The Royal Dunkeld Hotel

Sean and Joan were especially kind and thoughtful with my disabled son throughout our stay. The staff genuinely care, and they made the visit memorable. Thank you both, and the rest of the team. For anyone looking for a base for activities, this is well priced, has a fantastic location and free parking, which regular visitors to Dunkeld will appreciate. It’s not the Hilton, and the rooms may not suit you if you want every modern convenience, but it’s an excellent value stay. Some reviewers seem to expect a Hilton. I’d combine the Woodlands bistro with the bar after refurbishing both, then keep the menu small and simple. The amazing curry should stay, with a couple of curry choices alongside a simpler traditional menu. There’s real potential here, especially with such helpful staff, and that matters a lot in a busy wee place like Dunkeld.

A gorgeous, spotless room and a great one-night stay. Breakfast was amazing value, and the staff were friendly, welcoming and helpful. The location is excellent for visiting the beautiful village of Dunkeld. I’d definitely recommend it.

We’d had an amazing meal here in March, with a lovely Scottish guy serving us, so yesterday’s bar lunch was a shock. We waited ten minutes at the bar just to get a soft drink, then 50 minutes for the food. Nobody warned us about the wait, and they’d already taken payment. The onion rings we’d paid extra for arrived cold. The woman serving at the bar was very rude, and when I pointed out that I’d already paid after she offered 10% off, she just laughed. The toilets and courtyard were disgusting too. The staff now are appalling, avoid at all costs.

The room we were given was on the second floor, even though our friend had booked this as a gift and asked for the lowest possible level if there was no lift or ground floor room. I have arthritis, and the stairs aggravate it. The hotel was fully booked, and we were the last to check in, which made me think rooms are assigned by arrival order and guest notes are ignored. Before arriving, I called to ask if we could leave our bags before check-in. I was told there’d be a £20 charge because it was the weekend, which I found ridiculous. We’d also asked about an earlier check-in but were told the rooms needed cleaning. Once inside, we found a dirty room, including towels left by the previous guests. We wiped the surfaces ourselves with antibacterial wipes. The shower had mould around the edges, and the toilet seat wobbled badly and needs replacing with something that won’t break just from sitting on it. The corridors smelled damp, and water dripped from the ceiling in a narrow corridor where there was a bucket catching it. A cupboard door at our end of the corridor had swollen and come loose from water damage. There were maintenance problems too, including a plug outside our room that wasn’t properly fitted. There weren’t enough towels for hands or hair. My companion went to ask for some, and a man said he’d leave them on the floor outside our door. She said we’d be in the room and he could knock so we could take them from him. It’s a friendly reminder of how little attention they seem to give cleanliness. The man who helped carry our bags upstairs had said to let him know in the morning if we needed help again, but there are no phones in the rooms, so how were we meant to do that? At 8:00 in the morning, other residents told us breakfast wouldn’t be served until 8:30, despite the listed hours being 07:00-09:45. The hotel either has high staff turnover, poor management or both. If it can’t keep to its own meal times, I don’t know what it can do. We didn’t enjoy our stay, especially with the hotel asking for £20 in those conditions. How is a place like this allowed to stay open? It’s ridiculous compared with the standards B&Bs are expected to meet nowadays.