stuartmB7403FT
March 26, 2024
This is not a good review, but there were aspects of this stay that were positive. The staff were good. Some were in training, but it was good to hear the more senior staff explaining clearly what was expected of them, guiding and pointing out some of the less obvious things that a hotel of this standard should do. The food, too, was excellent. Three nights in the main restaurant provided a menu with an adequate choice for us to vary our meals each night. There is a problem with the senior management of the group, however. Making offers they cannot uphold, offering services that are unavailable, having major renovation work done while guests are there, and finally, being disrespectful to their own staff. This makes me wonder about the new ownership of the hotel. (I had a look at the recent reviews of other guests on this site- it's very telling that 5 star reviews get a nice reply note from the hotel. Below 5 stars, they don't seem to care very much- nada.) This was a stay on the west coast, in March- The criticism regarding water ingress does not relate the Scottish weather, but the hotel’s ability to cope with it. In order, here are our disappointments of our stay. 1- A ‘non-refundable/ non-transferable’ deal we accepted in September 23 was later cancelled by the hotel, who asked us to change our dates. I’m sure this one-way deal is in the small print this is allowed, but disappointing. 2- Our booking requested dinner bookings for each night- given the remoteness of the location, this is pretty well essential. This was not actioned and was corrected only when I made contact to challenge what seemed to be a discrepancy on the acknowledgement. 3- In February, we were told the deck restaurant, with it’s ‘incredible transformation’ won’t open until April. This was the first notice we had that it would be shut while we were there. 4- Five days before our arrival, we were told that the pool, sauna, and steam room of the spa hotel would be out of action throughout our stay. 5- Despite having paid nearly £700 for a non-refundable room, the hotel obviously has a problem with trust regarding their guest population. The hotel took a single pound from my credit card on arrival. 6- The weather on our first evening was pleasant. Our walk round the grounds was spoiled by the piles of building material, old fittings, and skips blocking the paths on the way to the Jetty. 7- Our first morning saw rain. This has been a wet year so far, so was surprised to discover water dripping from the roof of our sitting area. We may have been the first to experience it as explained by the manager, but given the recent storms, I would be surprised. At least they gave us wine buckets to catch the water rather than plastic ones. The roof was fixed that day because the builders were on site. (My wife’s spa massage was not charged for, by way of compensation) 8- Having arrived in a plug-in hybrid car, I tried to charge the vehicle at the hotel. This failed.