Another Place, The Machrie

We were really looking forward to our stay at the hotel but unfortunately it really wasn't a great experience. We had previously been staying in a five star establishment in Edinburgh and was therefore expecting a similar experience here but disappointedly it fell very short - there was really no comparison.|The staff that we had contact with were very friendly but the service was extremely lacking - considering the price that you are paying it was pretty non-existent; really not acceptable. It definitely seems to be very understaffed.|The check-in was fine and the receptionist lovely, however, there was no hotel porter so we had to sort out getting our heavy luggage up to our room ourselves. Ok, no porter service in a three star establishment is totally expected but we really expected it here.|Our room was clean, very comfortable and had beautiful views of the golf course, however, for two of us, the hanging wardrobe space was tiny!!|There were several lovely rooms and open lounge areas to sit and relax however, we quickly realised that wherever you chose to sit, no one would approach and enquire if you wanted a drink etc. Apart from the two guys in the bar in the upstairs restaurant, there were no waiting staff to be seen anywhere. If you wanted anything you had to go to the bar, order and wait for it yourself - again, not acceptable in a higher star establishment. We also requested a taxi one night but were told that we've have to call it ourselves - again, not what you would expect!!|Breakfast on the Saturday and Sunday was just a serve yourself buffet with no proper table service and very limited choices. We did query this and were told that at weekends it is too busy to offer the full breakfast menu and full table service. Errr, really??|If you are a golfer and are happy to look after yourself then maybe you will enjoy The Machrie. But as non-golfers we were looking forward to being looked after with a bit of personal service. Sorry guys but we will not be staying here again unless we hear that more staff have been employed to provide a better level of service.

The Machrie is located on the beautiful Isle of Islay. A long way to get to but totally worth it. The scenery around is stunning. The food was fantastic ( I love the delicious wholesome Kedgeree! ). Could do with more restaurant staff, the golfers in our entourage nearly missed their tee time due to hot breakfast delays. The hotel is well-designed ( sitting rooms, outdoor spa ) but the rooms are a tad smaller than what we would have liked.

Overall a lovely stay and we would recommend the hotel as a first choice to anyone visiting Islay. Great location, lots of amenities (spa, driving range etc) and the view from the terrace (especially if sunny) is amazing. Rooms were lovely, hotel had an overall luxury feel and we loved having a glass of wine in the snug at night. Downsides are the food is not great, especially for the prices being charged (apart from breakfast) and the service can be very hit and miss, including housekeeping for the rooms - this lets it down and wouldn’t recommend for food.

We love Islay and had heard so much about The Machrie after its makeover and so, when my wife was given a voucher to stay there on her retirement we booked up. |The booking process was a bit ‘clunky’ as we were trying to book dinner as well as golf and a two night stay. It seemed that none of the departments spoke to each other, and when we followed up we were always answered by a sister hotel in Wales!|On arrival, we had a great experience of check in and the room was lovely with modern appliances and nice toiletries….very relaxing. |Dinner on the first night was really tasty and was served (very quickly) by a really nice young recruit from Glasgow who was loving his time on Islay. All good, if rather pacey instead of leisurely. |Up the next day for breakfast…..and this is where the hotel, charging £450 a night for B&B really let itself down. It took ages for a surly staff member to notice us at the ‘wait to be seated’ sign and allocate us a table. The self-serve buffet was always empty, needing more fresh fruit to be laid out. Staff were not friendly, orders were mixed up and service was slow. We were not the only guests experiencing this. Truly awful……and we were to have breakfast there again the next day!|We golfed at The Machrie and what a joy that was. Delightful course in immaculate condition with wonderful views. Absolutely excellent. |We decided to dine out the second night and after a super comfortable sleep, faced the same nightmare for breakfast. |We raised this at the time and believe poor attitude coupled with poor training leads to high turnover of staff (most were new) and a dreadful reputation (which we later discovered is known throughout the island). |Having completed my survey on the ferry home in which I said I wouldn’t be back and would not recommend it to friends, I got an e mail back saying thanks for doing the survey and look forward to you coming back! I have delayed this review to see if the survey was picked up but it hasn’t been and so I’m now giving my views. |I can only say to the owners (ex BBC Chairman Glyn Davies and his Baroness wife) thank you for the investment and improvement to this hotel, thank you for the improvements on the golf course but don’t expect staff to stay if they are not trained….and with that, don’t expect customers to return

The Machrie Hotel is a real gem, set in the rolling dunes on Islay. The staff were very welcoming and friendly and nothing was ever too much trouble. The choices on the menu were more than enough and all food was cooked and presented to the highest standards. I will definitely be back to play a few rounds of golf here.

I debated between 3 and 4 stars overall and decided to go with 4, just by a hair. Our experience here was uneven. Reservation email stated hotel would arrange a car to pick us up at the airport, but when I contacted them to arrange, they sent back a list of taxis for us to book. Confusing. Also none were available. My husband was able to persuade them to come pick us up at the airport eventually (after about a 30 minute wait) and we went to the hotel. We did not realize we needed to pre-book all taxis on the island (not at all the hotel’s fault), and the staff were fairly aloof when we tried to engage them on how to solve the issue. Again, not their fault but they indicated that this sort of happens a lot. If that’s the case, why not warn guests with an email ahead of time and give clear instructions on how to use the (limited) bus system? We literally sat in the hotel lobby for 4 hours trying to sort this and were never offered tea, coffee, water, etc. which was a real miss. Eventually we were able to make our way through a combination of the bus and taxis so it all worked out. As others have mentioned the food is expensive and not great. Stick with the simple proteins (grilled ribeye, half lobster) to avoid disappointment. Breakfast is basic, with many options being pretty tasteless. View from the restaurant is fantastic as is the walk to the beach over the links. We did end up needing to extend our stay an extra night which they accommodated and they took quite a long time waiting with us for our charter flight to arrive on departure, both of which were very much appreciated. We switched rooms for our final night - both were fine, nothing to write home about. No AC (as typical in Europe) so your only option to cool the rather stuffy room at night is to open the windows, which is a bit noisy and very drafty. I would simply say that this is not a luxury property…This is simply a hotel on an island filled with mostly inns and B&Bs. Keep your expectations in line.

A perfect stay for relaxing and taking in the amazing views. The beaches are some of the best we have seen. The people are so friendly and welcoming and the whisky went down well too!

We did not stay at the hotel but had dinner at the restaurant, and it was probably the best meal we had in Scotland. The service was fantastic. They pride themselves in the freshness of the ingredients and the efforts to preserve their value in quality of ingredients really shined in the dishes. The suggested gin and tonic with house made gin was definitely no g&t I've had before and it was amazing. We will come back to eat hear if we visit Islay again.