|
 I've
always been of the opinion that hotels in Scotland do not make the most of
the web by telling prospective visitors what they can do while based at
their hotel. As I decided to take a holiday before leaving for the
USA I thought it would be good to document my stay at the Dunalastair
Hotel in Kinloch Rannoch. To my mind this is what all hotels should do on
their web sites and I've only scratched the surface of what is possible
for an hotel to do.
When you follow the links
below you'll find loads of photographs and each one is a thumbnail so if
you click on any of them you will get a larger picture to view.
Click here for road map of the area
So what did I think of the
Dunalastair Hotel? Well it has some superb advantages for me as it
is also the home of CaliNet, an ISP operation, so I was able to get full
broadband access to the Internet to allow me to keep my site updated and
to do all the email. The folk are very friendly and at the back of
the hotel is the "local" pub where you get to meet the locals. Being in a
small village it is normal for folk to wish you "good morning" and all in
all you will feel right at home.
The staff at the
Dunalastair come from all over the world with folk coming from Australia,
New Zealand, South Africa, Hungary, etc., as well as Scotland so you have
a great mix of accents :-) While staying here there were folk
staying from the United States but also a lot from Europe.
The food is excellent with
large portions and the soup in particular was excellent. The Lamb
shank was also a great dish but you do need to have a large appetite to
finish it :-). Rooms are excellent but no telephones in the room
which I was surprised at.
So.. were there any
downsides to my experience? Only two minor ones... first, this hotel
is not Men friendly!!! I stayed in several rooms and in each the
toilet lid has a distinct tendency to fall down on you.. so beware guys!!!
:-) The only other wee problem was getting a nice hot cup of
coffee.. but if you asked they would get you some fresh.
I will say that the chef
was very accommodating and if you wanted something a bit different to what
was available he would do his best to help out. I got a bit fed up
with the wee new potatoes on offer so asked for something different and he
obliged with sauté and roast potatoes. Also a couple of nights I
couldn't take another dinner and they were happy to do sandwiches for me
with some chips.
They have an excellent bar
and if you like whisky you'll get a fabulous selection to choose from.
Must be over 100 malt whiskies on offer.
Just around the loch you
can also follow the clan trail and as 8 clans are associated with the area
you can enjoy exploring the places that the clans lived and worked.
The MacGregor island is now flooded so you only see the top of the tower
they built but really... there is just so much to experience and explore
you should base yourself at an hotel like Dunalastair for a week and then
perhaps move on to another destination for a similar and new experience.
So.. would I recommend a
stay at the Dunalastair Hotel? You bet I would... great people..
great accommodation... great food... and lots to see and do plus they
offer full Internet access!!!
You can visit their web
site at
www.dunalastair.co.uk |
