Isle of Eriska Hotel, Spa & Island

I tried hard to give this hotel less than 5 stars but I can't. The setting is wonderful, the hotel is great, staff are charming and the food is absolutely superb. Starting with the food. We sampled breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. The dinner is quite special with a great choice of fresh food with wonderful flavours. Whether it's venison, grouse, salmon, local sea food or fresh vegetables from the hotel garden the food is some of the best available in the UK. Every taste is genuinely mouth watering. We had lunch in the spa area which had a wonderful view and was equally good. It is the fact that the food is so fresh that differentiates. Tea is scones, cake and short bread. All delicious. If I was being mildly critical it would have been nice to have a traditional sandwich instead of one of the sweet items. Breakfast is one of the finest there is in Scotland. A huge choice. The halibut is amazing as is the full Eriska breakfast. I could go on and on about the food as it is spectacular. The hotel itself is comfortable with good sized rooms and bathrooms. It is not luxurious as you would find in Asia but it has everything you need. The communal areas have log fires. The bar room is lovely but the main drawing room lacks character. The area around the the front door is slightly odd with the check in staff in tiny little offices. In summary the hotel has everything you need. We didn't try the golf course but it looked wet. The spa treatments were good and then pool area is nice. The changing areas could be a bit smarter and there is the odd bit of peeling paint above the pool. Nothing though to complain about. There are also some lovely walks on the island with amazing views. Staff are delightful with a great mixture of different nationalities. The staff could not be more charming or helpful. I rarely given anyone 5 stars but the Eriska experience is very special.

Maybe we were unlucky, staying at Eriska a couple of weeks after its running was taken over by Inverlochy Castle Management International which also looks after other so-called top notch Scottish hotels including Andy Murray’s Cromlix and Greywalls at Gullane. Last year Eriska was sold by the Buchanan-Smith family (who had owned it for more than 40 years) to Hong Kong-based Creation Gem. This Summer six Hilltop Reserves were opened on land above the main complex. We found examples of Best Practice. Staff were in abundance although around half the waiters were non-UK and poor at communication. No fewer than four staff, including the duty manager, greeted us within a few minutes of arrival and cases were immediately taken to our room. Afternoon tea, included in the £350 a night standard B & B package, was served unbidden (at 4.30 pm, just after we arrived). On our first night and on the Saturday we found it surprisingly quiet. We had almost everything to ourselves - the lounge, swimming pool, putting green, golf course - and bar. Perhaps more guests were self-catering in the Reserves or cottages in the grounds. It became busier on the Saturday night and at breakfast on Sunday. There was no wi-fi and the mobile signal was weak if at all. By the bed was an iPad with an easy-to-use comprehensive guide to the hotel and its facilities. The housekeeping service was first class. Bookmarks with photos of local wildlife were set out on the pillows at bedtime. A rare experience was having tea/coffee served in bed at no extra cost, and delivered bang on time. Its spa has a decent sized swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and Rasul mud room. Eriska recently opened an indoor sports hall with facilities for tennis, badminton and other activities. Outdoor facilities include a putting green and croquet lawn. Walking trails are well laid out and maintained, as is (9 hole) golf course. Food items at breakfast are served individually. There is no buffet. Individual butter dishes, heather honey and whisky marmalade were on the table as well as orchids. There is a large choice at breakfast (Poached halibut, smoked salmon, eggs Benedict, kippers, omelette) but portions are very small. Organic porridge is served with a salt pot on the side. Eriska has well tended fruit, vegetable and herb gardens but we were largely underwhelmed with the food at dinner which was partially saved by a splendid dessert of roast peach and almond cassenade and an even more splendid cheese trolley with 45 varieties. The menu was very limited: two starters and two mains with a vegetarian option for each; two desserts and THAT cheese trolley. We were not surprised to learn at the start of October that Eriska had lost its one Michelin Star after just a year. Two nights for two cost nigh on £1,000 including just one dinner and a bottle of one of the cheaper wines. A memorable experience, certainly, but hard to justify.

I booked this for our 10th wedding anniversary. The location is idilic. The rooms are spacious and very comfortable. The staff were extremely polite and helpful really added to our 3 day romantic break. Food was 1st class both at breakfast and in the evening. Spa treatments were of a high professional standard ( my wife and I both had two treatments each). The only negative and from my point of view it was a large negative is the golf course. The design of the layout is great, but that is where it ends 3 of the 9 holes are closed (long term), the first hole is a bog in parts of the fairway the others are playable. As my wife and I had booked on the basis that it markets itself as spa and golf resort with the intention of playing golf it came as a massive disappointment. If you don’t play golf or don’t intend to while staying 5en I would 100% recommend a relaxing break at the hotel.

Last month my husband and I stayed in no 4 Hilltop retreat, Mr Toad. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. Beautiful scenery, isolation, private spa bath and the bonus of your own telephone line with free uk and mobile calls ( didn't read this until last day but did unfortunately get a couple of cold calls), sky tv ( we didn't even think about there being tv there) and your own internet hub.Our champagne breakfast hamper was full of wonderful delights , the kitchen was very well equipped and the gas fire made it all so cosy. We had afternoon tea that was a real treat, the staff were brilliant with my allergies and provided a special cake just for me. We had the taster menu in the main restaurant - again the chef was brilliant at working around my allergies ( I did tell them in advance majority of them) and even made me a special dessert as I have such a long list of allergies I stop after the main ones and did not mention coffee. The meal was wonderful - the cheese was delivered to a nearby table and looked highly impressive but being allergic to it we could not invite it to our table! Then there was our massage. My husband had a lady called Emma whose praise he has not stopped singing. He keeps saying have you written a review and said how good she was! He does a lot of sport and his body aches so she worked wonders with him. I had Michelle - a really relaxing massage that I so enjoyed, none of those dig in nails or bored treatment you can often get but a lovely massage that left you feeling like heaven. We had some lovely walks around the island, so very beautiful although when they say you can walk around the island do not think they mean always via the beach!!! We did get stuck on some rocks and could find no way off and were wondering if they could send a boat out to rescue us!! How we managed to scramble across the slippery rocks and through ferns, falling into a gully and sitting in mud to finally get to a path I do not know but we did make it out - then 10 minutes later met another couple who had done the same and possibly followed our route ( hopefully not losing a shoe like I did having fallen in the mud before my husband thankfully pulled me out) as they said the bracken/ferns looked beaten down so they followed that route as they too were stuck on the rocks! ( until then I had blamed my knee injury for not being capable of the rocks!) BUT it became a talking point and was a great adventure and added to the appeal of the Island ( although a few more frequent sign posts would be lovely). This is a most wonderful place to stay and we will return. I had read a couple of negative reviews but I certainly could find nothing negative to say about the accommodation and treatment we received. The staff were very welcoming and helpful, the spa area was clean and well supplied with a lovely ladies changing room. My husband didn't like it when a party of women chatted too loudly so he could hear it in the sauna but that was a minor thing and really down to acoustics too. So all in all I certainly would recommend a stay in the hilltop retreats as they are so comfortable and inviting.

Wanted to keep this place as my secret place but it deserves to be shared, not hidden. Spent 3 days at the Isle of Eriska Hotel & Spa, best 3 days of our 2 week tour of Scotland. Customer service was 5 Star and the accommodations and grounds were stunning. Very tranquil and beautiful with so much History. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable, bartenders and servers were top notch. Food was also very good. Would definitely come back and I highly recommend it to those who want to be pampered and those in need of some rest and relaxation.