The Whispering Pine Lodge — Hotel in Great Britain

TLDR: Not 4*, overpriced for the quality offered, very average food with high prices, confusing proposition. Wouldn't recommend.

The proposition of this hotel is all over the place and feels like it is being run by either an inexperienced team or someone lacking a complete vision. Firstly, we expected much more for the price - this place was significantly more expensive than a superb hotel we had stayed at a couple of nights before - £325/night vs £200/night and the contrast was significant. Where one we had comfort and amazing food, here we had 2 sleepless nights (more on that below) and very average food and service that is not aligned to the prices being charged (£150 for 2 course dinner for 2). In short - it's way overpriced for what it offers.

The place needs a rethink and attention to detail. The decor is a bit all over the place and feels like a wine mom with a pinterest obsession for lifestyle quotes was in charge of design. The sloped gravel driveway needs some attention as it has effectively potholes all over, there are weird light-up plastic trees outside. I'd say more than 50% of the food on the menu is Indian (which is fine, I assume it is their strength but not really Scottish highland vibes and not what we were looking for) and the rest was just not up to scratch, certainly for the £24-30 price of mains. For context, I live in Central London so am used to paying these kind of prices but also know what kind of standard this needs for it to feel fair value. Our previous hotel's restaurant prices were similar but the food was excellent in comparison.

Mostly, these are niggles, but the biggest challenge we had was sleeping. Our room had a light on all night that we could not turn off. When we complained about this we were told it was an emergency light and a legal requirement. This just shows inexperience and an inability to understand the law. I travel a LOT, internationally and domestically and it just is not true that hotel rooms need to have a little green light on all night. We were offered eye-masks, which is a bit like the hotel putting a noise machine all night and offering us earplugs to deal with it. We declined in favour of the light being sorted. It was taped over the next day which helped a bit, only for us to then find the next night that ALL the outdoor lights, including the weird plastic light up tree, path lighting and fairy lights were on full and blasting light through our window.

We called down to reception ask for the lights to be turned off (it was 11pm at this point) and were told it wasn't possible to turn them off. Roughly 45 minutes later, someone called back and said they'd managed to turn them off. Why the place needs to be lit up all night like its Piccadilly Circus is beyond me in the first place.

Overall, somewhat disappointing and at times frustrating. Needs a shift in approach, a lot of refinement and a reflection on the prices being charged for quality and service on offer.

If you want an expensive pit-stop to take a couple of nice shots overlooking the lake to share on 'the gram' then this place is fine, if you want Highland vibes, cosy spaces, good food and comfort, I'd suggest...

An Exceptional visit, from the moment I first spoke to the Hotel Manager Puneet Asawa, I had a good feeling about this place and the booking- I was not disappointed and it indeed exceeded my expectations; set in stunning Highland scenery with breathtaking and ever changing Loch and mountain views. We stayed in a balcony room, which was very well appointed with the luxury of underfloor heating throughout (no ugly radiators!), and breathtaking loch views. The Hotel in general has been thoroughly modernised- but in a tasteful and respectful way- honouring the old Scottish traditions and decoration; it was very clean and well maintained. Magically lit at night, which was particularly appealing, given the time of year. It also has its own private pebble beach, great for our dog swimming! (they accept dogs- which is just as well otherwise we would not have been able to visit), and photographic opportunities. All the staff were wonderful, friendly, smiley and helpful; in particular Puneet, was very welcoming and professional. The main dining room has a warm and airy feel, with fantastic ever-changing views, through full length glass windows, of loch and mountains. On the first morning breakfast was individually cooked and brought to the table (as the hotel was relatively quiet)- this was cooked to perfection, on the other mornings, as they were busier- a buffet style was available- this wasn’t quite as good- but still of a good quality (I perfectly understand that, it is not practical to individually cook breakfasts, when they are busy); in all cases the choice was good and the service excellent throughout. The menu in the evening specialises in Indian food, Scottish/UK and European menus were also available; I have attained a fair degree of competency in the cooking of Indian food myself- all be it in an amateur capacity, as a consequence of this, I am often disappointed when eating out, not in this case! The potato and cauliflower biryani was of exceptional quality, in terms of presentation, spicing and quality and quantity – it was indeed quite something special- that I have been unable to recreate at home!! The restaurant service was also very good, as was the house red wine- which they hold back for the next evening- if you don’t finish the whole bottle on the first night. The restaurant food and wine prices are a little ‘toppy’, but the quality and service are excellent. One nice touch, in the afternoon a young man would come to our room and offer complimentary bottled water and a cake, this was appreciated. The hotel has an onsite spar treatment rooms, which my Wife commented were excellent. All in all, a big thank you to all the staff, we had a most enjoyable stay, certainly the best Hotel we have stayed...

We usually go abroad during the summer but because the covid crisis it would be safer to stay in UK. We spent 3 days (22nd – 25th Aug) at Whispering pines at a cost of £1100 and were allocated one of the lower scale rooms (No.7) which was overlooking the loch. We discovered that things were not as advertised soon after arrival. We were offered no assistance with our baggage when we arrived despite us having our disabled son who found it awkward going through all the doors and stairs to the room. We were charged £50 for an extra foldaway bed as there were 3 of us. After an 8-hour drive from England (We were too tired to drive 18 miles back to Fort William or 8 Miles to Spean Bridge to dine) The evening meal we had was extortionately priced and of only average quality and quantity. The evening meal came to just under £100 and I was particularly disappointed at the curry I ordered which amounted to a small bowl of Chicken Amritsari which consisted of a small bowl of chicken in a bland sauce and a small nan bread. Wine was £8.00 per glass We ate out at Fort William the second night and brought 2 bottles of beer back to enjoy in the room. I phoned reception asked for a bottle opener and was told that there was only one bottle opener available in the lodge and if I wanted to use it I should bring the bottle of beer to reception to have it opened.

There are a number of other things on the Whistling Pines web site which and should be corrected. The Website states: ‘We have put together ‘our own’ signature experiences from which to explore the Highlands.’ • Aigas Golf course is nearly 6o miles away. • Skye Ferry, is over 50 miles away • Glencoe is nearly 40 miles away. • Highland Pony Trekking at Glen Shiel is 40 miles away • Motorbike Rentals– is in Inverness which is nearly 60 miles away. Also: • The lodge is not in Spean Bridge (8 Miles away) or near Fort William which is about 16 miles away. • Breakfast is not free. (It is included in the overall price) • There is no room service. If something needs doing in the room the guest has to phone reception and wait for someone to come • There is a lodge drop off/pick up service (at ‘reasonable distances’) for £20. • There was an extra charge of £50.00 for extra bed. We have been to Scotland many times and thoroughly enjoyed it, but on this occasion arrived back home in England feeling extremely tired and feeling we had been ‘fleeced’ and realising that main thing we learned had learned from our experience at Whistling Pines Lodge was not to take what is in the website or brochure as necessarily being accurate. We won’t be back to any of Black Sheep...