You don't expect much at a Premier Travel Inn, cheap and basic but usually a cut above a Travelodge. So maybe it was the low expectation that initially caused us to be so impressed with Annandale Water. We not only received a warm, friendly and efficient welcome at reception but experienced this with all the staff we met, including the staff at breakfast in the adjoining Road Chef.

The location is superb sitting alongside a lake with geese, swans, ducks and a heron. You can stroll right around the lake which is a great stress reliever after a hard drive.

The room itself was spotlessly clean and even had a balcony overlooking the lake and the hills beyond where you could sit and watch all the activity on the water whilst feeding the chaffinches that come to visit you on the balcony. We were fortunate in having a lakeside room and you could forget you were only a hundred yards from a busy motorway as you could not hear any traffic noise.

This has to be one of the best value stopovers in the UK, we couldn't fault it.

We stayed here enroute to the Isle of Mull and were not expecting much - just comfortable basic accommodation perhaps in a concrete corner by the motorway.
WRONG ! The setting is beautiful - right beside a lovely lake with ducks and geese and lots of room to stretch legs, walk dog and let kids run around (or have a picnic). We checked in to the lodge and could not have asked for a warmer welcome - the children were instantly offered some spare bread from the restaurants to go and feed the wildfowl. It was very hot, and the curtains in the room had thoughtfully been closed to keep it cool and we were offered spare sheets and fans if needed.
The bathrooms were a little tired but all was clean and tidy.
The restaurant on site serves "freshly cooked" meals which looked very nice and you could eat outside on a deck over the water.
I know you would be unlikely to stay here more than one night but it really is a perfect stopover.

We stayed one night here on route to the isle of skye. It was far nicer than we expected for a stop over. The staff were so pleasant and the wonderful suprise when we got to our room to find we had a bacony overlooking a lake. It was great. Got a good nights sleep ready for the long journey ahead. Highly recommend