This hotel is from the 70's era, the staff are friendly, the rooms are pleasant enough we were on the ground level ask for a room on the reception level as you get a better view. The Spa is excellent, the food is not bad and not good in fact we thought it reminded us of "wedding reception" food. The rooms could have been dusted a bit more. The price we paid was extremely good value, and I would definitely stay again.
When I booked over the telephone I was told the best rate was £110 per 2 person per night B&B. However when we arrived we found a flyer advertising a rate of £139 per person for 3 nights inclusive of 3 course evening meal. After some negotation with the manager we were able to swap to the all inclusive rate.
In conversation with a local businessman and supplier to the hotel I was told that the hotel had had a very chequered history but with the arrival of the present management about 18 months ago it was much improved.
Rooms are basic. The design of the hotel is such that almost everyone gets a view of the bay. The disadvantage of this is it means there can be a lot of "traffic" in the corridor outside one's room in the morning especially when a coach party has an early start. On one occassion we were woken at 6.30am.
Overall the food is pretty good and the friendly waiters are prompt and efficient. At times the restaurant had the feel of a canteen as there could be up to 150 people at a sitting. The view from the restaurant over the bay is stunning.
The spa facilities are a recent addition and are very good, adding considerably to the overall value that this hotel offers.
I would rate this hotel as four stars except for the unhelpful attitude of the Front of House Manager who does not seem to appreciate that the essence of customer service is solving customer problems. I recommend she reads "One A Customer Always a Customer" by Chris Daffy the UK's leading customer service guru.
Finally the hotel is clearly committed to raising its standards as is evidenced by t he guest computer's homepage in reception being set to Trip Advisor!
Many thanks for your constructive comments on your recent stay with us. I do appreciate the time guests take to respond to their stay.
Only one comment i would make regards the rates. As in any holiday destination the further out from your date the better the bargain one can get. The nearer the date and when accommodation becomes less avialable the rate reflects the situation.
If i can give an example friends of ours are joining us on holiday however they only booked last week and paid £427 more for exactly the same holiday than we did.
Surely a room should be made ready by 1600hours both for initial occupation and later in the stay. Our room was not ready by 1630hours!!
Breakfast OK except porridge (too floppy and failure to keep dishes ready.
No appropriate arrangements for disabled persons
When we got to our room the surfaces were dusty, the door squeaked loud enough to wake half the hotel, the main room light didn't work, the bathroom door wouldn't close, the TV remote was lost and the cold water tap didn't work. Some of these were quickly fixed when we reported them, others were not and we never got an explanation why not. The fact that so many faults had not been picked up by hotel staff was not encouraging. Like an earlier reviewer we got a single tiny bar of soap with no explanation of delayed orders etc. The last day of our stay we asked for more and two bars appeared. This is all a pity because the location and some of the facilities are superb. The swimming pool has an unbelievable view. The gym is a bit cramped but not much used, maybe because there are no proper showers. Bar meals are no better than the two pubs in the village provide for a lot less. Restaurant waiting staff (at breakfast) were very attentive wthout being fussy. The constant "muzak" is a pain. They even left it on when they had an accordionist performing live in the bar. The hotel is very popular with coach tours, there were two or three parties in every night we were there. With a bit of effort and at little extra cost to themselves this hotel could have given us a holiday so good we would have sent all our friends next year, but I'm afraid the quality of service we experienced was simply not good enough for a hotel of this grade and this price.
Many thanks for taking the time to respond to your recent visit.
I was obviously concerned at all the points you have highlighted and points which should never have occurred.
With the exception of the toiletries which was due to a late delivery all other points should not have occurred and i thank you for bringing them to my attention. The content of you response will be discussed and rectified at our weekly heads of department meeting.
I do apologise for the incidents.
My wife and I have just spent a four night break at the Isle of Mull Hotel, booked through Easybreaks as a "walking break" therefore we got dinner bed and breakfast plus packed lunch which was very good value. We thougt the quality of food was great and the service in the restaurant was excellent. The reception staff were also very efficient at all times even allowing us to make a late change to our dinner booking after we got back to the hotel late having taking much longer to complete one of the walks than we should have!
The only negative element was the fact that both the steam room and outdoor hot tub were not in use.
Many thanks for your kind words and i will certainly pass them onto the staff concerned. The walking packages are are most popular package as i am sure the chef who makes the packed lunches can confrim.
Regards the steam Room it is maintained by a company on the mainland and it can really be frustrating waiting for these guys to come out. The hot tub was closed for cleaning as it is twice a week on health and safety reasons and it does take a full day to do this task.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to your stay with us.
Staying in a great hotel and getting uncharacteristically good weather aided a fabulous week on the Isle of Mull. If you enjoy coastal and dramatic Scottish highland views then Mull has it all to offer. One day was spent on IONA with it's tranquillity and famous Abbey well worth a visit, but to get the best a walk to the far coast to enjoy the soft white sands on your way to visit St Columba's bay is a must. Another day was spent mostly on a small boat to visit the famous Fingel's Cave on STAFFA then onto Treshnish Isles for thousands of Puffins and other bird life nesting towards the Atlantic. A walk up Ben More, the only Munroe on the Isle was curtailed due to low cloud but was compensated for by a walk to Mackinnon's cave only accessible at low tide so beware. There are many low level coastal walks with stunning views where bird life can be easily spotted but also watch out for seals and otters. The only town on the Isle is Tobbermorry, which is a very colourful and picturesque harbour, so have your camera ready. There is the obligatory visit to the distillery but I found the quaint Museum fascinating especially the display/report of all the ships that have sank around the Isle over the last few hundred years but mostly during the last world war.
Eating out is pretty good for such a small community and the restaurants are few and far between. The best was THE MEDITERRANIAN in Salan run by a Spanish chef with seafood specialities.
We enjoyed our stay at the ISLE OF MULL HOTEL, even though we did have the room at the very end of many corridors, furthest away from the restaurant and even further away from the Spa. Every room looks out onto Craignure bay and onto Duart Castle overlooking the Sound of Mull, as does the lounge areas. They have a very good kitchen with a very good menu with helpful and efficient staff. We thought the price of the food was a little bit dear but then realised it was average on the Isle and you pay a premium as everything is ferried in. A particular plus of the hotel is the Spa comprising of a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and an outside hot-tub which also looks out over the Sound of Mull and gives you a surreal feeling watching the boats and ships whilst relaxing in the bubbles. We also enjoyed a massage form a very experienced and accomplished masseuse who was a charming lady from Invarrary. The only downside I could mention was the poor standard of cleanliness of the bathroom facilities both in the room and in the main reception area.
I was delighted your visit to Mull was enjoyable and yes what a difference it makes when the sun shines.
Point noted regards the bathroom and bedroom.
It is so important that our guests give us feed back as this assists in what we focus our training on.
Many thanks for taking the time to respond to your stay.
