Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa — Restaurant in Scotland

I booked a two night stay arriving on my birthday (28th December). The cost of a standard room B&B in total was £350. The person I should of been travelling with couldn’t get the time off work, which was a bit upsetting, but I decided to stay myself as I really needed the break. I drove 2.5hours from home in wet/snowy conditions and arrived at reception, tired, to an extremely frosty welcome. There were no guests being served, however I was left to stand and wait whilst around 5-6 staff members (including kitchen staff) sat/stood talking to each other. This made me feel extremely uncomfortable. When they did finally call me forward the man I spoke to was downright rude. Not welcoming in the slightest, and definitely not the 4star welcome I was expecting. I’ve had better at a Travelodge/Premier Inn tbh. After I went to my room to drop my bags I went back down to reception as I realised he hadn’t asked me about booking for dinner, to which I was curtly told “we are fully booked”. I tried to explain it was my birthday and I really wanted a nice meal in the restaurant. The man coldly repeated again that they were full. I explained I had called and asked if I had to book the week previously and has been told no, that they would arrange this when I checked in. I was then basically accused of lying.. an older women sat next to him interrupted saying “well I’m the only person who’s been on this week and I wouldn’t of told you that” I was nearly in tears at this point. What made it worse was that whilst this conversation was taking place, what looked like a manager was stood behind them both letting this conversation continue. I have never been spoken to like that before, let alone when I’m paying £350 for my stay… at a 4-star (god knows how they managed to get that) hotel. This manager (unsure of his title) finally agreed to let me have dinner at 8:45. When I did arrive, the restaurant was dead. There were 4 couples all sitting around the edge of the room, whilst I (eating alone) was sat right in the centre of the room where everyone could see me. The lights were very bright and I felt extremely uncomfortable. The only thing stopping me from leaving was the lovely young waitress (I didn’t get her name) who helped put me at ease straight away with her pleasant, friendly manner.

In relation to my room (311) I had no real issue with this. However, I did notice the window seemed to be rotten and there was mould in the bottom corners where the wood panelling met the carpet. But the bed was very comfortable, and the shower warm and powerful. The bathroom in general was lovely.

I have no complaints about the food at dinner or breakfast… both very enjoyable. Although, a token gesture at dinner on my birthday would of been nice. Clearly, no one cared.

One of the only saving grace’s of this place are the spa facilities, which I used all throughout my stay. I believe they have recently had an upgrade. The outdoor hot tubs and sauna are brilliant on a crisp day/night. I believe the area is open 7am until 8pm.

In conclusion, I doubt I would return. Whilst the spa facilities may claim that 4 star rating.. the reception staff (middle aged man with glasses and older women with short white hair and glasses) are an absolute disgrace and clearly need better training in how to treat and speak to people. Particularly young women travelling alone.

I’d also like to point out that whilst at the hotel for 3 days I heard countless other guests making complaints about all different things, to which they seemed to be completely brushed off by the reception staff members. These people clearly do not enjoy there job or do not know how to deal with guests who are paying a good amount of money...

This is our second stay at the Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa and I'll start with the positives:

*Great location, close enough to walk to Inveraray, with a lovely outlook towards the water.

*Pleasant staff, from the receptionist, to the female working on the spa desk and the suited gentleman working in the bar/restaurant - all really nice people.

*Plenty of parking spaces to the front and rear of the property.

*Dog-friendly - we didn't bring a dog but other guests did during our stay and there were no negatives for us associated with the dog-friendly nature of the hotel.

*A well stocked bar with plenty of choice.

*A lovely warm jacuzzi and swimming pool, with plenty of towels and robes/sandals provided prior to check-in - brilliant!

*Tea/coffee/water/biscuits/kettle/hairdryer all provided.

*Comfortable beds/pillows.

*Heated towel rail in the bathroom.

*An overall nice 'feel' to the hotel.

However, at almost £300 per night, room only (Booking.com), and even more for our date directly with the hotel, there were some things about our experience that made us feel that attention to detail is lacking.

Having requested a quieter room than the one we had last time, I was surprised that our family room directly faced the lift and had an adjoining door to the room next door.

Thankfully, those 'through the door' were reasonably quiet but there was no escaping the noise from the lift and those using it.

Of course, in any hotel, you will hear other guests coming and going, but when you explicitly request a quieter room, when the hotel is quieter, according to hotel staff, you would hope that the request would be accommodated.

It left me wondering what room(s) should specifically be requested, when you truly want a quieter room in the hotel, because we like the hotel and can see ourselves returning. I also wonder if those booking through third-party websites are allocated the 'lesser' rooms perhaps?

The room itself was nice but the security chain on the door was broken, the toilet didn't flush properly, the magnifying mirror in the bathroom was broken and the extractor fan stayed on for 15-20 minutes after the bathroom light went on which made a night-time toilet trip sound like Glasgow Airport in the dead of night. The hairdryer in the room was overheating because the fan was thick with dust which I subsequently removed.

There was a coffee machine in the room but no instructions for how to use it nor was there any indication of what flavour the different pods were - Google and YouTube to the rescue.

Our main reason for visiting the hotel was to use the spa facilities, which enjoyed overall. However, we arrived at around 11 am and despite only one other couple using the facilities, the changing room and toilet floors were disgusting. I don't know what the cleaning schedule looks like but we left at about 3.30pm and they were still dirty. Other than that, the steam room lacked...steam!

Do the negatives outweigh the positives? Not necessarily but being the type of hotel it is, I feel like there's scope for the management to act on constructive feedback as a means to continually improve the guest experience.

We look forward to returning...

The below review is based only on my time spent at the Loch Fyne Hotel on dates between 29.3.25 and 31.3.25. It is a true and accurate review based on my experience only.

On arrival I was met with polite and attentive staff and the process was quick. I paid £300 for 2 nights room only for my partner and I. This was to celebrate my birthday and mother's day.

The building was nice and warm. Our room was a standard room and if I'm honest it was more than enough. Big, clean and functional. The TV didn't work initially but got it going eventually then it went offline again for the remainder of the stay. Hotel said they would help but too late by then. The kettle only worked sometimes when you held the button up manually. Technically still got my coffee though. Nice complimentary tunnocks selection aswell as tea and coffee. Shower/toilet clean with complimentary shower gel and shampoo. Towels, robes and slippers all supplied.

The spa itself was nice enough. The steam room and sauna are quite small so beware but the pool is large enough albeit temperature can vary. There is a nice hot tub inside and one outside you can hire for £20 per hour. There were missing mosaic tiles from the indoor hot tub so hopefully it won't get worse.

First night we ordered room service. The burger was top notch but the Penne pasta was mushy and far far too spicy. I'm not a picky eater but that was a disappointing dish. It was delivered on time and by polite staff. I'm sure if I had mentioned to staff about the pasta they would have dealt with it but again it was late at night and my partner had fallen asleep.

Bed was warm and comfy.

The next morning I had ordered room service again with the full Scottish aswell as the vegetarian option for my partner and also coffee and tea. It arrived on time by polite staff members. The breakfasts as far as I was concerned were the best I've had. There was even 3 egg options brought to the room. The scrambled egg was simply outstanding. Coffee top quality.

Had a great walk into town which was barely 10 minutes walk. On my return played a few board games and drank quite a bit from the bar. Went outside in the sun. Great view. Great time.

Returned to room which had been remade to a high standard.

There were two staff issues I saw which I will take to the hotel directly and so not included in this review. However most of the staff were on their A game.

Did I enjoy my time? Yes. Would i come back? Yes. Was it value for money? It's all subjective. I had to pay £15 each for breakfast for both days so an additional £60. Breakfasts and choice and quality outstanding so worth the cost especially on a special occasion.

All in all I enjoyed my time here despite some minor negatives. However what place doesn't have some issues? Standards must never slip and hope the hotel takes my comments as...