Hamersay House

The mussels we ordered were clearly off, which felt like a real health risk, and there was no sign of the chef. The waitress was left serving food that wasn't up to standard, though she also needs a lot more training for a customer-facing role. Service was painfully slow, and about half the menu items were unavailable. After we complained, the atmosphere turned rotten. The food was dreadful and the whole experience was absolutely bloody awful. This place used to be fabulous, so the decline is shocking. North Uist deserves better.

The receptionist was friendly and very polite, and both rooms were clean and tidy. But neither had WiFi, and the walls were paper thin. At 180 quid, that felt extortionate. My phone screen was bigger than the TV, and the one in room 7 definitely isn't 32 inches. Why lie about it?

The service was nice, and the scallops and mussels were very good. I would have liked more local seafood choices, though. The rooms were comfortable, clean and spacious, if a bit hot, and the showers were good. Some furniture and paintwork could use attention.

The menu tries to cover too much and should be cut down to three daily starters and three mains. We came with a group in July, and the staff couldn't cope. They pressured us to eat when they wanted. My belly of pork was one of the cheapest cuts and there was barely enough to taste. My wife got scampi with burnt chips. The original waitress seems stressed and could use some kindness.