Kingshouse Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

Overall, the view was absolutely worth staying here. The view is unparalleled (as long as Mother Nature allows you to see it). We stayed 2 nights and thank goodness we did because we only got 1 clear day, but wow was it worth it! However, we would stay at Ballachulish Hotel next time, or try the Isles of Glencoe hotel next time. (Crieff Hydro Hotels)

The Room: the rooms are alright, the carpets are in desperate need of removal and the lighting is so bad in the room. But they are absolutely clean rooms. The view from the windows is stunning, but unfortunately the design of the rooms are so flawed that they do not maximize that view. I don’t know who designed this building but they should have put more thought into larger windows & waking up with bed facing that stunning view. The beds are decently comfortable and pillows are fine. The bathrooms are alright and water pressure was good.

The Hotel: again, whomever designed this building should have put more thought into the flow of space. Although it was off-season for our visit and part of the hotel was closed down, but the bar had a huge unused open space that’s awkward and lacks the cozy vibe of a mountain base hotel. The dining room is the same, sparse furniture in an uninviting large room- but again, the views are impeccable! Skip the dome dinner if the weather season is not in your favor. Ours was horribly windy and cold. Again, the concept is cool, but design and execution are so bad. No leg blankets either. The poor waiter got locked out several times bringing food out to us & the other dome dinner. The dining room guests would have had to deal with the gusts of wind coming into the dining room and the loud crashing of the door. Just poor execution of a great concept.

The Food: it was alright. Nothing exceptionally worth mentioning. But it was good enough food. I would suggest trying Ballachulish hotel for a fantastic meal! Another Crieff Hydro hotel.

The Staff/Service: this was probably the greatest let down, and it’s at no fault of the front line staff- I would assume the culture (or lack there of) is not being nurtured by management. There are a lot of international work visa staff, which is great! But with such consistent turnover, without a better ratio of local staff, or an excellent oversight of management fostering culture, the service will suffer. Most of the time front desk staff were on their phones with their feet up. There was a manager overseeing breakfast on the last day and he was frantic, speaking loudly to staff about cleaning up and rushing guests out of the dining room and finishing breakfast service. It was the junior staff member who asked “are you sure we should be closing breakfast so early”. I have worked with enough organizations to know that employee culture, especially in remote places with staff being housed mostly onsite, is key! And that example is set from the top down.

In my opinion this hotel has so much unrealized potential. It has all the foundational things it needs to be exceptional! But like I said at the beginning, it was worth the stay because the view was stunning and the hiking trails and vistas that surround it are close driving distance. But we would likely not stay again. If you’re unsure, we have also stayed at Ballachulish Hotel, it’s not far away and had an exceptional experience there.

All to say, this is only MY opinion...

Our group of friends (13 people in total) had been looking forward to visiting Kingshouse Restaurant for lunch during our trip through the Highlands. Unfortunately, what should have been a smooth and enjoyable experience was overshadowed by poor communication and a lack of professionalism in the lead-up to and during our visit.

Two weeks before our planned lunch, I emailed the restaurant requesting a reservation for our group. After receiving no reply for three days, I followed up with another email – again, no response. Several days later, I called and spoke to a friendly lady who confirmed she had seen the email but that the manager, Lee, was not currently available. She assured me he would call me back soon. When I still hadn’t heard anything after another two days, I called again and was once more promised a return call.

Eventually, I received an email – not a call – from Lee, attaching a menu and stating that we would only be granted a reservation if we pre-ordered all meals and provided credit card details in advance. While surprised by these strict requirements, I quickly collected everyone’s menu choices and sent them back within a few hours, along with the requested payment details. Lee thanked me for the prompt response and said he was looking forward to welcoming us.

However, when we arrived on time at 1:00 PM on the agreed date, the welcome was anything but organized or friendly. We were greeted by Tim, who appeared overwhelmed and, frankly, rather arrogant. He mentioned he had "heard something about a reservation" but that nothing had been prepared. He told us to just sit down and let him know what we wanted to eat – despite the fact that we had already pre-ordered everything, precisely as instructed.

Instead of the agreed single long table for our group, we were scattered around the restaurant at smaller separate tables. I approached Tim to express my confusion, pointing out that we had followed Lee’s detailed instructions to the letter. He dismissed it and repeated that nothing had been prepared, and that it "might take a while" as they were busy.

Needless to say, we were deeply disappointed by this lack of coordination and the dismissive attitude. It felt like the burden had been entirely placed on us beforehand – with little effort made by the restaurant in return.

That said, when the food finally arrived, it was very good, and the setting of the restaurant – nestled in the dramatic landscape of Glencoe – is absolutely breathtaking. There is no doubt that the location and kitchen have great potential.

However, the service and communication fell far short of expectations, especially given the stress placed on us during the reservation process. A guest experience is defined by more than just the food or the view – and unfortunately, the human aspect was lacking in this case.

Conclusion: Stunning location and great food, but marred by poor planning, lack of communication, and unprofessional service. A missed opportunity to turn a beautiful setting into a memorable...

I found the Kingshouse Hotel on social media when planning our trip to Scotland. I was immediately sucked in by the stags coming up to you in the parking lot. The cost here is very reasonable in low season so it was added to our stay while in Glencoe.

The grounds and the hotel itself are excellent. Our room was very nice and cozy. Two issues with the room that were not so nice was a very uncomfortable bed (two twins pushed together) instead of a queen, and a shallow tub that was 24 inches from the bathroom floor. Getting in and out felt like an accident waiting to happen. I am only 5’2” and I nearly fell each time. I know this is a thing in Scotland as we encountered it at another hotel, but it’s difficult especially after when it’s wet. The hot water stopped working for a few hours one night as well.

The main issues with this stay were all due understaffing. We went out from 9am to 5pm and our room had not been cleaned even though we placed the sign asking for a cleaning. We saw a young man in the hallway in another room and he said something to the effect of “clearly we are running behind”. It was unfriendly but he said they would clean our room when they could. We went to the lobby and had a drink and dinner so they could take care of the room. As it were, we didn’t get towels so we still had to call down for further assistance. The phone just rings and rings. Finally my husband had to go down to ask about towels. The front desk young woman was apologetic and did have towels sent up but it was inconvenient to have to chase after things that should have been taken care of when the room was serviced.

On our second night we realized a wedding was going to take place that weekend. The hotel became very busy. It seems like the other guests are secondary once a wedding party arrives. This is sad because if they staffed appropriately all guests could be tended to.

The meals were satisfactory. The breakfast buffet was very good but the gentleman seating people in the dining room was unfriendly and petty. He refused to seat a couple without a reservation while he placed another couple with a reservation at a 4 top he could have split up. Mind you, this breakfast buffet is included with your stay, so to be turned away from a buffet is unacceptable. Staff seem annoyed and overwhelmed and it carries over to the guests. Thankfully with breakfast it’s a buffet style so you can get in and out without assistance. We had dinner both nights since there really are no other options in the area at night. Food was fine, service was sufficient.

Don’t feed the stags! The parking lot was full at sunset with people looking to see the stags. Some will run right up to you expecting food and if they don’t get it, they will give you the antlers. These are such beautiful and majestic creatures but these have lost their natural fear of humans in search of food. They are the whole reason I wanted to stay at the Kingshouse Hotel, but they left me feeling a bit...