Boath House

The house and grounds were beautiful, and you can see how much care has gone into the interiors. We had a wonderful stay at the Boath House, the last stop on our honeymoon, and they kindly upgraded us to an incredible room. The food was lovely throughout, and the staff were brilliant, especially Angus. Thank you so much!

The evening food was good and interesting, though the bread was cold in the middle, as if it had been defrosted. Service left a lot to be desired. We were offered a discount on the food bill, but most of our problems were with the room and service, so it felt misplaced. We paid about £350 a night for what was meant to be a special night away, and the stay was nowhere near worth it. I suspect many of the positive reviews date from before the change of ownership. For that money, there are other places in Scotland with a much more acceptable level of service and hospitality. This was pretty shambolic. There was no hot water for our stay. It was tepid at best, and cold once the bath was full. Staff didn’t tell us when the problem became apparent. With no obvious reception or room phone, and just one service staff member, it was hard to find anyone to explain it to. We got no apology until we raised it at the end. “It is an old house” was the explanation, which doesn’t really cut it at £350 a night. Plenty of other old houses at that price manage. On Saturday afternoon and evening, it seemed one person was covering front of house, waiting tables, the bar and reception for both hotel and restaurant guests. Credit to him, he did admirably, but service was slow. Other guests joked darkly that if you wanted a drink, you should head into the kitchen and ask the chef. We got no information beforehand, when shown to our room, or in the room about how anything worked. We didn’t know how to use the sauna, connect to the room speaker, find someone for help, or what was happening with the market garden. Breakfast took nearly an hour with only one other table, as there was one server. They ran out of toast, and what we got seemed to be crusty ends left from dinner the night before. The other table had to eat a whole plate of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs without toast, which must have made for a very one-dimensional breakfast texture-wise. The gardens were rather overgrown and unkempt. Maybe they’re going for a rewilded look, but no one gave us any information about the house or gardens, so who knows. The house and room were lovely, but there were sweat stains on our bedroom headboard and a large carpet stain in one hallway, apparently from a major roof leak. A wallpaper swatch pinned to the room noticeboard, presumably left over from someone’s decorating decision, was odd. The bathroom was nice, but without hot water we couldn’t enjoy it. After I raised these issues when leaving, I was offered a complimentary return stay, a kind gesture at the time. But the hotel manager didn’t contact me for two or three months after an initial email, and the offer now feels hollow. The number on her business card also seems to be fake. That final detail sums the place up for me. Avoid.

The house was remarkable, clean and comfortable, with a really intimate atmosphere, great music and an outstanding range of drinks from wine to whiskey. I’d strongly recommend spending at least a few nights there to take it all in if you’re visiting the area. The staff were amazing throughout our stay. Vivian was extremely friendly, both at breakfast and while guiding us through one of the most delicious fine dining meals my partner and I have had, with some of the tastiest bread too. Chef Iain deserves the credit for that. Ellie always greeted us with a smile at breakfast and remembered our orders each morning. Melissa and James also made sure we had everything we needed.

The house is amazing, the food was super good and well prepared, and the staff member we dealt with, Person A, was doing their best, I’m sure. But calling this fine dining and charging high prices for “a luxury Scottish Highland getaway” doesn’t fit the experience we had at all. We arrived at 15.30 the day before we were due to leave, and the place felt empty. It’s beautiful, but there were no candles lit, no music in the lounge and nobody at reception. After waiting a few minutes, we rang the reception bell twice and waited ten minutes. A lady came out, said she didn’t know where the reception worker was, and asked us to wait longer. We waited again until some other guests arrived with a staff member, Person A, who showed us to our room. There was no tour or explanation of how anything worked, and then we were left on our own. We took a break before going down for drinks and dinner. Reception was empty again, and still no candles were lit, though there were lanterns and candles around to make the place cosy. At least there was music in the lounge by then, so it felt “open.” We sat for a while, then rang the bell again to ask where the whiskey lounge was and whether we could get drinks. Person A came to help us. After our drinks, we asked about dinner. We weren’t sure how it worked: three tables were set with candles, others in the dining room weren’t, there were no other diners ready to start, and there were no lit candles on the fireplace, though we could see candles there too. Maybe it sounds like a small detail, but it made a big difference and left us feeling things weren’t ready. We sat down, and the chef soon came over to introduce himself and ask about allergies, so that was a good start. Then the food began arriving, but nobody had asked us about drinks. I assume Person A was busy with other guests. My boyfriend ordered a bottle of wine when he got the chance, instead of looking at the wine menu, since it seemed impossible for Person A to manage that while doing everything else. That turned out to be a good call: the bottle took over 30 minutes to arrive, and the glasses set out for it were dirty. They were changed when we pointed it out, but we finished the bread and starter without wine. As dinner went on, some courses came without cutlery, and used plates weren’t cleared before new ones arrived. The food was amazing, but staff’s lack of oversight kept distracting us. We had to keep asking for cutlery, for plates to be taken away, and for a fresh table candle when the first one burned down. I stayed at Boath House at the start of October, and it was supposed to be the highlight of our Scotland trip. Sadly, it was a really odd and disappointing experience. I’ve called and emailed several times to get some clarity, without luck, so I’m writing this in the hope others won’t end up disappointed. On the morning we were meant to leave, I’d had enough and wanted to talk to someone at reception or similar. I went downstairs at 08.10 and found the house completely empty, the kitchen a mess, and yesterday’s tables still uncleared. I opened the front door to check outside but couldn’t see anyone. The reception door was locked, and I couldn’t find anyone to speak to.