Lovat Arms Hotel - Beauly, United Kingdom     

Basically I arrived at this hotel after an 8 hour long drive from Edinburgh. I was really hungry, but wanted to take a shower before having dinner. However, the lady at the reception told me that dinner is served between 7 and 9 pm. and that after that time I wouldn't be able to get any food. So, I decided to take a shower after dinner. When I got to the restaurant I was told that I had 2 choices, either pay 35 pounds for a fixed menu, or wait for at least 30 min. for a seat at the bar. Well, the problem with the fixed menu was that I'm a vegetarian, but most dishes had meat in them. So I decided to wait in the lounge area, where they have couches and small tables. After about 30 min. a waiter came up to me and said that I could eat where I was sitting. Then why the hell had I been waiting for so long??? I ordered a main course, which was OK I guess, nothing special, and asked an older waitress who came to clean up the table to bring the dessert menu. Well it's been 40 min. and I'm still sitting here. I decided to just get a check and signaled yet another waitress, who I thought was looking directly at me, at least three times, but she pretended not to see me. I guess, the older woman suffers from Alzhimers, while the younger one is blind! It's a house of invalids. Let's see how the rest of the stay goes.

We had a 5 night stay at the Lovat Arms Hotel, Beauly and overall we were disappointed. On the plus side we were given a large, comfortable and clean double room. We found service at mealtimes though to be haphazard, hampered by the fact that some staff spoke little English. The Strupag Brasserie is basically a lounge bar offering what we felt was pretty standard pub grub, with breakfast being served in the hotel’s large dining room (otherwise reserved for functions). On busier days staff sometimes struggled to cope with breakfast orders and one morning the guide for a large party complained very loudly and publicly about the long waiting time. On quieter days the breakfast buffet selection was limited - no cheese or eggs, though there was a type of cold luncheon meat. On the last three evenings of our stay we ate out. Once at the nearby tandoori restaurant which we thought was good and, on the last two evenings, at the dining room of the Priory Hotel across the square. Here we found excellent food and prompt and efficient service – everything in fact we had hoped we might find at the Lovat Arms.