Buchanan Arms Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Great Britain

LOST BOOKING OF 4 ROOMS!!!! My family and I have been going to this hotel for the past 3 years now. They normally do a DB&B deal around January. I went into the hotel in person a month prior to the booking and spoke with the receptionist who took my booking and happily took my card payment for 4 rooms in full.. over £300. A colleague had warned me about the poor service of this hotel and that it had gone downhill recently, which sparked me to call to confirm my reservation. This was the DAY BEFORE my family and I were to arrive. On phoning to speak to the receptionist, I gave her my details however she was unable to find my booking, in fact there were no bookings under my name, or any name for 4 rooms. I assured the receptionist that I has paid in full for DB&B, to which she said "we don't do dinner on a Friday!" What kind of hotel doesn't serve meals on the weekend?!?!? I said I was not told this at the point of booking, but I'll just have a full refund. The lady I spoke to did take time to try and find the booking as she said " I can't give you a refund without a booking!" I asked for the manager's name so I can send my complaint and evidence of my card payment, to which the receptionist said "Our manager walk out last week, so it's the acting manager now" I took her name Lilian Bloomfield and sent an email with a lengthy complaint and evidence of my card payment. I also explained how disappointed I was that this business appeared to be suffering and would be sad to see it lost. I am still waiting for any kind of response from this email!!! After a week I phoned the hotel back and asked for Lilian, the receptionist asked what it was about and when I told her she remembered my initial phone call and told me "I meant to phone you! We found your booking in a drawer!" Whoever took the booking and taken the card payment, and wrote the booking on a piece of paper rather than booking it directly onto the computer, stapled the receipt to the piece of paper and just left it in a drawer!!! Thankfully the receptionist took my card details and refunded my card there an then, but I wonder how long it would have taken for them to contact me? The receptionist was very apologetic and did take the time, but I was so disappointed there was no offer of a "good will gesture". Instead of the lovely night away with my family, including my 87 year old grandfather, we had to make do with a lunch, as a few of us had taken time off work, and were out of pocket and time to book anything else!!!! I WILL NEVER RETURN MY SERVICE TO THIS HOTEL UNLESS THERE IS A MASSIVE TAKE-OVER AND CHANGE IN...

I had booked a room on the 5 th of October a Saturday for my wife's 40 th birthday. I had booked this through woucher a month before hand. Speaking with the hotel receptionist to book this was not an easy task . I was to pay a £20 supplement as it was a Saturday night which wasn't a problem. I gave her my card payment details multiple times and I wouldn't go through at her end. I was told that it wasnt a problem. The problem was at their end and not to worry about it , I could pay on the day of arrival. I didn't receive any confirmation via email but still assumed that all was well. On the morning of our visit my wife booked nearly £200 of spa treatments at the hotel before our arrival. When we arrived at the hotel we were welcomed by the receptionist and asked for our details, only to be told that we were not booked in and the hotel was fully booked. We were then asked if we would like to rearrange another visit. I asked to speak to the manager who wasn't available and was told that none of our details were on the system and it was really strange as this had never happened before. My wife and I were really embarrassed and upset. I was assured the manager would be in contact to get this resolved. We asked the receptionist to let the Spa know what happened and we wouldn't be available for the treatments . Twenty minutes after leaving the hotel we got a call from a not very happy member of staff at the spa wondering where we were . After explaining what had happened, the response was we could have still had the treatments anyway and we should have at least let them know. Four weeks on and weekly calls asking to speak to the manager to get this resolved with promises from reception that we would get a response from the manager within 24hrs ,no joy . Out of the blue on Saturday night we received a call from Buchanan arms hotel at 6:30 pm asking if my wife and I were still coming for our over night stay from the receptionist . The same receptionist who didn't have any of my details in the first place. She admitted she remembered us and apologised for the mix up .I was promised the manager would call the next day . After calling twice this week with no response I have given up . It was good deal with woucher, maybe to good to be true...

No standards. From the moment we entered our room, we were met with an overwhelming smell of dampness and mold. The sheets and pillows had a strong, unpleasant odor—some even smelled of mildew. Dust was thick in every corner, with visible spiderwebs filling the bathroom and bedroom. It’s clear this room had not been cleaned properly in a very long time. We also encountered spiders and insects inside the room, which made the experience even more uncomfortable. All of this remained even after housekeeping visited.

The carpets throughout the hotel reeked of damp, moldy fabric. Instead of addressing any issues, it’s clear the hotel’s solution has been to simply paint over everything. White paint was sloppily applied in every corner and over window frames, which now barely close due to the repeated coats of paint. The bathroom seems to have a lot of what appeared to be thin, low-quality MDF, again painted over to hide deeper hygiene concerns.

The hotel is completely inaccessible if you have luggage or mobility concerns. There are about 5–7 staircases just to reach the room, with no elevator or assistance available. Carrying luggage up and down these stairs was exhausting.

We were also disturbed to witness the cleaning staff throwing decorative pillows onto the visibly dirty carpet and then placing them directly on the beds—this alone raises serious questions about hygiene standards.

Most alarmingly, all five of us broke out in bacterial acne and flare-ups during our stay—something none of us have experienced before. We do not have pre-existing skin conditions, and the only change in environment was staying at this hotel.

Additionally, there were no basic toiletries provided—only toilet paper, towels and a single unlabelled bottle of liquid soap. There is also no reliable service or phone connection in the hotel, which made it hard to contact anyone for help.

I am appalled, disappointed, and upset—especially given the amount of money we paid. This stay felt not only unpleasant but frankly unsanitary and unsafe. I would strongly urge the management to address these issues seriously and not just cover them up with paint.

I added some reference pictures of what I was able to bring myself to take...