Grant’s Story

My name is Grant and I wanted to give the most honest feedback I could as if you are like me and struggled to find the rehab centre that you wanted to go to. We all needed to go to one if we have reached this point, but I wanted to find the place I felt I would be comfortable and that would help me to recover.

SO, I am an addict of 33 years, my life had begun to fall apart and as with us all I was at the bottom, in every way possible. I found Rainford Hall in a moment of despair, via an independent search site, I stayed for 28 days in July/August 2024.

From the minute I spoke to the lady on the phone, the service has been simply outstanding. Please take my review as the absolute truth, I have no reasons to lie but plenty to tell the truth for. I will split the review up;

1. The admission process

This was flawless. They helped every step sorting out dates and answering questions. Speaking with me and my wife and sorting everything out so it was as smooth as going to a rehab could be. Nothing to fault whatsoever.

2. Arriving

I had a 6 hour journey which was full of worry, anxiety, fear, and every other concern possible. At the door literally as I arrive is Tracy, the clinical lead. Now Tracy runs the clinical side with precision, but she is a lovely lady who really cares about what she does and this is evident in every aspect. I also met Charlie at this point, a really cheerful bloke who made me feel at ease and was a big part of the rest of my stay which I will come on to.

3. Checking in

An easy process, yes you have to go through bag searches etc and drugs tests but of course you do, you are at a rehab because you are broken and want to get better. I am glad they are stringent about this, I for one, do not want to be anywhere near any temptations and they are good with this. If you want to carry on using, don’t go to rehab and ruin it for everyone else who has reached the point they wish to stop.

4. The building

It is nothing short of beautiful. The living room is huge with big screen tv which has every channel. Pool room with pool table and another large tv. Library, nice place to read and relax. Huge dining room, pantry. Stunning character house with lots of space even when full.

5. My room

I paid a little extra to have a country suite. It was beautiful. A large luxury room, three huge windows, huge comfortable bed, writing table, dressing table, lovely big en-suite, fan, coffee machine. Basically, everything you need for a comfortable luxurious stay.

6. Outside space

Lovely garden and surrounding, large walk that you do accompanied which is about 35-45 minutes. Plenty of space to wonder. Outside smoking area, everything you need.

7. Spa and Gym

This was a big part of my decision to go to this place having been lied to by a previous treatment centre. The gym is perfect, I am a big gym goer and plenty of equipment to keep yourself active. No it is not David Lloyd, but it is perfect as a hotel gym and better than many 5 star hotels I have stayed in around the world.
The spa was a touch of luxury, the Jacuzzi was lovely, no the bubbly being honest but its all good, lovely size and really relaxing after my gym sessions in the morning. The sauna is a little weak to be fair but the steam room is one of the best you will use. Please note, they do restrict the gym and saunas. This is because they don’t allow access when you are supposed to be in therapy sessions which I think is absolutely the right decision.

If you are like me your addict brain is clever and will try anything to avoid getting better and the clinical and therapy teams know this so they limit the options to avoid the difficult bit of rehab, GETTING BETTER!

8. Food

This is nothing short of hotel quality food. I can hand on heart say I only had one meal that was below the standard of any luxury hotel. The Catering Staff were so accommodating for anything you wanted within reason. They always wanted to help. The variety was great and if anything it was too much!!! Food is a vital part of my life and a passion for me and I was not disappointed in any way.

9. Therapy

I have never done anything like this before, so I have nothing to measure it from. The only things I can say are the councillors and care assistants are amazing, truly caring. The majority are recovering addicts themselves and provide an honest relatable approach that really resonated with me. The process and group therapy is tough as talking in groups about your issues is going to be, but I found it really helped and has proved me with a lightbulb moment or many of them during my 28 days. There is a variety of meditation, CBT, EFT and lots of different aspects to the care. Some was not as effective for me, but I tried everything and found a lot of tools that have helped.

10. The staff

This is by far where Rainford Hall shines. The people are amazing!!! Simple as that, anyone who does not agree, they are simply unable to appreciate how hard people work, end of story! Each and every one of them is caring, helpful, patient, funny, and lovely and every other descriptive word you can think of. They go above and beyond every day. I would be happy to provide a reference of this place to anyone as the experience I have had has changed my life. I am now 58 days clean and sober. I feel strong and have been provided with some great tools. Yes, it is a lifelong battle but it has been started in such a positive way by the people at Rainford hall. I went there thinking f**k this, I will tick the box, get out and move on.

I had ups and downs emotionally, broke down, cried, laughed my arse off and found some really nice people. I found people like me, struggling to survive and close to death in so many ways. I see things differently now, don’t get me wrong, I have bad days, minutes etc, but I fell the nearest to a human being I have been in 33 years of dark abusing of most drugs out there and I actually feel for the first time. Real emotions, really love for my family and not just anger and rage. I am never going to forget what Rainford Hall has done for me. It has saved my life!

If you are struggling to find somewhere to go, please, please, please listen to my review, this place will change your life if you embrace everything they have to offer.

Grant