Lochside Hotel

Myself and my husband and 2 dogs stayed here Easter weekend. The entire stay was perfect! Food was amazing the best we had on the Island. All the staff we so genuinely friendly and Sophie the manager was a ray of sunshine! We loved even minute of being here. Book it!

This delightful small hotel stays open when just about everything else is closed! It’s a real hub of the local community in a stunning waterfront location. We loved everything about it, from the warmth of its welcome to its cool ‘boutiquey’ vibe (it’s still a proper wee Scottish hotel though). Nothing was ever any bother to its mainly young team. How professional were they! Food was great, especially the breakfasts. If you did want to eat out, there are other choices nearby and a dream of a coffee/gift shop just steps away. Stay here!!

We stayed here for one night, following our whisky tasting experiences! It’s about a 20 minute drive from the Port Ellen ferry terminal, and an easy drive through the Islay. This hotel was bustling with people, and much busier than I anticipated! We were promptly greeted and checked-in, given instructions (especially regarding sensitive smoke detectors) and were made a dinner reservation. The room was small but comfortable, and the bed was large and cozy. Dinner was convenient and delicious (though it was an added expense for us, and not included in our stay). Seating is limited and best to book in advance. The hotel is located close to many shops, the Bowmore distillery and the shoreline. There’s an attached bar (Duffy’s Pub), which was boisterous and seemed like a fun time. Our room was up the stairs, at the top of the hotel. Unfortunately, the walls seemed extremely thin and there was quite a bit of noise and very loud voices between 2200-0000. It was a little annoying, and made it hard to sleep. Breakfast was included in our stay, which we took advantage of. It took quite awhile to have any service once we were seated, and the gentleman serving us seemed like he wasn’t paying much attention. Scrambled eggs came out over easy, coffee was never refilled, and we weren’t checked on once the food came out. We were seated with a little view of the water this time, which was nice. We did enjoy our stay here, and would return if we had the chance.

Booked accommodation for three nights in the spacious attic bedroom. We were disappointed the room didn't have any seating area, which the room was large enough to cope with but instead had two additional beds at different heights which went unused. The hotel knew there were only two guests booked and not a family of four. The room had a fab view apart from overlooking the metal roof of the hotel kitchen and noise from 6:30 am - 8:30pm of the kitchen fans. The room had a damp smell and unfortunately the biggest issue was the velux window didn't have a blind. The first morning we were awake at 4:30ish, sunrise and when asked for a solution or moving to an alternative room the staff member offered to cover the window in foil. When arriving back into the room a blanket/duvet cover had beef wrapped over the window. Paying £220 a night felt like a lot, especially when the room was so disappointing. The staff were friendly but inexperienced in working in hospitality and hadn't been fully trained.

The views are great over the sea and the food was good albeit expensive. I had langoustines and my wife had them two days earlier at the Bridgend Hotel but mine were £10 more expensive for roughly the same quantity. My wife had venison steak which she said was very good. We went on a Tuesday night and fortunately we had made a reservation as they were turning people away. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio which was not very nice but my wife’s Pinot Noir was very good. A 10% service charge is automatically to the bill which can be removed if requested.

We had the best 4 nights at this hotel this week. It is located within a 5 minute walk of anything you'd need in Bowmore. The views across the loch from the restaurant were a fantastic accompaniment to wonderful food. The bar stock is equally impressive and we would regularly request the 'whisky bible' to choose a dram or two. The staff were all incredibly friendly. We had several interactions with Richard who went above and beyond to ensure that we had the most enjoyable stay possible. Thank you to all the staff at the hotel for making our visit so relaxing and pleasant.