Portsonachan Hotel & Lodges Anmeldelser 

#### REVOLTING!!! ###### This has to be the filthiest hotel in the world!! We stayed in a 'chalet'. On arrival we had to scrub the toilet. The only toilet paper available was a used(!) piece on the toilet floor. The bedding was covered in stains (looked like blood, other bodily fluids, and a big boot print). One of the towels was covered in damp black stains. The inside of the bin lid was covered in old food. The cups and glasses had not been washed. We were warned that the water would be brown but we didn't expect mud in the bath! The food in the restaurant was certainly not Michelin starred. Soggy greens beans and broccoli were disgusting! The staff couldn't care less. We aired our grievance and their customer service was non-existent. They gave us the option of another room but when we looked at it, the bedding was all ripped!!! Do yourself a favour - stay some where else!

No hot water, at all throughout our stay, no water at all from hot tap,,! Food expensive and just bad. Nothing served as was described on menu, staff were mostly friendly hardworking and lovely, but had to cut our stay short in search of civilization

Ruined my parents 35th wedding anniversary and haven’t bothered to reply to their complaint in 3 weeks.
My parents drove up from Newcastle for a what was supposed to be a 4 night stay but they returned home after just 1 night. The hotel is grotty, run down and dirty. The room was dusty and bathroom covered in black mould. They waited over an hour for their breakfast and, when it came, the full Scottish breakfast was cremated and had clearly sat under a heat lamp for that full time, whilst the scrambled eggs were undercooked and watery and were pooling on the plate. Not once did any member of staff acknowledge them or apologise. At this point, my parents were so upset with the poor service and poor quality of the venue that they decided just to leave and drive home. They are both in their 60s and do not like confrontation so returned their card to reception and informed that they were leaving. When the receptionist enquired, my parents just said the place was disgusting and left upset to drive for 4.5 hours back home.
Upon their return, they sent a formal complaint by email outlining the problems and asking for a refund. They received 1 reply from ‘reception’ which was shocking in itself. Not anywhere in that email did they apologise for the poor quality and service but instead took the opportunity to blame my 60+ year-old parents for all of the issues, ‘shouting’ disgusting at the receptionist and excused the breakfast by saying they ‘had a trainee chef on’ - again, no apology for this and insinuating that it should be brushed under the carpet rather than addressed? From the state of the breakfast the trainee chef shouldn’t have made it past day one if he can’t even make scrambled eggs properly!
In said email they also accused my Dad of asking for a free room upgrade to a lake view which they ‘tried to accommodate’ - no he didn’t and no they didn’t. My dad merely mentioned not having a view and that was all there was to it. A single sentence which they then tried to use in their email to almost attempt to paint my parents in a poor light from the moment they arrived.
Their solution to the complaint was to offer my parents to go back up for another stay in that same dirty, mouldy, dusty hotel which cant cook a simple breakfast - and is also a nine hour round-trip from their home…
we have since emailed to the hotel twice more to request a refund and they have completely ignored them since. we are now having to get in touch with the bank and clean back the money that way. don’t even bother with this place, there are much nicer and cleaner venues for less money!
Look at the other reviews and you can see the clear pattern.

I have stayed at Portsonachan three times. We have laughed buckets, walked, swam, met some great people and made memories. Thank you to all the staff who have made our stay comfortable and welcoming. A special thank you from our dog who was made so welcome as a guest. You can’t beat a good gravy bone! 🐾🐾 A great hotel in a beautiful location. Back soon.

Do yourself a favour: give this place a wide berth

This was a dreadful experience. The facilities were poor with no drinking water, dirty and neglected toilet facilities, a very poor standard of basic hygiene; the public areas were coated with dust and dog-hairs. The reception was non existent, there were far too few members of staff. The dining area was replete with thick dust, chipped paintwork and was very tired.

The food service was laughable, on three occasions we had to find cloths to wipe the tables before we sat down. The average wait was around 45 minutes even where there were few diners. Even the basics like napkins and cutlery were overlooked. The chap at reception seemed far more intent on his publication to help. There were only two members of staff in evidence; clearly not trained in hospitality. We felt sorry for them.

We were not sure whether we were watching the precursor to an insolvency event; the place looks as if it is being run-down, or that we were experiencing the gross incompetence of the well-meaning amateur.

The Hotel owner took three unauthorised payments from our bank card and despite a number of emails and telephone calls, it has not been refunded. This overpayment was flagged up before we arrived, and we were promised by Liz Parker that this would be rectified immediately. Indeed, since this Thursday , whether out of hubris, ignorance or plain malfeasance ,they no longer speak to my wife or myself on the telephone, except to say that the conversation is over before hanging up on me. Such is their grasp and expert practice where customer service is concerned.

They have not responded to recent emails, offered any apology or acknowledgement. In the beginning they deflected blame toward their finance dept. (if such a thing exists) .
We have alerted the bank, written to the ombudsmen and are in conversation with Police to ascertain whether fraud has indeed occurred.
Given that this was almost a month ago, and given that they have not honoured their pledges, we have decided that these people can not be trusted and seem unable to refund us.

This is a genuine review. we are able to defend these assertions competently.
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Beautiful setting. Stunning scenery. Absolutely unkempt and dirty. Management were rude and unhelpful. Was told because we were on a voucher it didn't cover housekeeping. No water one day and then no hot water for the rest of our stay. Mentioned it to the owner who said no-one else had mentioned it. Food was excellent but decided they didn't deserve our money so went up the road to eat and drink. Absolutely great. They called us more portsonachan refuges. That says it all. One member of staff was getting cutlery and serviettes ready, stopped halfway through to brush his hair and tie it up. Then carried on and finished the job. They keep sending me emails and ringing. Really you couldn't pay me to stay

Arrived at 4pm to book in, we then found out we weren't staying in the hotel, but in the courtyard. It looked unkempt and uninviting, but we went up an outside stair, and the room was damp and smelling fusty, layers of dust everywhere, lights not working, stained bedsheets. So back down to hotel reception and they were going to sort it, room cleaned etc. After an hour and half we were allowed back in the room. No refreshments were offered. Booked in for dinner at 7pm, but the wedding meal was running over, no extra staff, so we weren't served till 8.30pm. Next morning ,no hot water, so complained again, they were going to move us in another room, but the plumber had been in. The bathroom was kind of newish, but shoddy silicone made it look horrible, ceiling hadn't been changed, so old fittings of a pull cord from a previous shower still there. We had booked in for 4 night, in that time no bed was made, or towels changed, so house keeping was non existent. All we got was an excuse that they were under staffed. Not the most pleasant experience for just a break from it all..

DO NOT TOUCH WITH A BARGE POLE
We bought a voucher for 4 nights at the Scottish Gamefair as all sounded wonderful. (Their Website looks so good too) How wrong we were. On arrival the place looked a tip, however we said we wouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we were right.
We were put in the “Coach House” and immediately on entry to our room the smell of damp was overwhelming along with the number of flies around. We spent the first 20 minutes swatting them, the most exciting thing about the Portsonachan Hotel apart from the stunning scenery.
On further inspection the shower soap bottles were empty and filthy, the bathmat was dirty, broken bathroom floor tiles and dust!
My wife went to reception to point all of these things out and was told they would be rectified by the time we had had our dinner. They were not. Staff had been in and left some extra towels and that was it.
I had “Roast Chicken” for dinner which was barely lukewarm although the roast potatoes were hot. The chicken had either been microwaved or boiled certainly not roasted.
We had breakfast at the same table as we had dinner and the table had never been wiped. My wife’s cereal bowl was dirty, my cup was badly chipped as well as the teapot and the coffee pot was dirty on the outside.
We had already made up our mind that we were leaving after the first night. We have never had to leave a hotel before!
We spoke to two other couples after breakfast and they both had had various problems too.
We pointed out everything to reception and were offered a room in the main hotel, but no, our mind was made up. We requested a refund but were told that it couldn’t be done at the hotel, we had to email the director “David Parker”.
We emailed him with the problems and request for a refund, he replied quickly saying that they had carried out a “Moisture Meter” test on our room and all was well and that Housekeeping had rectified the problems. They were the only things he addressed in his reply.
We replied saying that Housekeeping had not told him the truth as we have photographic and Video evidence from the next morning to prove otherwise. We asked again for a refund and we didn’t get a reply, we emailed again and were told no refund.

This "hotel" is the worst place we have ever stayed at and the one star is for the view, which is spectacular.
We booked it when it was being offered for stays at this so called marvellous hotel at the Newby Hall flower show. It was for my friends 70th birthday celebration and she took posh clothes as we planned on a lovely evening meal for her birthday. As I have a problem with stairs I asked for a groundfloor room when we booked. When we arrived and saw the state of the rundown hotel, our hearts sank but the receptionist said we would not be in the hotel but in a coach house called Leven. This was a smelly damp room with three extremely steep stairs up to a platform with two beds on it! The radiator didnt work, the door to the outside had a big gap, A mtce man sorted the draughty door but was unable to mend the radiator so we had two portable electric heaters. The steep steps started off the pain in my knees which was excruciating. The water was unsafe to drink so we had to use bottled water even to clean our teeth! When we went over to the hotel to book an evening meal the menu was mainly burgers. It was in an uninspiring conservatory, and nobody dressed up. I didnt blame them as this was not the place for a special meal! Then the next morning it was the breakfast experience. Continental breakfast only as cooked breakfasts were to be paid extra for. The cereals were set out on a table but there were no dishes! you had to ask a "waiter" for a dish! He then took your order for a cup of tea or coffee and after waiting 25 mins and asking two waiters for tea I was told I was in a queue and had to wait! There were only about two dozen guests and three waiters and the service was apalling. The waste bins in the "coachhouse" had not been emptied from the previous guests and the towels were torn and dirty. We paid for four nights and left after two nights and I had to pay out more money to find a decent bed and breakfast, which was in Inverary and excellent. DO NOT touch the Portsonachan Hotel with a bargepole! We left two pages of complaints with the key!!!!

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.