Lochside House Hotel & Spa

Our 5th visit to the Lochlea water lodge, this time to celebrate a birthday. Nothing changes here, the staff, the food, drinks, and accommodation are wonderful.,The views from the lodges are amazing, watching swans, ducks etc , just makes it so worthwhile for us . Thanks to reception for the wee surprise gift in the lodge, and to Amberley for the chin wag lol.

Lodge was clean . High standard . Service was excellent. nothing was to much .

The lochside is a beautiful hotel and the countryside is stunning. But unfortunately the booking system is rubbish, especially when you go there for a wedding. When we checked in we were allocated a room that did not suit, because my wife has mobility issues. There was no walk in shower, when we asked to be moved we were told my wife could have a shower in the spa,and also get changed in there too. Well I nearly blew a fuse,Why would they say that???? . After insisting to be moved we eventually got moved.I am shocked to find such a prestigious hotel, could treat us like that. And to matters worse the next day a new wedding party arrived, and some of the guests were getting changed in toilets. Why can't the hotel accommodate guests better.

Myself and my daughter stayed in “Lugar” lodge. Lovely interior with spectacular view over the loch. Dining sofa stained and noticeable marks on the main wall of open plan living area. Hot tub area in desperate need of a lick of paint. Which made it look very tired and not what you would expect from a hotel of this standard/price-point. There was a rusty nail sticking out of the decking area, which was an accident waiting to happen. You must vacate the hot tub at 10.30pm as staff lock them up between 11pm till 8am (although I didn’t see anyone come by to do this) quite time between 11pm till 7am but on our last night there was an event at the hotel and you could hear loud music till after midnight. I called the hotel from the lodge several times but didn’t get an answer. My daughter got through on her mobile to be told there was nothing that should be bothering us in the lodges. I called back and was told there was an event and they couldn’t understand how we could hear music as we were in the grounds and not attached to the hotel. It was as if this was our problem and not theirs. He even said he would stand outside the hotel and see if he could hear the music, so he obviously didn’t believe us, why would we be ringing then!!! He was pretty rude and said it would be finishing sometime after 12am. The restaurant was disappointing. Evening meal fell below of what I expected. Starters were by far the best, it was a cold starter so I don’t think they could mess it up. I ordered gammon and pineapple for main course, which came with fries (on the menu). I was confused when a small bit of gammon arrived on a bed of mash. Nowhere on the menu mentioned that and I think it was to make up for the tiny piece of meat I received. Churros were uncooked in the centre. My daughter’s meal wasn’t much better. Breakfast was nice though and so was the service. Staff were very friendly in the restaurant. On check out I brought up all of the issues above. They were very nice and apologised. As a good will gesture they took my drinks from the previous night off my bill, which was £30. I think they could have done better than that considering the lodge cost £350 per night, not including breakfast. At this point, I couldn’t be bothered to argue the toss. I’ve stayed at 2 other RAD hotels and I think Dalmeny Park and Hetland Hall hotels are better than this one, certainly on price and restaurant quality. Lochside could have been spectacular if they sort out the issues with maintenance of the lodge. Also have the curiously to inform guests of events and pre-warn them of music playing late I to the night, including the lodges as sound does travel! Especially as they have a lot of rules and regulations for guests to abide by, but don’t seem to think they apply to themselves.

Just wanted to add that I have written reviews for lots of restaurants and hotels over the years, but unfortunately forgot to ‘sign in’ with TA when writing my review about your hotel. Once again thank you for a lovely stay, and sorry about the ‘add on’!!!

Stayed 3 nights at this lovely hotel as part of my birthday celebrations (lucky girl!), and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a ‘Garden Suite’ and have to say that it was worth the extra, being able to step outside with a coffee or whatever was a treat . Never stayed in a hotel in this country that had rooms like this. Beautiful grounds and gardens. Food was very good with a good selection on the ‘Selective Menu’. Staff were all terrific, very friendly and helpful. Would certainly like to return at some point. Only negative and I’m maybe being picky was the room had a shower over the bath. Would have much preferred a walk in shower, also the bath was quite high! The decor in the hotel, particularly the bar/ restaurant area was really quite stunning. Well done and thank you for a really relaxing and enjoyable stay.

Check in was tedious for a start. Took ages. How can you have a remote wedding venue with no charging points? loads of guests will need them and probably wouldnt want to leave their cars, premium or not, charging in the suggested two neighbouring villages overnight and I am sure you know what this means! Its Just like a wedding factory falling short of pheonix nights. Just come and spend as much money as possible then beat it. The quality of breakfast items is just poor, not only that, there is a supplement for pancakes or eggs benedict. How do you get to a supplement for these dishes vs a full breakfast? The sausages, black pudding, orange juice (worst ever, more like cordial) really beggars belief. Rough, Rough ,Rough. If you are attending a wedding here, be mindful of your ensuing shafting. Nice Toilets by reception though.

Truly amazing experience , great service and friendly staff.

Breakfast was very good and good selection. Room was a brilliant size and the spa facilities were great. Would be nice to have complimentary water within the room