I returned yesterday from a visit to the Loch Fyne Hotel in Inveraray. The weekend I spent there was the gift of a friend who wanted me to share the beauty of the surrounding Lochs and forests. How disappointed we were in this hotel apart from its wonderful position. The reception staff were surly and unwelcoming and not once did a friendly smile appear on their dour faces. The Argyll restaurant although pleasingly decorated had the air of a large institutional refectory. The waiting staff worked very hard and rushed around at top speed, often in circles, wearing a surprising array of uniforms and a varying level of ability to launder. The more senior appeared like René of Allo, Allo, while one ‘fresher’ on breakfasts wore a shabby school shirt and tie, with a pencil in her hair. The aubergine vegetarian dish on my first evening was uncooked and not edible, but no reaction was provided by the kitchen when I commented this to the waiter. The means to acquiring a table for dinner at an appropriate time was both a mystery and a struggle even although the evening meals had been paid in advance. Breakfasts were an experience, as one became aware of the lottery this could be, the winners being those lucky people who received tea, toast (not blackened at edges) and cooked breakfast in the correct order.
Worst of all, however, was the bedroom itself, situated in the garret level with no view unless one stood on toilet seat or did an impression of ‘Spring Heeled Jack’ to look out of the window to view the roof of the Leisure Centre. The room was not big enough to "swing the dog” which had accompanied us and was so tiny that the Sox had to sleep in her bed in the ensuite bathroom. There was insufficient room to gain access to the bed from both sides, and it was nearly impossible to open the door of especially custom built wardrobe, i.e. of child sized proportions. The chamber staff have to be commended for their ability to tidy the room without bruising their elbows and shins. The blind was hanging half off the window, and the dressing table space was fully taken up with TV and tea tray. I doubt that this room was in fact within the legal limit for the number of occupants, a fact yet to be established.
To round off the disappointing experience of this hotel, a power cut in the area, on Sunday evening increased the speed of staff circle running and proved too that the Crerar Management had not instituted any contingency plans for such a calamity. We did not wait to find out when the lights came back on: cutting our losses seemed the best option which we did with a promise never to return. Forloppin








