West Highland Lodge

First of all, disabled not allowed to park near the place and very aggressive treatment by the woman in situ. Made to feel very unwelcome. The place is not clean: we had to clear the shower outlets in order to have a shower: they were full of ?months of accumulated hair and dirt. They have CCTV cameras in the public areas and they are watching you, as we discovered. After 'cleaning' on return from our walk, one of the ladies' loos had no loo paper. Also one of the soap dispensers had no soap. They charge £30 per night per person. Think again! The hostel has eight bedrooms and only 2 women's showers which are so small that it is hard to shower.

We stayed here on our final night whilst walking the WHW. The location is excellent. A short distance from the WHW and from the Co op and pubs. The views are great. The place was clean and comfortable and had decent communal facilities including a kitchen with tea and coffee. When I initially booked I thought I had booked the Blackwater hostel so my luggage was delivered there but one of the very friendly members of staff offered to drive it up the hill for me to the lodge. I had to cancel and reschedule my initial booking and the staff were so helpful and made it really easy via email.

For the price they charge this place should be a LOT better than it is. Having stayed at other hostels in Scotland where I have had pre-made beds, ensuite showers and towels supplied for less ££ / night I think this place is just coasting on the back of a captive market. There really weren't enough showers for the capacity of the bunkhouse. Worse those that were there weren't clean (I mean basic not clean not high-end deep clean standard). The kitchen had malfunctioning sockets so it was hard to use appliances. One of the 2 TVs didn't work - not a big deal, but if you are going to provide one then at least make sure it is useable. Parking was made very difficult - again not really a problem for most but IS if you have children, dogs, mobility impaired people - if there is no parking then say so BEFORE people turn up. There were two large fridges & one freezer for which was great but the dry goods storage capacity could have been better given the amount of people the hostel can accommodate when full. The good points were the wonderful location / views and the weather!

This is my 3rd stay in Kinlochleven and last stayed in this hostel in 2019 and although basic, I have previously recommended it to friends. Unfortunately i feel that i can no longer offer such a recommendation. The hostel now feels that it has travelled back in time to the 1980's. Although some of the furniture has been replaced the sofas in the lounge have had their day. The wash rooms are woefully inadequate for the number of people who may wish to use them, with only one sink in the mens washroom and one W.C. and 2 urinals. Although the kitchen seemed well equipped it unfortunately needed a deeper clean than it appears to have in its normal regime. There are 2 large tv screen one could only play dvd's the other in the lounge seemed to lack a connection to the aerial or wifi. I was also very surprised and disappointed to find on arrival that we were no longer allowed to park at the hostel despite it mentioning free parking on this website and previously being allowed to. It was also odd not to see any member of staff during my stay.

WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOSTEL TO ANYONE! Aggressive manner and bullying by the person who lives next to the hostel! Possibly owner/manager? DIRTY SHOWERS AND TOILETS Have pics of blocked ladies showers, but don't want to make things worse, really don't want to look at them again, our party bravely cleaned them! Couldn't take pics of toilets!!! No Parking signs outside hostel I believe are not lawful, lt looks like they get them from the nearest auto parts shop, Sockets in the kitchen not working.. Could not get TV's to work except one that played dvd's! However, we had a great weekend because our party can overcome these obstacles, just like our walk, take all in our stride! Sadly we or any people from our party , 20 of us, due to this experience we will not be visiting Kinlochleven hostel again any time soon

The aggressive and unfriendly greeting ruined the uplifting effect of the spectacular scenery and surroundings. The proprietor’s sister lives next door and seems a complete misfit in the hospitality business, shouting, as she did, at new arrivals and, on her own admission, watching and listening to our conversations via CCTV. The Lodge is dirty. Two ladies’ showers ( 3 for 8 four -bunk rooms) were so filthy that they would not drain. And we had the disgusting task of clearing them ourselves in order to have a shower. The kitchen shelves had clearly not been regularly cleaned. The TVs were not working. Despite the myriad notices ordering guests to clean up after themselves, very little staff cleaning and hoovering was carried out during the day. Despite Covid prevalence and instructions as to hand washing one soap dispenser was not refilled. One ladies loo-paper dispenser was not refilled.

We did Ben nevis that day then headed to West Highland Lodge The place had everything big clean kitchen Good strong bunk beds very clean and tidy peacefull with deer near by and birds singing We got great weather and had are dinner out side what a great place