Stayed one night . looks great on the outside, run down on the inside, good polish staff, food was ok...but £125 each for the room, dinner and breakfast an then no hot water!! .....what a joke

Lovely setting, hotel looks better in the evening - in a less forgiving light the place is a bit shabby, but not dreadful. However, the cooked Scottish breakfast was inedible, and smelt appalling. Overall, despite breakfast, the location, gardens and the impressive public rooms make the visit memorable, . Don;t know if beds are new but are now very comfortable in rooms 2 and 3. Receptionist had bit of an attitude but could be just that she is foreign. I am writing this review for her, as she didn't ask if we enjoyed our stay. The answer is yes, pretty much .

We decided we wanted to stay in a castle for a romantic couple of days and came across this castle on an internet site. We booked it and THEN read the reviews and to be truthful, after reading them i thought about seeing if we could change it as everyone seemed really negative and was dreading going but fortunately i never told my other half this and thought i would see what it was like when we got there. When we got there in the evening we were really surprised as the trip down the driveway was lovely and the castle quite impressive. We got greeted by a lovely receptionist and got shown to our rooms which were lovely and spacious and NO clanging pipes etc...The next morning we had a great scottish breakfast and the staff could not do enough to help as they were always pleasant and helpful. We stayed for three nights and four days! There is some fantastic walks around the grounds and down towards the lake and NO floating beer cans like someone else stated. The views from the restaurant were amazing. I admit some things did need a lick of paint here and there BUT this is not the Hilton or the Holiday Inn this IS a nineteenth century castle after all!! If you want that kind of luxury maybe look at the 'fake' £400 a night castles!! This castle hotel was lovely and excellent value for money!! The only thing that did dissapoint us was that there was no ghost - well if there is it never appeared for us!

My girlfriend had boooked a romantic weekend away as a Valentine's gift. The drive from Glasgow is a spectacular one passing some of Scotland's most beatiful scenery.

A stop at Inverary broke the journey up. The hotel itself is nestled off the road to Tarbert. A short drive up a single track tree surrounded avenue opens out in to the hotel itself. It's gothic architecure is both impressive and daunting.

The staff at the reception were friendly and courteous. We were shown to our room and left the splendour of the main castle behind to traverse up a tight narrow corridor. The door to our room was opened and the 'Wow 'factor you sometimes have when you enter a hotel room quickly became 'How!' How can this be a double room when it has two miss matching single beds put together? As I was to discover later there was a big hole between the two beds.

We were fortunate enough to share our room with some Scottish wildlife. A spider in the bath and beastie above the bed was a nice touch. The Tv set was hidden inside a cupboard and attached to a strange metal arm. The usual channels plus a few extra ones.

On being thouroughly underwhelmed with our room. We decided a romantic walk in the castles world reknowned grounds was in order. I wonder which world they are reknowned in because it certainly not his one. We followed the muddy path through splendid trees and followed some signs that were on the grounds but they led to nowhere, A walk to the jetty to take in the spectacular views was ruined by the amount of rubbish that was around. Cans of beer that were slowly rusting so had obviously been there for some time.

The grounds could be fantastic. The plants and trees are all there but it is all very unloved looking and doesn't have the charm to be a lost garden so to speak.

A trip to Tarbert finished the day. Be aware though if you travel off season many shops will not be open.

We were both looking forward to the evening meal and put our glad rags on. The dining room is in a clumsy looking extension that has built on to the castle. A vast open space with a sea of tables. We were shown to our seats and chose from the menu. It's motly traditional Scots and local fayre, The food was well presented and delicious. The service was excellent. To set the mood a pianist played in the background although there was a degree of akwardness as the diners didn't know if they should clap after every song. The romatic evening was spoiled by the aforementioned bed and plumbing that sounded like somebody was hitting pipes with a hammer. A trip to the bathroom resulted in a symphony of metallic clanging. Not good if you need a midnight comfort break.

This hotel has potential but everything seems very lazy. The garden left to ruin, The rooms that are not tired looking they are postivly sleeping.
Plus points ..the food and staff but it's not enough Im afraid to have prevented this guests Valentine's weekend from being ruined.