My husband and I first stayed here in Summer '98 and found it to be truly excellent. It was one of the best hotels we'd ever visited. Since we have been living overseas for the past few years we have often thought of The Kirroughtree in connection with all the good things about home.
However, our most recent visit presented a different picture. The food was definitely not as good this time. It was far too salty, (though I asked for less salt) and I could even hear the lady at the next table commenting on the saltiness of her meal. My husband ordered a pigeon dish but he wasn't expecting 'Pigeon Tartare'!
The restaurant is definitely not recommended if you have any food allergies / intolerances. I requested that the chef leave out dairy products from my meals only to find that my tagliatelli had a mysteriously buttery taste. After going to enquire, the waitress returned to say there was butter on it but only a little! Just as well I do not have a classical allergy. This was particularly surprising given, as we later learned, the chef hails from Scandinavia, where understanding of food allergies is amongst the most advanced in the world.
We did feel, however, that the people in management were doing their best - I was presented with a lovely dairy-free orange dessert on one occasion - but that somehow not all messages were getting through.
The atmosphere had also become a little staid. All guests were dining in the small dining room and the few parties present were crammed in at tables immediately adjacent. This provided very little privacy or intimacy and quite a few disconcerting total silences.
Our 'Deluxe' room was very spacious and tastefully decorated to echo the Regency period, though the mattress on the canopied bed was due for replacement. The bathroom, presumably once a dressing room, was very large and comfortable with a free-standing Victorian bath.
We like to think of The Kirroughtree as it was seven years ago and dearly hope they will restore the standards of those golden days.

If you are looking for unparrelled, yet unintrusive service with excellent food with spacious, individual rooms, no noise and situated in peaceful surroundings look no further - If you play golf then you have the added bonus of their sister hotel, the Cally Palace to play at... and seamlessly organised by the Kirroughtree Management team - a real "get away" from a stressful life.

Lovely hotel, but very quiet. Food excellent, service good, nice location but remote. Oh and quiet!