Allan Park - pub, restaurant & coffee house (w/ rooms) — Restaurant in Scotland

Our last full day in Scotland and we needed a place to stay close enough to Glasgow Airport that we wouldn’t have to scramble in the morning — Stirling fit the bill perfectly. Based on the informative website, we felt fortunate to have booked a room at the Allan Park Hotel as it offered upscale amenities at a decent price, not to mention the rich and highly-touted menu from their on-site restaurant.

The reality was mostly accurate with some minor disappointments. The location of the hotel is great, close to the heart of town and the iconic Stirling Castle (though we didn’t have a lot of time to explore, more’s the pity). The hotel is well-appointed with all the amenities you'd expect. The staff were friendly and mostly helpful though we found our check-in person a little cold and detached — not exactly the warm welcome we’d grown used to during the rest of our stay (possibly because those were all B&Bs).

Our room was large and nicely decorated though we were a bit put off by its location — we were down on the lower level right by the kitchen door. I guess somebody has to get this room and we were the unlucky ones as there was a constant flow of foot traffic from the kitchen/serving staff going up and down the adjacent staircase. Our window also looked out onto the parking lot and back entrance where staff (and some hotel guests) seemed to congregate. But for all the superficial luxury, a closer inspection showed some wear and tear on the finer touches.

A minor problem with the Wi-Fi was met with a very helpful staff member who quickly came to our room to assess and remedy the issue.

Breakfast was included and while satisfying, we seemed to have caught the staff off guard as a few items had not even been set out (milk, sugar, butter etc.).

All in all, our stay was pleasant and comfortable with the exception of the points mentioned above. Would a longer stay have made it better or worse, I’m not sure. While the Allan Park seems higher end on the surface, it could have used just a bit more of that personal touch. Customer service was overall positive but there was just something missing that left us a...

Apologies this will be a rather long review as I have a lot of good things to say about The Allan Park! My husband and I stayed for four nights from 21-25th November for our son's graduation. We have been visiting Stirling for five years now, not sure why we have never stayed at The Allan Park?! Our mistake! We loved everything about our stay. We had the King Suite, which was so cosy, immaculately clean, bed was extremely comfortable and the room was very spacious. Amazing range of tea/coffee and snacks in the room too which we thoroughly enjoyed! Breakfast was beautiful, served in the dining room with a very civilised time span to enjoy it. Unfortunately due to health issues I had to forgo the full Scottish but had the pleasure of watching my husband thoroughly enjoy his! It was also lovely to witness locals/shoppers calling in for their morning coffee as it gave a nice buzz to the place. Lionel is the Manager, hope I've got that right? A true gentleman, very witty and charming and an expert at making you feel so welcome! Claire, who seemed to cover a lot of areas in the hotel was just amazing. She is so warm and friendly yet very professional. She was responsible for housekeeping when we stayed and our room was spotless every day and a very welcome refuge to return to! Unfortunately we were only free to enjoy dinner on our first evening during our stay due to other commitments of our own. We had a fabulous meal, everything was cooked to perfection! Also there is also ample private parking and easy access if you return late in the evening. We would have no hesitation in recommending the Allan Park and it will now be our preferred place to stay when we visit. Thank you for...

We'd booked a meal at the Allan Park to then go on to see Phil Cunningham's Christmas Songbook Show at the Albert Halls. At 15:30 on the afternoon of the show, an email landed. the subject line told the story - CANCELLED! The show was off. One of the touring team had gone down with Covid-19, and of course, that meant quarantine for all the musicians and NO show.

So, would we cancel the meal, or drive a 150km round trip just for dinner? You guessed it correctly... Dinner would have to live up to some great reviews, AND make up for the lack of a show. :-)

I'm pleased to say that it did live up to expectations. Excellent Slow Cooked Shin of Beef and Fish & Chips for the "normal" diners. For us Gluten-Free nightmares, a very filling burger with ALL the relishes! Food and drinks were priced very reasonably, given the quality of the food, decor and service.

Any observations? Well, just one (and it is the SMALLEST of suggestions). The GF burger bun is quite thick and a bit stodgy, but GF bread always is... I wonder if the GF Burger could taste even better if the bun was toasted? As I said... we're splitting microns of hairs here. :-)

So, the test... Did the meal "save" the night? Well, we had a great meal, drove for an hour back home, watched last years show on the TV, and I'm just getting around to writting the review almost seven hours after arriving at the hotel. So YES... It was worth it. And NEXT year when the show is on again, we'll make a return visit. But I hope that Covid-19 doesn't.

Happy...