The Palace Hotel

The amenities feel pretty outdated, and the phones they provide are meant to give you Wi-Fi hotspots, but none of them worked. I also left a Nintendo Switch in the room at checkout. I contacted the hotel the next day or so to ask about having it sent to me, and the AirTag still showed it there. The owner said housekeeping hadn't found it and it wasn't in lost and found. Keep a close eye on your valuables and devices.

The location was great, but dealing with the owner and manager was a bad experience. We booked three nights through Expedia, then realized we couldn't manage our luggage up four flights of stairs to the fourth-floor room, as there was no lift. We decided to stay just one night. Anne, the very nice manager, said we'd get the other two nights refunded if Expedia wouldn't charge her commission. We both checked with Expedia and were told she wouldn't be charged, so Anne said we were free to leave and wouldn't be charged. But we were charged anyway. Her husband, the other owner/manager, refused to refund us when I called, saying only that Anne wasn't there. I've emailed repeatedly without a reply. Later I spoke to Anne, who said she'd look into it, but my further emails and calls also went unanswered. We paid well over $600 for one night at a very mediocre hotel. Be careful.

We weren't guests, just travellers from out of the country in a difficult spot after the local rental company left us without a car. The manager gave us a list of local taxi firms so we could get to our actual accommodation, 45 minutes away. He let us sit in the breakfast room to make calls and offered us the use of a restroom. Very generous of him.

There's no dedicated parking, but we found plenty of spaces on the street and in car parks. The hotel is right on the seafront, handy for getting into central Oban. Inside it has an old-fashioned first impression, though everything was clean and tidy. The rooms are well equipped, with large smart TVs, Wi-Fi-connected phones, and USB charging sockets on most of the mains outlets. Just bear in mind there are several floors and no lift, which could be an issue with heavy bags or tired kids.