Cameron House on Loch Lomond

I treated my wife to a weekend at Cameron House and went for the dinner, bed and breakfast deal that included the Thermal and Hydra experience. We arrived at the same time as members of a wedding party, weddings I would guess are very common here. Not a real problem but did mean it was busy on check in. I had also arranged for Afternoon Tea which in itself was fantastic. The food was great, although there didn't seem to be a great selection of tea and it wasn't apparent that you could have tea refills. But here is one of my gripes in that there always seems to be some confusion with the staff, who end up making you out to be the one who seems confused, around what you've booked, how it's settled etc. This place isn't cheap and I would expect a bit more attentiveness on arrival 'oh, I see you've booked the such and such deal, let me just explain how that works'. I had to remind the lady at the desk I had booked the thermal experience and coax it out of her as to what I needed to do. This brings me onto the thermal and hydra experience. It is at the Carrick Spa which is 2 miles away from the hotel. They run shuttle buses there from the hotel every half hour, so getting there isn't really a problem. The thermal and hydra experience is good but not excellent. 3 floors of different steam and water spa things to do but it appears to be a popular choice with hotel guests so there's no real opportunity for peace. And then that brings me onto the biggest disappointment of the weekend. You are told the shuttle bus returning will be every half hour too but the lady at the spa desk did say to tell the bar staff in the Claret Jug (the restaurant at the Carrick) to contact the concierge at the hotel. Which we did. 4 times. I could clearly see the bar staff were definitely contacting the hotel but we were left waiting for over an hour, and in the end were taken back by a car which had previously collected people who had been waiting less time than us. I really think they need to reorganise the travel arrangements. I did mention it to front desk and they took my name and room number but didn't here anything. We had evening dinner in the Cameron Grill and would say this was a highlight. Our waitress (unfortunately I didn't catch her name) was excellent and even brought a personalised plate of sweet treats for my wife when she found out we were there celebrating her birthday. It is expensive and you really have no choice but to pay a minimum of £50 per head excluding drinks (it's a 2 course or 3 course deal). But the food was great if lacking in choice a little on the cheese tray. If you're going to have a cheese tray and go to the length of wheeling it out then I'd have more than 6 cheeses to chose from! Room was lovely, huge comfortable bed and we had a loch view which is a second to none view. Really quiet and the toiletries etc are what you would expect. But then you are paying a lot of money. We had a club room. Overall I'd expect more from a 5 star hotel. If you're expecting a personalised intimate experience don't think you'll get it here unless you pay at the highest end. I've not visited many 5 star hotels but this one seems to get its 5 stars based on aesthetics (which are impressive if bordering slightly on tacky) as opposed to the experience.

We stayed in a double deluxe room with loch view. Our room was towards the end of the corridor away from reception (room 39) and as a result our window looked out onto a truly fabulous view. We watched the seaplane take off and come back and later on saw the reflection of the sunset on the loch. The gym was excellent, full of high-tech stuff and attached to the main building so easily accessible. We had dinner in The Boat House, which was noisy but probably because we were there during the school holidays; it didn't take away from the fact that the food was delicious and we had an excellent bottle of wine. Definitely worth a visit!

Had a good break overall! Stayed here two years ago and was really good but hotel/room was a bit tired for the price. Also had a small query about the bill regarding a charge for something from the mini bar which hadn't been used. Phoned hotel and was told manger would phone back but finished for the day. Now Saturday no call plus you would think a hotel of this quality would have someone there that can deal with a queries. This wouldn't stop me from staying again but thing I would check the bill.

Staff were friendly and helpful. The overall condition of the building is very SAD, the general maintenance of hallways and and doors to rooms is somewhat lacking in TLC. The featured "Superior Loch".. view room without balcony, had the pictures removed from walls and screw mountings were still in place. Again paint work on trims & doors in this room was very shabby... nothing superior about this room, except the view!.

Very expensive, mediocre experience, which is a pity given the history and proximity to Loch Lomond. Boat House restaurant,in particular, is of a cafeteria standard with poor service, very noisy inside and with very average food.