We arrived at Portsonachan when it was dark and couldn't wait until day light to see the view - Our room was upgraded free of charge to a loch view. Woke up and the view was fantastic.

The staff were very accomodating. I'm vegetarian and the menu didn't provide a great variety. My potential moan was met with, "what would you like chef to cook for you?" I was dumb struck, rarely is this offer put forward. I was glad to hear that my comments will be taken in to consideration when they put together the new menu. Be warned Portsonachan i'll be back and i will be checking! (we loved it that much). The menu for meat and fish eaters alike had plenty to choose from and the portions were huge. Prices were very reasonable too.

The room was huge and so was the bath room. I was amazed at the huge investment in quality furniture: pine chest of draws and free standing pine wardrobe in the bedroom; beautifully lit real fires, an abundance of comfy leather chairs in the lounge; contemporary furtniture in the dining room and breakfast room; Not to mention a variety of games and a well stocked whisky bar (essential). The bar closed when we went to bed and we couldn't have asked for a better host.

Location is great but you will need a car. I would say this is a great location for your first exploration of this area and a great location to just chill and relax on your return visit (you will want to return be warned). You could stay in the centre of Oban but there isn't really anything there and you wont expereince the beauty of the loch. Staff were on hand to advise of places to visit and were very knowledgable.

We stayed outside of the busy period and there were only 6 guests on any one night. This meant we were treated like royalty and we thoroughly loved it. It took us an hour to check out of the hotel and this was entirely our own fault - we just didn't want to leave!

We spent three days at The Portsonachan Hotel on 14th Feb and stayed in one of the Lochside apartments. The Apartment was very clean and had everything we needed.The superb views over the Loch have to be seen to be believed. I had been to Scotland a number of times before but to be able to wake up and walk along the lochside made this stay perfect.The food in the Hotel was of a high standard and the breakfast in the conservatory with views over the Loch was fantastic. The staff were very helpful and gave us a warm welcome.The nights in the bar with the malt whiskey and great company made this one of the most relaxing and enjoyable short breaks I have had.To sum up value for money, great food, fantastic surroundings.Thank you.

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.