at First Magor. I am a vegetarian so was dissapointed to find no Veggie Burgers at Burger King, no veggie quiche in the salad bar and the only veggie meal on offer was the same old tired boring Lasagne that everyone offers.

I asked the server to decant it on to a plate, I hate eating out of cooking utensils which he kindly did but that was a waste of time because it was totally and utterly inedible. The cheese sauce on the top was hard like plastic and the pasta sheets were like bakelite.

I WAS offered a refund but opted for a cream scone instead but that was also rock hard.

I really do not seem me returning in the near future.

They seem to be proud that Egon Ronay recommends them but as he is a time warp from the sixties that really does not surprise me.

Back to Roadchef for me I am aafraid.

Steve

Stephen Lee, 13 August 2006

I was surprised to see that Holiday Which? had given Magor M4 services a very poor rating (March 2006).
Some years ago, I was returning from a conference in Bournemouth, where we had endured the most appalling customer service for a week. What a contrast when a colleague and I stopped at Magor for a coffee. Service with a smile, please, thank you, eye contact, teapots that actually pour into the cup. Even the young man who was clearing up the tables was full of cheer.
After putting up with surly, rude and indifferent staff at the Bournemouth International Centre, Magor was such a contrast and a delight; so much so, that we stayed longer than planned to enjoy watching the staff interact with the customers. I took the time to write to the MD of First, who proudly placed my letter on the wall of the staff room.
So while the magazine may not rate the facility highly and it is obviously due for an upgrade, the staff is to be congratulated for continuing to exceed this customer's expectations in good service.

Alan King, 7 March 2006