Muthu Alexandra Hotel

Our loch view room had a charming, moody feel, and we had a great stay at the Muthu. Rose Anne and John were so welcoming and personable, they really set the tone for the whole visit. Rose Anne might be the best thing about this place. Thanks!

Jude upgraded us at check-in to a room overlooking the bay, and Stephanie was especially helpful when we checked out. We enjoyed a very pleasant stay at the Alexandra Hotel and in Oban, with several lovely Victorian features in the hotel. My one criticism is that the steam room wasn’t working.

The staff were friendly enough and tried to keep the place clean, but the hotel is in poor repair and needs refurbishment. The dated Indian-style decorations felt tacky and spoiled the atmosphere. It seemed as if very little had been repaired, repainted or replaced in more than 20 years. I saw several other MGM hotels in the area, and they all had similarly badly kept buildings and tacky old Indian-inspired decor. Avoid.

We stayed here on the way to the Isle of Mull, but chose somewhere else for the return trip. There was a lot wrong, and it wasn’t the lovely employees or the location. The place seemed very poorly managed, and the staff appeared mistreated, overworked and short staffed. The manager or owner was there the next morning, but should have been helping the staff the night before. At check-in, we were lectured about parking and told to be absolutely on time for our chosen breakfast slot. We were warned there might not be space for us in the empty dining room to eat the mediocre food. The shower was possibly the worst I’d used during our two and a half weeks in the UK. It wouldn’t blend the water to warm, it was either hot or cold. There wasn’t a plug by the bed, and the one behind the very heavy bed frame was impossible to reach. The TV looked like it dated from around 2007, had a screen about 21 inches across, and sat on the dresser where it was hard to see from both beds. We couldn’t cast to it or access YouTube or Netflix. The beds were comfortable enough, and the duvets were warm. Parking was supposed to be available, but the lot was full when we arrived at about 6:30 pm, so we had to park outside a marked space to fit our rental car. Parking wasn’t guaranteed, even though that didn’t seem like an unreasonable arrival time on holiday. Dinner was what finally made me write this review. The three-course meal cost 25 pounds and was mediocre at best, which would have been fine. We asked for whiskey neat, but they were out of both kinds we requested. We had to ask twice for water. Only two people were serving, clearing tables, taking orders, bringing food and checking people out. They were overwhelmed. We found it unusual that no hotel or restaurant staff seemed to be from Scotland, while at every other hotel or restaurant we visited there was a mix of locals and people from other countries. What really pushed me to post was what staff told me when I asked about adding an extra tip. They said tips at the Muthu Alexandria go to the corporation instead of employees, and that no 10% is added to the bill. I checked this with several staff before we left. In Scotland, 10% is a standard tip, often added automatically, and tip money is supposed to go into a separate account and is often shared among restaurant staff. If what they told me is true, any extra tip on the bill won’t go to the wait staff. I understand that this would be illegal in Scotland, and hope it was a miscommunication. If it wasn’t, I hope the local labor board looks into it. The employees already seemed stressed and overworked, and they should at least be paid fairly.