Kinlochewe Hotel

Shocking. I paid £135 for a small double with no bathroom, which feels like a rare anachronism even in rural Scotland. The room was fairly clean, but dusty and tired. The TV didn’t seem connected to an aerial, the WiFi didn’t work, and when I checked in at the earliest time available, the toilet still looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned since the night before, with mould scattered around it. The Stag Restaurant was another letdown. The menu was extremely limited and didn’t offer any of the local fish, meat or other produce advertised in the guest information book. I paid almost £10 for poor quality bread with hummus and a few sticks of celery, then £22 for one of the saddest burgers I’ve seen. I found it somewhat amusing and shared a picture for that reason. It felt like bottom of the barrel food at inflated prices, taking advantage of tourists with no other options. To be fair, the beer and whisky selection was decent and sensibly priced, which surprised me. The staff were what offended me most. I understand how hard it is to run a hotel in the Scottish Highlands, with business heavily dependent on the season, few staff available and old buildings that are hard to maintain. Those challenges can’t excuse my experience last week. It was a family run place, and the mother, father and son all served me. I wouldn’t normally want to complain about staff in those circumstances, but they were all surly and actually rude. I don’t need a full Highland welcome, but they were truly cold towards guests and acted as if their jobs were beneath them. Maybe they’re right to feel that way, but they clearly shouldn’t be in hospitality. With a hotel and restaurant this poor, why wouldn’t they at least make the simple effort to be friendly and welcoming? The place had little charm, appalling food and unfriendly staff, at a shockingly high price.

My wife and I both ordered the chicken with whisky and peppercorn sauce, plus sautéed potatoes, and the chicken was delicious. The broccoli portion was tiny, though, and the carrot rings were cold and raw. When my wife mentioned it, the waitress said her son liked them that way. She didn’t offer to bring cooked carrots instead. We’d arrived without a reservation. After some discussion among the staff about whether they were taking walk-ins, they gave us a table in an almost empty restaurant.

We were staying at the campsite up the road and came in for a drink. There was only one kind of lager on offer. We asked about a table for dinner and were told they were fully booked, even though there were 11 tables, only 3 had reservations, and nobody else was dining there. While we sat with our drinks, they also turned away a family because they had a child under 5. Do they not realise it’s 2025? This is the only place in the village serving food, but it seems impossible to get a table. I can only assume they serve meals to hotel guests. They could do so much more and bring in more money by opening for meals for longer than 6pm to 7.30pm, and by offering takeaways.

The location is beautiful, and the staff were friendly and helpful. My room was tidy and smart. But the bathroom smelled of mould, and bins just outside the window meant I couldn’t leave it open without letting in flies and the smell. The food I ordered cost almost £30. The portion was very small, the vegetables were still raw, and the chicken was frozen pre-cooked chicken.