Portsonachan Hotel & Lodges Avaliações 58

We were put in a coach house with stairs after stimulating ground floor as my friend can not walk up stairs. The place was dirty, the heating broke down, the service in the hotel was disgraceful with terse and useless waiters. The damp, dirty and stained towels were placed back on the back on the beds as if they were clean. Booked for 4 nights and left after 2 leaving two lists of complaints, my list had 17 items on it, my friend's complaints was in the form of an essay. Please no one waste your time and money. After reading other peoples' bad experiences over a length of time, it seems they have not learnt from their mistakes and tardy attitude. I too bought this from a show in Ripon with a beautiful picture of a country hotel, which turned out a cross between Fawlty Towers and Belson.

I was giving this hotel the benefit of the doubt and not post a negative review, however having read previous reviews its obvious they haven't taken previous customers comments seriously at all. We were booked in for 4 nights. So many comments to make I've bullet pointed.
*The entrance had access buttons but heavy metal decoration on entrance to hotel far too heavy and awkward to open and keep open. Difficult for most folk let alone those with additional physical needs.
*No lift, stairs had plastic edging that was badly fitted and kept catching shoes.
*numerous drop down steps throughout with no signage.
THE BRUCE ROOM
*Nightmare to get to. At no point were we asked if we had access needs.
*Bath with hand held shower,no curtain , no slip sheet. Again not accessible for some people with infirmities
*Bed was basically some lumpy stuffing in what was a box on the floor.
*Window was hanging off its hinges.
*Dog hair all over the place and the remote control for the telly was chewed to bits.
*The Bruce Room should not be offered to guests, its unfit for purpose.
We requested to change / upgrade which we were given. (A couple we spoke to did the exact same as us the day before)
MACINNES ROOM.
*Shower didn't work. Random hot and cold.
*Bed on slant so constantly felt like you were falling out.
*One shelf in bathroom. It was tilted down so nothing stayed on it.
*Shower was filthy and extractor fan didn't work.
*No information in the rooms on fire drill, exit routes or assembly points. What looked like a fire alarm had no flashing light indicating it was broken or disconnected.
RESTAURANT
*First night we were told we couldn't get pizza or burgers to our table but could get them as room service! 2 other couples ordered burgers and pizza which was served at their table. We settled for a chicken dish.
*We ordered 2 bottles of beer. They came in a glass (not a huge problem) but the reason given was for health an safety reasons we couldn't get bottles. 3 other tables had bottled beer. By now I had moved our experience into the humorous side of my brain. The next night we got burgers and beer in bottles with no problem.
*Breakfast was chaotic. Only 2 staff, communication between them non existent. Had to ask for bowls and cutlery as did other guests and even offered to help. Orders were getting mixed up, cooked breakfast were cold and several of the guests were commenting to each other re the poor service. I eventually got the tea I ordered and had to ask for milk. The response from the staff was an exasperated sigh (I dont actually blame him, they were running about mad) however his solution was to give me the jug from the cereal area. I pointed out that would cause more problems at the cereal table. I took it back.
*No bin near the cereal table resulting in discarded boxes overflowing on it.
*cups, cutlery stained and crusty.
Guests were commenting to each other how bad it was and references to Fawlty Towers were bandied about.
The staff tried their best but I did leave (a day early) feeling the owners knew absolutely nothing about running a hotel or communicating with staff. It's a shame really it's such a beautiful location and has great potential.

We have stayed in Rannoch, the wheelchair -accessible apartment several times. During 2023 we stayed in March and September / October suffering problems with heating and hot water supply intermittently. Before our stay over Christmas and New year we were assured that many parts of the system had been replaced and it was 'signed off'. We arrived on 22nd December and over 4 days we only had half a day of warmth and 2 afternoons of hot water despite daily attention from maintenance staff. By Christmas Day we decided we could not take any more and informed Reception that we were leaving after only 4 nights of our 17 - night booking due to the issues. Despite a formal complaint we have received no recompense even though this clearly fell below a minimum standard of accommodation. The Scottish Tourist Board told me that this hotel does not have a rating with them, which says it all. I suggest you avoid staying unless it is the height of summer. We will not be staying there again.

Myself and my Daughter booked a new years stay at the portsonochan when we visited the Cheshire show summer 2023. We looked forward to it the rest of the year we had two dogs so booked a stay in one of the lodges which turned out to be Leven. We arrived on the 29th of December at just gone 3pm and due to Loch Awe being so calm decided to go paddle boarding, I fell in and due to being cold decided to go back to the lodge for a shower. This is when the problems started, no hot water.... I rang the hotel off my mobile as the room phone would not work and was told it would be sorted out within 20 minutes, the heating also was not working. The bathroom tap was no more than a trickle and we had to boil the kettle to get a wash. Luckily my friend had booked a lakeside lodge which was on a different heating system so we ate at hers that night, but on return to Leven the heating nor water still wasn't working so we rang the hotel again. A lady came to our lodge with a heater and did offer us a room in the hotel to have a shower but due to having the dogs and the fact they seemed to be attempting to fix the situation we said we would stay. We slept in our clothes and left the heater on which was just about bearable. Due to having a busy planned schedule we had breakfast at my friend's lodge and went off for the day. Upon return still no heating or water and the phone still hadn't been fixed. I went to the hotel and was informed they were still trying to rectify the situation. Two men came into the room and then left. No running tap water other than a trickle and no hot water, I managed to get the heating to start by moving the wall thermostat but it was very intermittent and so we kept the heater we had been provided. This the brought us to new years eve. We made quite and effort as we had been told New year in Scotland is fabulous. We had paid an extra £80 each for what was described as a champagne dinner, entertainment and fireworks. We all went to the hotel only to find we hadn't got a table, we were told it was a 1st come 1st serve. I was at this point very unimpressed to say the least and expressed that due to the circumstances we had already been subjected to that this was totally unacceptable. We was then found a table. The food provided was in the form of a buffet, which to be fair was very nice but unfortunately there were no plates and when they arrived we also had to ask for cutlery to eat with. On this we felt quite disappointed and returned to our room and decided we would go back to watch the fire works and welcome in the new year. We went to watch the fire works and we're offered a glass of prosseco or a bells whiskey... not quite the champagne we thought we had paid for but the piper began playing and then the fire works and they were excellent. Luckily we had booked a spa day on new years day and we packed up ready to leave early on the 2nd. I understand that the hotel had problems and sympathise that some may of been out of their control but on reflection it was a poor show, the rooms were not very clean we had to drink bottled water which wasn't a problem but we had to get our own,the towels were not replaced neither were tea, coffee or milk or toilet roll. We used bottled water in the kettle but due to boiling it to get a wash noticed lots of sediment coming out of it so don't think it had been descaled for a long time. The radiator also leaked from when the two men came in to try to fix the heating and was never fixed. We spent 4 days without any running hot water and pretty much no heating other than a small electric heater given to us on our 2nd day. Since returning home I have had flu and a bad chest infection. We made the best of a very bad situation and it's only due to my friend being booked into a lake side lodge on a different heating system we were able to. So much potential but so little effort even down to the basics such a shame.

Absolutely awful hotel,
Paid in advance for 4 days to use their boats for fishing.. apparently loch awe had too much water in it for their boats so generally a terrible start and a wasted trip

Took 3 hrs to be served food on first night, service was a joke with clueless waiters bringing out hot ‘sides’ an hr before meal was ready.

Breakfast on 3 mornings was awful, burnt toast , stone cold tea, arsey waiters

The crockery in disgusting condition in both the room and the restaurant, particularly at breakfast

Rooms were left unchanged with dirty cups and a disgusting tea pot

Everywhere stank of dogs and was generally unclean

The stairs were unsafe with a bannister and post that was falling apart,

Got back to hotel
On third night to be told tgere would be no/limited food after seven due to a leak

No hot water in rooms on first day

Left a day early as fed up with the dire quality of this smelly awful hotel with Fawlty
towers service and excuses

Very friendly and polite staff, smallish but well appointed and decorated room with everything that you need. We stayed for 4 nights and very comfortable, food excellent every day and very reasonably priced well worth the 10/15 minute drive off the main road. Great views in every direction. McKay.

Really thoughtful and accommodating staff, tasty food and an amazing location and views- a very reasonable price as well. We would definitely come back if we’re in the area again.
Highly recommend this place.

We booked a 4 night getaway at Portsonachan Hotel during a Craft Show at Bantock House earlier this year. The promotional materials and sales patter were brilliant, our experience was not.

The carpet in our room was dirty; it had dark stains on it which had clearly been there for some time. You couldn’t see your face in the dressing table mirror - but you could write your name in the dust on it!
The conservatory dining area had dead flies on the window sills and the roof leaked during the heavy rain. We had one day with absolutely NO water at all; we couldn’t shower, wash or even use the toilet. The next day we had low pressure cold water but still no hot water to shower in. While we appreciate that the water comes from the loch, we would expect a back-up supply or at least to be informed about what was going on.
We had to enquire about this and were told different things by different members of staff, meaning we had waited hours to have a shower before learning that it was a big problem that would take hours to fix. Never was this apologised for or any sort of gesture of goodwill offered for our inconvenience. 

We booked our break through a Portsonachan Hotel promotions rep who said he would upgrade us to full Scottish breakfast, instead of continental, if we booked at the show, but this wasn’t honoured. The owner said she knew nothing about this- despite the fact that I had noted it in the additional comments section of their online registration form, which was also displayed in the confirmation email I received from the hotel. I also phoned the hotel on the day I registered and mentioned the upgrade. She said she knew nothing about it but would speak to him and note it. She had 3 months in which to get back to us, but never did.

We were informed about a wide range of wildlife that we would be able to see at the hotel during our stay, inferring that they were in the grounds, but this was in fact not the case. The nearest next place was at least 4 miles down a single track road and we couldn’t find access to any grounds that would allow us to explore wildlife on our doorstep.

The manager, who was manning the desk the majority of the time, was rude. Her manner and attitude were not what you would expect to find in hospitality and we spoke to other guests who shared the same opinion of her. She implied that we hadn’t paid a lot for our stay and should be happy with what we had; they set the show price, and offered the upgrade as a deal breaker, not us!

Would we return to this hotel or recommend it to others? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were checked in by Danny. The most happy helpful man you could wish for. He walked me down to our pet friendly coach house chatting and letting me know about breakfast times for the next morning. I explained that we needed a fast breakfast as we’re headed up to climb Ben Nevis. Because of this, Danny arranged for a lovely breakfast hamper to be delivered to our room extra early and also arranged for us to take a packed lunch with us - ensuring we didn’t leave without 2 of everything we could possibly want.
Our evening meal was really nice but there were a few things not available (not overly surprising given the rural location).
The room was ok. It is pet friendly and you could tell - smells a bit like wet dog, it could have been cleaner but the bed was clean and fresh. Didn’t really like having to move the rodent bait/trap as soon as I walked in. I only interacted with a few of the staff members and they were all lovely. At present, they are probably the best thing (as well as location) for this business, if our room is typical, then the rooms just need a bit more effort put into them.

We have just spent a week here and can highly recommend the Loch side cabins . We absolutely loved our stay , the cabins were warm , cosy , very clean and they’re dog friendly . The staff were friendly and nothing was too much trouble , great customer service throughout out our stay and when added to the breathtaking scenery it all added to a fantastic week . We will definitely be rebooking in the near future .

Visited on two occasions. Second time was with a voucher due to previous problems. Left reviews after those visits but reason I’m forced to leave one now is due to seeing Liz Parker on “Four in a bed” on TV where Liz describes herself as the passionate owner. Yet when we visited we had problem with Coach House being dirty and she arrived to do a deep clean. Yet afterward we moved one of beds to discover dirty sock & huge clumps of fluff under bed …. some deep clean. What annoys me though is that Liz introduced herself to us as an occasional helper during summer season who had come to help out as Hotel was struggling with staff shortage! If you’re so passionate why not admit you’re the owner. Not impressed.

We arrived a bit early on Monday so had to wait for cleaning to be finished so yook our dog a walk arounf the loch. Upon eventually check in we were told cleaners might be mopping but was fine to go along, we were also told the hot tub lid had been prevously damaged but was still useable and the new lid would arrive the next day. When we got there no one was there and it was evident the place had not been cleaned in some time, 3 areas of wall had been patched with gyproc ( an accident with previous guests so i was told when complaining later) My partner hoovered the living room area as soon as we entered before I noticed all my other complaints. A new cooker had been fitted and screws and cable cuttings were all over kitchen floor, one of the couch arms was collapsed and a cigarette burn on the couch, balcony pillows were covered in bird poo, given the location one or two might have been expected but this was saturated. Hot tub was cold and full of flys, there was a rodent bait station in the kitchen and also one in the bedroom wardrobe, the upstairs floors were filthy with cobwebs everywhere. We called reception who sent someone out so we were then told to go over to reception to have a drink while it was cleaned. We sat outside with our dog and Liz came over to offer us a meal in the restaurant as this would allow housekeeping staff time to clean, which we accepted and enjoyed. She discussed how they has an issue getting a group to leave that morning and how the owner was pretty poorly with covid so couldn't deal with the problems personally but she would contact air bnb for a partial refund the next day due to the damages as the cost didn't reflect the quality of the place. Upon returning to the cabin it did look visibly cleaner. The next morning when making the beds we noticed how filthy the bed bases were. At this point I was ready to leave but was still waiting on contact from reception about the partial refund so didn't want to leave just yet. Unbelievably on 2 different occasions men dropped cleaning products off for us during the afternoon, but when using the sauna in the evening my son stood on a piece of glass so I cleaned the area myself finding more debris, glass and a screw, a brand new mop head was filthy after just one wipe and took 3 buckets to get it in a usable state. I decided enough was enough and packed our things to leave first thing in the morning and contacted air bnb myself who after seeing all the photos issued a full refund straight away. I'm so greatful we booked through Air BnB as i feel had we not we would be at a loss of over £1000

First the good.
The drive in was beautiful, very scenic and peaceful. Perfect location for lodges.
The lodge itself was a good size and layout.

Where to start with the bad?
The lack of staff, the lying owners and the state of the place is absolutely shocking.

We first arrived and the hot tub was freezing cold, when we called reception we were told it should only be a couple of hours.
While we wait we start unpacking and checking out the lodge. We had cigarette buts in the sauna, dirty dishes in the kitchen, mouldy food in the cupboard.
The bedrooms were worse, clear reminants of tobacco and cannabis in one drawer, dirty underwear including soiled pants and an old bra in another drawer and a bloodstain on one set of bedding.

Eventually a maintenance man came to help with the hot tub, he cleaned out the dirty underwear in the drawer and explained that the mess is because two staff walked out and the 2 remaining cleaners had 8 hours to do the whole hotel and lodges.

The hot tub was still freezing and by about 8 so we called and spoke to the owner who explained she had been up since 5am and was tired and stated the maintenance man who gave us the excuse about staff was lying and that he was going to be sacked because of it. She arranged a meeting with us at 10am the next morning to discuss things.

By midnight the hot tub had reached about 24C and a couple of our party tried it out. Lasting about 15 mins.

Next morning the owners husband turned up for the meeting. Promised he'd fix the hot tub and that we could get a free meal in the restaurant. He also reiterated the member of staff was getting sacked for lying to us.
We told him that we feel that telling us that is unprofessional and we felt the guy was genuinely just trying to explain why the lodge was unclean. We were then told that he had also failed health and safety checks so on top of the lying he was sacked either way.
We told him we would just prefer a discount for the whole stay rather than eat in the restaurant and he said that was fine.

At check out he pulled us to the side and said we were spotted in the hot tub on Friday night and therefore he was not going to honour his promise of a discount. He said to one of our party that she was stuck up for thinking she deserves a discount in the first place.

This place needs a health and safety check and the owners need to learn how to run a place.

Absolute waste of £700.

Sadly not a good experience. The hotel itself is lovely both location wise and facilities wise. Its a bit dated but considering its location its understandable. We came with our 2 dogs and we were put into an adorable little flat so the pups had enough room which i appreciate. The food was lovely but sadly the staff members attitudes let the whole experience down.
In our little flat the bath had a whole in it and it flooded the bathroom and into the hallway. We called and made them aware and they said they would get someone out to sort it. After nagging and nagging a very rude receptionist told us to still use it and we refused due to the fact it not only will flood the room but will go downstairs to the people below which isnt fair.
At this point we were very upset as we just wanted to have a shower and no alternative was offered on the basis of they didn't have any staff to sort it.

After trying to find a manager to speak to as all we wanted was a shower they finally got a maintenance guy in who said that the whole bath needs replacing and there is nothing they can do until we leave.

We called reception again and said we just want somewhere to shower and clean ourselves up and that we felt like the woman we spoke to at reception did not care about the situation. I was told that they would see what they could do.

When we next went down to the reception the staff member in question thought it was appropriate to shout at my wife over the fact we said we felt like she did not care which brought my wife to tears.

The hotel were very aware that my wife has PTSD and she has a assistance dog with her for this.

This rude woman set my wife off so badly that she refused to go into the reception area out of fear and spent the final evening of our trip crying and refusing to go into the main building for fear of being shouted at again.

In the end we never got offered any shower and ended up going into our in laws tiny room to try and use their shower which admittedly we should not have done due to one of the dogs not being allowed into a non dog friendly room (assistance dog can legally but our pet dog does not have that right) but we had no choice as we needed a wash and they did not offer any alternative.

So yeah
Facilities and the place itself was amazing and has great potential.

But the staff need a major attitude adjustment. We really wanted to come back next year but my wife refuses to go back incase that awful receptionist does it again.

Take disabilities into consideration as we made you very aware since the initial booking years ago that my wife has mental health issues but you still thought it okay to speak to her in that way.

February 2019 I rec,d call from Portsonachan Hotel offering 3 day offer for £99 each and because we had been there before and Upgrade to Loch View Room, sounded good and confirmation of deal was confirmed in writing.
Arranged dates for 1st week in June 2021 following Covid.
We spoke to Portsonnachan a number of times and as ex Pats and having been isolating for 18 months due to my wifes health.
We now live in Herefordshire and had 400+ mile drive and arrived at Portsonnachan Hotel to be told we were not booked into a Loch View Room but were offered a damp grubby room. Although I have confirmation in writing I was fobbed off by Tracey and staff at the Hotel.
Please be careful and if it sounds too good to be true walk away! Brian Macnamara.