Knipoch House Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

‼️ Discriminatory Environment and the Poorest Customer Service ‼️ This is a story of how biased untrained (?) staff can ruin your business in a matter of few words, dismissing all the other great assets and value you have to offer to your clients. I arrived to the Knipoch House with a group of friends - British citizens of Eastern European descent. We were very friendly and polite, full of anticipation of spending a relaxing evening and having a good night sleep after having summited Ben Nevis earlier that day. The two rooms were booked under one of our names, prepaid. The lady at the counter asked us to present "passports". Surprised by her request, we still assumed good intent, as she clearly must have wanted to verify an identity of the quests for standard record keeping (see my screenshot). As we didn't have passports on hand (travelling within the UK doesn't require a passport - one can even board a domestic flight with a driver's license!), the friend, whose name was on the reservation, asked if it was acceptable to present his license as the form if identification. Not only did the lady say that she wouldn't accept any other form of ID but a passport, she also stated that she needed a "passport" for each member of our company. As we explained to her that travelling within the UK doesn't require one to hold a passport, she counterargued that it would've been the case IF we were British. What?!?! She clearly judged us by our accents and unrightfully assumed that we were foreigners. What really made me upset in this situation is the fact that after we told her that we were British and some of us showed a picture of our UK passports, she started apologizing for making assumptions at, and that she didn't need IDs for all of us, but was okay with just one member of the group etc. - she clearly discriminated the whole group, based on her limited breath of views about nationality and ethnicity, and incorrect interpretation of the requirements (lack of training or personality?). Unfortunately, the troublesome service didn't end there... After having a dinner at the hotel's restaurant (which we really enjoyed, BTW, as well as the breakfast the morning after), our group settled in the lounge in the bar area of the hotel to enjoy a glass of whiskey 🥃 from our own leftover bottle that we saved from the night before. We asked for glasses at the bar, fixed ourselves the drinks and were enjoying the conversation, when THE SAME lady from the check-in counter approached us stating that we were not allowed to drink whiskey, purchased outside of the hotel bar, in the hotel lounge - WHAT?! But once again, we showed all the cooperation, assuming good intent, and asked if a corkage fee could resolve the situation. The lady went on to talk to someone, and came back saying that they wouldn't be able to accommodate our request - she suggested that we stepped outside and finished our drinks there. I'm sorry but did she even see it was RAINING 🌧️ when she said that - it must have not occurred to her... Fine, we were still in a too positive mood to fight this uphill battle, and, having complied with the request, put our rain coats on and made our way to the sitting area on the lawn in front of the hotel. On the way out, I asked the person at the bar if I could borrow an ash tray for the smokers in our company. To that the response was they they didn't carry ash trays and that the only designated smoking spot (unmarked) on the hotel premises was under some tree - one can only find that in a day light, after looking hard. When you go to a good restaurant, you expect good food. When you stay at a hotel - you expect comfort. However, none of that matters when the SERVICE is non-existent. All in all, thanks to the poor inconsiderate service of biased discriminating staff, this, otherwise wonderful hotel, will be a black spot on my travel map - my top-3 WORST hotel service experiences of all time,...

Two nights spent in this hotel in their “junior suite”. The accomodation was just a normal slightly larger than usual hotel room. A bedroom and bathroom. Definitely not a suite. Pretty sparsely appointed which was disappointing for the price of £430 for two nights. No wardrobe, just a rail set into the wall. No full length mirror. No fridge. No iron/board. Bathroom was fairly standard, however the toiletries provided were pretty sparse. One small sachet of shampoo and the same of show gel. The hand soap measured one inch square. Two people had to make do with these for two days as when the “suite” was cleaned the toiletries were not topped up. Furthermore the towels were not folded or tidied, the cups were not washed and the bed looked slept in after the “cleaning”. The hotel has a private water supply and the water has a brown hue to it. They provide a few bottles of water and say that when you want more to just call room service. However when we attempted to do this the phones did not work. We had a meal on the first night and had planned to eat in the hotel for both nights but after the first we decided not to eat there again. Absolutely extortionate. The venison at £36 was by far the least value for money meal I’ve had in a hotel. Two small fillets of venison. Basically two forkfuls, a little bit of vegetables and strangely….a tiny scotch pie. I’d say the value of the venison on the plate was around £2. Drinks….well….bottles of Skye Red Ale were £7.50, which you can get in a supermarket for circa £2. The quality of the food was not bad but completly spoiled by the meagre quantity. The breakfast was what you would expect in a three star B and B. The “Scottish breakfast platter” was a small plate with one slice of bacon, one egg, one hash brown, one slice of haggis, one sausage, one mushroom and one grilled tomato. No where near a four star hotel breakfast. The buffet had a few boxes of cereal, some fruit, and a couple of plates of cold meat and cheese, but no pastries, and no bread to put the meat and cheese on to. Again, this was what you’d expect in a mediocre B and B. Certainly not a four star hotel. Overall, this place has amazing potential and the staff were very enthusiastic but it’s badly let down by the lack of four star facilities, mediocre quality food and absolutely extortionate prices. We will...

Our stay was exceptional! From our arrival and being greeted by Michael, the hotel manager, personally shown to our room and provided with an overview of it's amenities, through our time in lounge / dining room to the end of our two-night stay, we could not have asked for a better combination - comfort, peace and tranquility, yet just a short (about 8 min) drive to Oban for shopping, restaurants and amenities.

Celebrating our 20th anniversary, Knipoch House had a calming effect on both of us, especially when we relaxed in our jr. suite with a cocktail overlooking a great view of the mountains and Loch Feochan.

This hotel allowed us to combine both relaxation surrounded by nature, with touring and shopping in Oban, a port village with plenty of charm and character, including convenient ferry access to Isle of Mull.

The Chef's breakfast, lunch and dinner creations are exceptional, both in presentation and taste, as was the lounge and dining experience as a whole.

Overall, in our opinion the Knipoch House Hotel is 5 star (by North American standards); our jr. suite was exceptionally appointed following renovations and had above average amenities, including floor heating. hands-free lighting control, new and elegant bathroom fixtures and room decor. The old adage that paying attention to detail certainly applies here.

Michael's repeated kindness and sense of humor made us feel so welcome, as though we were guests in his own home. His recommendations while visiting Oban were invaluable and time-saving.

Our junior suite was exactly the medicine we needed and more than we hoped for. If it is a being welcomed and pampered you are looking for and time away to destress, look no further. Knipoch House is the place to stay. We'll definitely...