Even with two children in high spirits (half term) nothing was too much trouble.....
Its so unusual to see happy staff but here, they are fantstic...FUN.
What a great place, views, service and great accomodation.
We stayed in one of the lodges.... home from home, leather sofas, t v, dvd, kitcen, bath and showers even a sauna.....so much space.....
Children being children didnt want what was on the menu, even this wasn't a problem to this hotel.
One of the most stress free weeks of my life....I would reccomend it to anyone.
If you like the outdoors and a relaxed way of life, this is the place for you.
Children and pets are made very welcome...
I will return every year.
If the management read this....congratulations, 1st class hospitallity. A Gem.....
Richard West

What it does not say on the Portsonachan website is that the Main Road into "Portsonachan" and there is only the one! is directly between the Lodges and the Loch. ( Therefore the Lodges are NOT on the banks of Loch Awe. but 25 Yards away with a Road between them and it.) The Hotels website says "Fantastic View Over the Loch from the Loch View Leisure Deck" Please look at our photographs and decide for yourselves.

Its only a single car road, and very very busy so you can’t just open the door and let your dog out for 2 minutes…or just let your children go down to the Loch in complete safety, due to the cars, Vans and Lorries passing by and the extremely steep bank which lead down to Loch from the Main Road.

We booked (early Jan) the only lodge worth having (Kilchurn) which is the one shown on the Hotel's website. You will notice that it's a view from the Back of the Lodge...as it does NOT show the main road which is 10 feet away! from the front. We received confirmation from the Hotel that this Lodge was indeed reserved, and that we were the first reservation for Feb 2008. But due to what seemed to be " More Important Guests / Aquaintances" wishing to stay in that specific Lodge (after we had reserved it), when we arrived we were allocated, and were told in no uncertain terms that that had no choice in the matter … a different one, which in our opinion was ......well please read on and look at the images and you decide what our thoughts would have been.

We were only informed of the forced change when we actually arrived after a 500 mile drive - no advance warning of the situation was given to us, or request if we minded moving Lodges was offered, no apology, or general courtesy phone call prior to our arrival was made or even considered.

The Lodge we were forced to take, was in dire need of extensive upgrade and repair both internally and externally, and we are uncertain how you fit 8 people around the Kitchen Table as it says on their website, with only 6 chairs and 5 sets of cutlery. and 6 plates 2 with Chips in them.

The Lodge that we were allocated had VERY steep steps down to it from the pathway/ Parking area ( which is also 30 yards from the Lodge! ) , This Pathway and steps got very icy and dangerous to walk on (particularly as surface water running off the hill was headed straight to the path/steps & freezing) and it took 3 requests to get some sand put on them for safety. The exterior safety light only comes on when you are already half way down the steps. ( See Pictures)

Please check out these points:

TV :- Picture was terrible ( check Photos) and all they said was that it was the best they could get although, looking at the aerial, 2 bolts had rusted away from the fixing and it seemed quite unstable…they tried to fix it but the picture was hopeless and we were informed that All TV pictures are always very poor.

Fridge:- All interior door fixings are broken. The top of the handle used to open the door had been snapped and was very sharp to get hold of. The inside also smelt stale so WE had to clean it.

Bath:- Outside casing was broken. But Bath was clean.

Bedding:- Clean but very, very old and duvet covers were too small to fit the duvets, and therefore came off during your nights sleep.

Curtains in 2nd Bedroom:- Tatty and on a pole fitting with half the hooks missing so they don’t close properly and are hanging down and in need of repair. They also completely fell down once due to fixings being old and faulty.

DVD:- Didn’t work at all...they did however change it ...but this didn’t work either - we never did get a replacement !

Hi-Fi:- Made by ALBA. Cheapest money can buy....but at least it worked.

Shower:- Very, very small; sliding doors not fixed at bottom of shower cubicle so water seeps out onto the floor, which was a quarry tile floor so freezing cold and only a tatty thin bath mat on the floor. The quarry tiles were chipped in places. Shower was intermittent hot/cold and very basic.

Heating in Shower: Tiny wall mounted Electric Fan with NO pull cord and you needed to be 6’ tall to reach the switch. It takes about an hour or so to warm up the shower room (no wonder you are asked to pay for the electric you use). There is a sauna inbetween the lounge area and shower room which we had to keep heated up to make sure the shower room was warm but there’s no lighting in the sauna so you have to tiptoe through it in the dark to get to the shower/loo.

Wooden Steps into Lodge:- Slippery, covered in moss, and 2 planks were loose and not fixed down properly.

Views to Loch from Lodge: Totally obscured by trees (except the Kilchurn Lodge which does have a view)

Lounge Furniture:- Leather, Clean, Hard, Very Small.

Bed & Mattress:- Uncomfortable and seemed quite old.

Towels provided:- a mixture of new and thin old ones.

Wires Hanging:- There were various electrical wires hanging down all around the outside of our lodge...Kids could not run round and play for fear of these wires.

Bathroom/shower room: Both fairly clean. Lighting very dim. Hot water was very hot but no warning notices. Also water is from the loch so is very peaty. We decided to drink bottled mineral water rather than chance the tap water.

Interior of Lodge: We found to be generally clean but needs updating and a good scrub up. No dustpan and brush provided so difficult to keep the place clean, especially with our hairy, wet dog! We wanted to keep the Lodge at least as clean as when we got in it…but there isn’t any cleaning items to do that. There was an old Ewbank but it deposited dirt instead of picking it up! We bought an internal doormat ourselves as we were having to walk from outside straight onto the laminate wood flooring.

Exterior of Lodge: Check out Photos and you decide.

Dishwasher: Worked...but trays broken inside and cutlery tray half melted in places! How did that happen – dangerous?

Welcome Food Pack: Plentiful - bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, cereal, milk, bread - in fact, everything for a great fried breakfast - but no cooking oil provided to cook it with! Also no condiments provided.

Sauna: Took simply ages to heat up…but worked just fine.

Hotel Main Restaurant (Hot Food): - Excellent - (when you eventually get it)

Hotel Bar Snacks:- Ditto of above.

Wine List:- Good selection and fairly priced.

Views from Hotel Terrace/Conservatory :- Stunning.

Hotel Reception and Dining Staff:- Very helpful and friendly.

Hotel Interior:- Clean and tidy with a homely feel.

We would not recommend the Lodges...although other guests we chatted to who were staying in the Hotel seemed generally satisfied.

I booked our family New Year over 18 months ago at a food show in Birmingham.
The problems started a few weeks before we were due to arrive. We began having lots of phone calls asking us repeatedly if we would book in for meals during our stay. As the total for meals would be nearly £1000 for the 3 night stay, which would defeat the object of this being a 'cheap offer' stay. On arriving we were shown to our room, the dreaded 'room above the bar'! Bearing in mind we had a 9 year old with us and asked for a family room we thought this was unnaceptable, after waiting 5 hours (4-9pm without unpacking)they decided they wouldn't move us, the loud music from below carried on till the early hours. The shower only gave 'scorching' water so we had to wait for a bath to run 3 times for us to wash. The walls are so thin, from our bed we could hear next door using the toilet, and hear exactly what they were doing! Urrgh! We then had to wait an hour for breakfast to be served. We decided to leave next morning and were told they would re-let our room. On driving 7 hours home on New Years Eve we are now told no-refund will be offered.
I'll see them in court now!

I booked this stay at the RHS show at Tatton in 2006, and sometime later read the reviews on this website - which were mixed, with some very negative. As the break was already paid for, we decided to go and see for ourselves. Loved it! The accommodation, food, staff and service were all first rate. The location is stunning, and the views over the loch beautiful. Remote yes, but for me that was part of the attraction.