阿爾茲餐廳酒店(The Airds Hotel and Restaurant)

A wonderful start to our NC500 trip. Welcoming staff and a wonderful dinner. Rooms are comfy and spacious with nice attention to detail and a wee dram to welcome you. Although we had a room at the back of the hotel, it was huge with separate seating area snd large sumptuous bathroom. Everything was spotless.

Great location, great food, nice front of house staff. V poor house keeping. Room/en-suite wasn’t clean when we arrived, mentioned to team but not rectified. Bins not emptied in room, not vacuumed, hair in bath and floor of en-suite. Not what you would expect of a hotel with the accreditations it claims

The hotel lost the reservation for our 2-night stay, which they found in a spam folder eventually, so they were wholly unprepared for our arrival. Luckily they at least didn’t turn us away. We were shown to a medium-sized room with a view of the parking lot and promised to be moved to the room we actually booked the next day. The next day, it was a huge hassle to repack our bags only to unpack them again one floor up. The hotel staff just didn’t seem to understand how disruptive this was (specifically for the price, nearly $700 for 2 nights!!!). We were “upgraded” to a MUCH smaller room with a great view… from the BATHROOM. The original room had a seating area, a wall of windows, and a desk. The “upgraded” room had only a tiny vanity with nowhere to sit but the bed. Moreover, one of the robes smelled like someone else’s perfume, there was a hair in the bathtub, and the water pressure in the shower was a weak little joke. The house is old, you can hear everyone walking up and down the stairs, and the noise from other guests in the halls lasted until 11pm. I was shocked the next day when we received the bill. The manager, Caty, comped one round of drinks from dinner the night before. That’s it. For the price we paid, this was 1-star experience and we recommend that someone looking for a bit of luxury on their nature vacation look elsewhere to enjoy good service combined with good accommodations. Needless to say, we won’t be back, and you shouldn’t go either.

We arrived at the hotel at lunch time. The car park was deserted and no sign of life. So we walked to the Pierhouse for a fabulous lunch. Once back at the hotel we were greeted by Shaun, who showed us to our room. We had a lovely view overlooking the gardens and onwards to the Loch. The room was lovely with a luxurious, large comfy bed. We were booked in for dinner and were invited into the lounge for pre dinner drinks and canapés. Unfortunately the two log fires were left unlit. Which, we felt, left the room lacking in atmosphere. Nothing that a few candles and some soft background music wouldn't cure. The dining room also felt very cold and lacking in atmosphere. We were told afterwards that the restaurant was struggling for chefs, which was very apparent regarding the quality of the food that night. It was poor and not what we were expecting. Very disappointed. Breakfast was good. However, the service we received from Shaun was exceptional. He was extremely helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and was a credit to the hotel.

This Hotel claims to be Relais which was a huge factor in our visit to the hotel as we have visited the area before and wanted to treat ourselves. It was an utter disappointment from start to finish and I am shocked that it is allowed to still be in such a prestigious brand. Not met in the car park (no wonder as the hotel is currently ran on what feels like 3 operational staff). No porter so the handyman lifted our bags to the room in paint covered clothes, which felt very unprofessional. The “general manager” was frosty and uninviting. they were so understaffed none of them had any chance to chat, the staff usually make a property but not in this case. Every point of contact was rushed as if we were an inconvenience and we spent a lot of time sitting around waiting for service. The Hotel we were told is undergoing a three year renovation, the works that have been done are sub standard and lacking in personality, so I can only hope that the next stage is better. The stairs with no carpet meant that the noise level from our room was beyond irritating. We tried emailing and calling prior to our stay to ensure that the Chef was aware I was gluten free. No response, such poor service again, it takes seconds to answer an email. The food was average, nothing like what we were expecting, limited choice, cold dining room and slow service due to lack of staff. I would recommend the Pierhouse or Eriska, both of which we have enjoyed. The room itself had frayed curtains, crispy towels and although clean enough there was zero luxury. We chatted to some other guests pre dinner in the lounge and the grumbles seemed unanimous. There were some regulars in at the time telling us about Airds in its glory day and we wish we could have visited then as we will not be back.

I’m so sad to write this review. We have been very loyal customers of Airds for very many years and have eaten in the glorious garden innumerable times, celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, and enjoyed many dinners there with visiting friends who were blown away by food, decor and service. Having visited for lunch today it is tragic to see what has been allowed to happen to the hotel. The immediate impression when walking in is of the space which was the conservatory (which fell down in December) still with a fallen-down wall lamp on the ground, broken furniture and general detritus lying about. It doesn’t take money or effort to sort that out. Just some thought and common sense. First impressions are so important. In the interior things aren’t any better. It’s not clean (the floor in the West Coast Kitchen was filthy and clearly hadn’t even been swept or hoovered before lunch service), it’s tatty and in dire need of complete refurbishment. Anything which has been done in the last few years has clearly been done very cheaply (veneer flooring which is already looking worse for wear as an example). It is such a shame that a place so much loved by so many people has been allowed to deteriorate to this extent. While I fully accept that hotels and restaurants must adapt and reflect market changes and customer preferences I must say again that what has been allowed to happen at Airds is tragic.

We had previously been to Port Appin but had stayed at The Pierhouse. We decided to give Airds Hotel a try this time. For such a beautiful location this hotel leaves a lot to be desired. The rooms are tired and there appears to be a distinct lack of management responsibility. The staff are good and helpful but appear overworked and stretched. The garden across the road could be a beautiful addition were it not so unkempt. A note on the summer house at the bottom says that guests wishing to play croquet or putting should collect the equipment from the hotel reception ------ with the length of the grass the equipment is probably still in situ but hidden in the lush undergrowth!!! I am led to believe that The Airds was seen as THE hotel in Port Appin, perhaps they are living on past glories because it certainly is not Number One now. The food, it must be said, is good although is not helped by the spartan decor of the dining room where you feel that you could be dining in a transport cafe. Having said the food is good the dining experience was derailed somewhat by the eye watering cost of the wines. This is not an hotel that we will be returning to any time soon

While we stayed the hotel seemed to lack a manager with attention to detail. The walk to the hotel door from the car park took us past some dreary lace curtains to a tiled entrance, which had not been swept for a good while, two empty planters that were full of cigarette butts, and tables and chairs, many of which had not been put out (most of which were heaped in the unkempt garden). The fire, which we were told was lit in the evenings, was not lit on two of the three evenings. Understaffing or laziness or perhaps penny pinching, or just no leadership? Certainly a false economy as not cozy enough to want to sit and sample a whisky or two after dinner The was next to no information on things to do in the area, maps or walk suggestions, in fact there were few nice touches that one might expect in a hotel. The food was nice, the service was fine, the staff were pleasant and perfectly competent. Overall though this hotel was lacking something except the fabulous location. If we return to Port Appin we will stay along the road at Pierpoint, where the food is better and there is a feeling the staff actually care that you have an enjoyable time.

We stayed here very happily 9 years ago under a previous ownership and felt that the hotel has some way to go to recapture what made Airds so special. Attention to detail is missing. Our original room had the heating on full blast on the hottest day of the year but we were moved without fuss. The second room had a loo with a broken valve. The refurbishment is ongoing but the new dining room lacks atmosphere and no bread for breakfast until the delivery man came after 9. That is ridiculous. The location is still sublime but it needs some careful thinking to keep it modern whilst not losing the luxurious atmosphere. The Pierhouse down the road is serious competition and is succeeding to bring in a younger, more sophisticated crowd.