Glasgow Reports
Review of Strathblane by David on October 6th, 2006
Very Over Rated and Over Priced
Firstly I would like to agree with every word of the reviews titled "Seriously Over Priced" and fully disagree with everything quoted in the review titled "Pleasant and Hospitable" posted on Tripadvisor. How anybody could possibly give this hotel a rating of 4 stars in frankly beyond my comprehension and does not help other potential visitors. The managers response to one of the Tripadvisor reviews is also very economical with the truth.
I have rated this hotel as terrible mainly because my expectations were managed very badly by the hotels own web site which simply does not tell the truth.
The owners of the hotel, who have been provided with a copy of this review prior to publication, have been given ample opportunity to convince me that if any of the content of my review is unreasonable and requires alteration. They have chosen not to comment after 10 days which in itself is an indication that they really are only interested in taking my money!
Usually when I make a hotel reservation I select either new or newly refurbished hotels where possible, with a four or five star rating and excellent reviews. This is due to places like the Kirkhouse Inn that have a shocking tendency to become extremely economical with the truth through their own vastly exaggerated web sites. Do not be taken in by the photographs or the virtual tours. This is possibly what the hotel looked like when it was refurbished which I would suggest was many years ago. Unfortunately when I booked the hotel I could not find any internet reviews. This is a very average small country hotel and absolutely nothing to get excited about as the owners would like you to believe. Do any of the other reviews enthuse about the hotels quality in the same way as their own web site? The answer is a categoric no.
All of the major quality hotels in Glasgow which are not a lot more expensive at the weekend were full due to two major events. As a result my party were left with very little choice and booked four rooms at the Kirkhouse Inn.
Some of the party went to the additional expense of upgrading to premier rooms which supposedly offer individual design with comfort in mind and a picturesque view according to the hotels own web site. We booked this hotel nearly ten months ago! The party leader was given a so-called premier room (number 17) that overlooked a revolting central shaft with a black bitumen roof and numerous extremely noisy air conditioning units which I can only imagine are for the kitchens as both the restaurant and our bedrooms were uncomfortably hot and were not air conditioned. Not quite the delightful views of the Campsie Hills that their web site suggests! Due to the noise which was the equivalent of a small factory when the windows were open, and I am not exaggerating, you either had to sleep in a very stuffy room or not sleep at all! We changed to a slightly better room with view of the hills after one night. I instructed the hotel not to charge any supplement for the so-called premier room that we had to suffer on the first night which they readily agreed, given that I had the opportunity to see other standard rooms which were virtually no different. If all that was not bad enough they then tried to give another member of my party who arrived a day later room 17. After we complained they offered an alternative standard room which was virtually the same quality as the so-called room 17 premier room.
All of the furnishings and bathrooms in the hotel have seen far better days. They are antiquated and tatty. The loo takes for ever to fill with water and the showers are positively useless. The beds are extremely uncomfortable and this was the view of 8 people. The TV's look as if they came from house clearance sales.
My experience of the hotels restaurant was not helped as the room was far too hot which made it very uncomfortable and spoiled the meal. Also the food in the restaurant was simply very average and extremely expensive. It was nothing like I imagined it was going to be given the highly enthusiastic statements about quality and service mentioned in the hotels own web site. The staff in the restaurant are mostly very young and whilst they are friendly and pleasant they leave a lot to be desired in terms of professionalism. Unfortunately my experience in the hotel bar was not much better.Whilst I was being served the waitress decided to take a lengthy phone call and then run around the hotel looking for somebody. I felt as if I was being a nuisance for ordering a reasonable round of quite expensive drinks! Suffice it to say that my tip equalled the service I received!
Allow our attentive and welcoming staff to look after you during your stay at the Kirkhouse Inn the web site says. And the web site also goes on to boast, as a result of our impeccable standards of quality and service, our reputation and our unique location the Kirkhouse Inn is a popular choice for holiday breaks. My experience of this hotel did not resemble any of this highly questionable web site information. The hotel is positioned opposite the Campsie Hills which are pretty at best but certainly nothing special. The location of the hotel is not very convenient for the centre of Glasgow approximately 12 miles which will take 25 minutes with no traffic and another 10 minutes to park.
You have been warned!
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