Portsonachan Hotel

Well Wher do I start? We booked this for my husbands 60th birthday. the hotel had representitives at the 'Turiff Show' in Aberdeenshire and were offering 4 nights for £300. As it was a special birthday I upgraded paid an extra £200 for a 'Lochside Apartmment' Upon arrival we were told that the apartment wasn't available and that we had been 'upgraded' to a 3 bedroom Log cabin' We drove half a mile back upthe road from the hotel reception and let ourselves into a cabin called 'Carrick'. It was freezing there were five electric heaters only three of which worked the fire on the wall in the living room was out of order and the TV didn't work the heated towel rail in the bathroom had all the wires hanging out ! . We rang reception and a maintenance man camed who advised he wasn't told to fix any of the heaters all he had done was clean the hot tub that day, he said thet the fire was purley there for cosmetic reasone! . We drove back downto reception where the lady in reception offered us a free drink while she sorted the issue. We got one extra heater and decided to stay the night as we had driven 4 hours to get there. We were both very dissapointed. The lady inreception advised that we had an extra bathroom off the sauna (whch wasn't in use) so when had a look the bathroom was in a building that opened out onto the garden and had a hole in the door it was so cold in there I should havechilled my wine in there! In addition to the chilled atmosphere, the shower was dirty there was no plug in the bathroom sink. The kitchen was just as bad, the extractor fan was filthy, the oven had one shelf there was one oven dish which was chipped, there was no dishwasher tablets no cleaning sprays and a quarter of a bottle of watered down washing up liquid. There were no recycling bins so we left our plastic and cardboard in carrier bags in the kitchen. There were no instructions for the oven or hob. No welcome book no guest book. I have holiday homes myself and certainly wouldn't be happy letting a lodge in that condition. The two redeeming qualitys of the place were the hottub and the internet connection (which was excellent). We mentioned all this when we left and I have also emailed the hotel asking for my £200 to be refunded but was told the price I paid was reasonable for what I received. I heartily disagree. We stayed because the area was so beautiful and we had never explored this part of Scotland before. What was supposed to be a special treat for a special birthday was a big dissapointment Don't stay here !!!

First the good. It’s a stunning Location right on the Loch. That’s all the good news! The Accommodation is truly awful. We have stayed in Hundreds of hotels and this is bottom of the pile. We booked via a voucher for 4 nights (including an upgrade? To a loch side apartment) We struggled through 1st night and left ASAP on day 2 The apartment was dirty and poorly maintained. Toilet was dirty, floor was unclean, toaster had bread and butter stuck in it, old dog biscuits on floor, stains down kitchen units, dirty shower drain…… I could go on. On complaining to reception we were told it was rare to get complaints but they would send cleaners in. They did and some effort was made to clean - but it was beyond redemption! They did tell us they had changed the pillows as the existing ones had Mites! Do not stay at this Hotel under any circumstances - it is truly Awful

Fauly Towers without Basil. I am not sure where to start as I cannot find anything positive to say abut this establishment. Arrived our room was cold, no heating whatsoever. When we complained were assured that it would be sorted. When we went back to our room the 'solution' was a small electric heater (see photo) The toilet was broken (see photo) A cracked tile was dangerous and my wife nearly cut he foot when it stuck to her heel. (see photo) Cleaning was non excistent. I understand the hotel is up for sale, whoever buys it will need a big budget to bring it back to a reasonable state. Sorry but will definitley not br going back

While visiting a food fair at Yorkshire Racecourse last year we took advantage of an offer for 4 nights stay at this hotel for £295 at a time of our choice - a great deal we thought! On arrival, our room (in the stables building) was cold and more than a little musty smelling and the one radiator was barely luke warm. After reporting it to reception a handy man did come and take a look but couldn't fix it and the hotel's answer was to give us an electric heater (with no PAT testing sticker), with a promise that the handyman would take another look the following day. We also found mousetraps in the room and the walls were showing damp patches in several places. We never used the shower as it was mouldy and unclean. We returned to our room the following day to find our bed had not been made up, the bathroom not cleaned and used cups /glasses still in the room, no improvement to the heating situation and also hearing from other guests of similar problems, some even checking out early. That evening we went for dinner and after waiting 2 hours, we were informed that our order had been lost and all they could offer us at 10pm was a cheese board and some chips. This was the final straw and we checked out the following morning 2 days early and hearing again that several other guests were doing the same as us that day. The excuses from the owners were thin and always somebody else's fault. The hotel is run down, tired and in desperate need of significant modernisation, especially the heating. If I could give a lower rating I would and my recommendation is to avoid this hotel at all costs.

We stayed in a loch side apartment and had a wonderful time. Staff were friendly and helpful, the apartment was great (particularly the en-suite bedroom) and the views were out of this world. We didn’t eat in the hotel but had a couple of drinks in the bar. The wine was lovely. We will be back

Second visit, not been for a few years, enjoyed the view and relax atmosphere - hotel not perfect- staff shortages- but everyone was helpful and welcoming- left feeling relaxed and wanting to return - this place is very special - I understand the negative reviews, but seriously if you want peace, relaxation this is the place to visit, if you want 5 / 4 star luxury then don’t visit - I love the place!!!