Stirling Highland Hotel

In an old high school which was used from 1860s to 1960s, then served as a archives for 30 years and now converted to a hotel. It’s a cool building with a working planetarium which you may not find at any other hotels in the UK. The gym is wonderful – really outstanding with a pool, racquetball court, large workout room with weights and machines. Lots of parking. Close walk to the castle at the top of the hill or the downtown shops and restaurants below. Downside is the rooms, hallways, and bathrooms are pretty shabby and you can’t open the windows much to get in fresh air. The beds are adequate and clean. Good location for a night stay to see the local sights.

The hotel is well situated and the reception staff were friendly. The spa and treatment were excellent. The room was comfortable, but the bathroom let it down. The towel rail was not secure (reported), and the ceiling had peeling paint. The shower also had an old curtain fixture that had not been removed. The bath was lovely and deep, but this is possibly why the towel rail was not secure as bath not easy to get out of as no grab rail where needed. The toilet did not have a toilet brush. The hotel is in an old school but other than the bathroom looked well maintained.

My husband and I were recently on our first trip to Scotland. We chose this hotel for our 'home base' for 9 nights, knowing that we would be traveling some nights to other locations. We found this hotel to be lovely. Our room was clean and met our expectations considering it was a high-school in the 1800's. We had the breakfast package and found the food to be very good. I actually found that I liked haggis and black pudding!! We also had dinner there and I loved the beetroot and goat cheese tortellini. We had room service one evening and the service was prompt and food excellent. I used the gym and although dated it met my needs. I also did an indoor cycle class that was fun and led by Louise (I believe) I had a facial that was perfect! The hotel is in a great location. Super easy walk to Stirling Castle and local shopping and restaurants. The complimentary bottle of wine was a nice touch. The staff was wonderful and responsive before and during our stay. We would definitely recommend and would reserve there again.

Very average stay. We stayed on a two night spa break. The treatments were great and nice relaxation room. ||Room were very basic and lacked general maintenance- mould around the bath and ceiling. ||Majority of the staff were friendly but a number of staff inattentive and not friendly at all especially reception- not welcoming at all. ||First days breakfast was fine although lacked that attention to keeping areas clean and tidy. ||Second days breakfast was appalling, many items missing and waited 20 minutes for self service breakfast to be refilled and even then only half the items for cooked breakfast was available. On complaining to the general manager I was met with a ‘ sincerer apology’ followed by many excuses as to why the breakfast was not available due to been ‘very busy’ as a hotel guest who had paid for breakfast this is not my concern, I would expect given another 1.5 hours of breakfast service left the chefs should have been able to keep up with food demand on a self service buffet breakfast. ||Evening meals were very nice but again staff attentiveness let the experience down. ||The location is good. Certainly would not recommended.

Quite a grubby little hotel. Our room had the previous occupants belongings still in it... in addition to most of their hair in the sink and bed. Bottles of water were provided in the room but one had been opened and drank from by the previous occupant. Reception staff were helpful and apologetic but im fairly certain our room hadn't been cleaned before arrival. We had booked the overnight spa break and whilst the massage therapists were excellent, the spa reception staff were quite rude for no reason even speaking about us audibly whilst we were still at the desk. Making the atmosphere in the spa uncomfortable. Hotel restaurant and bar staff were lovely and the food was fine. Not particularly worth the money and I struggle to see how it has a 4-star rating.

Not a 4 star. Disappointed as the menu was said to be local foods which is why we booked. The only Scottish thing was the iron bru on the starter of chicken. The rooms were in need of updating. Perfect location. Parking was not free if you hadn’t booked directly. Breakfast was not brilliant. Coach parties took up 2/3 of the dining room so the tour guides were talking throughout the meal. Would not stay again.

Great location however on a steep hill. Lovely breakfast each morning as photographed. Help yourself buffet. Quite old fashioned school building but nice inside. Gym very small and not great variety. Would do for a session or two but be glad to get back to a proper gym at home.

A nice relaxing stay with the benefit of spa treatments. The room was really nice. Food was nothing fancy but perfectly adequate. 15% discount on stuff by booking direct.

I could reiterate all the negative comments in the reviews. We experienced the same level of quality of rooms, stuffy, warm room and no service from staff. At dinner, I ordered the plate of Artisan Breads as a starter. What came, was four slices of toasted sliced bread. I was not impressed.

I'm torn on this review. As a hotel, this spot is lack-luster. The rooms are extremely worn and dated, and are stuffy, with no AC and windows that only crack a bit. The finishes are worn, tile is cracked and curtains falling down. It's rough. But; as far as location, it's amazing. And has parking. And breakfast is great. So, if you need a central spot with parking for a few nights in Stirling, this place is probably a good option. Prepare for the bedraggled appearance, and enjoy the (surprisingly) comfy bed, tasty breakfast and amazing location.

This has to be by far one of the most underwhelming stays I've ever experienced. We paid quite a decent price for this hotel and expected an actual 4 star hotel. Now I don't know what you need to get 4 stars in Scotland but I think the hotel would have a tough time even competing with 3 star hotels. The rooms are extremely outdated and definitely not what I would expect for that price. In the bathroom, the fake marble counter tops are not completely glued together anymore, so it feels like the bathroom is actually falling apart. It honestly feels like the newest thing in the bathroom is the shower curtain that appears to have been put there years ago. The bed also seems to have aged quite a bit - the mattress doesn't even lie flat on the bed anymore. That being said, the bed sheets fall off at every single movement as they're not fitted anymore... The hotel rooms had extremely thin walls and you were able to hear everything that was going on in the hallway and every single step people were taking. Additionally, the floors felt like they were going to break every second. BUT the biggest disappointment was BY FAR the breakfast. First of all, you have to wait quite a while for a staff member to check you in so you can get to the buffet style breakfast. We paid extra for the breakfast but should've rather went to a local café. Almost everything was out of stock at 9am (breakfast lasts until 10:30 on Sundays) and when asking the staff members for things such as more toast, they gave an annoyed look and came back with about 10 slices of bread that were gone in seconds. Not to mention that there is no such thing as cheese or salami or anything. The Nutella was empty too. The worst thing was the coffee which tasted like a mix of instant coffee and chlorine. There also was no juice left and all the staff was doing was standing literally right next to the juice containers and not filling them up but rather appeared to have private conversations. When entering the hotel, you are greeted with a nice smell of moisture combined with mold. Only good thing was the view which was nice and the size of the rooms which sadly doesn't make up for all the negative aspects of this hotel. Honestly would never come back to this so called 4 star hotel.

Probably the worst mattresses (and night's sleep) I have ever had at any hotel. A good bed and a clean room should be the basic prerequisites to any hotel and this one fails to meet either.

I seldom publish reviews on the internet, but this hotel has pushed me to the edge. I booked a Deluxe Double Room many months ago hoping to have an elevated stay in this popular hotel in Stirling. I paid a decent amount extra for the nicer room, and when I arrived was disappointed to find that my "deluxe" room has a very torn carpet with duct tape on top of it in multiple places. I accidentally stepped on these sections on the floor in the middle of the night and felt myself sinking into the floor a bit. This is very disappointing, considering I decided to stay here because I wanted a nicer place to stay and I booked a more expensive room. When I went down to share this with the front desk employee, she apologized and said there are no available rooms to change to. I asked her if there is anything else the hotel can do to make up for this, and she said she couldn't promise anything. I never heard a word from any employees at the hotel. No offer of a drink, a meal, a partial reimbursement, nothing. I also emailed the hotel after my first night and did not hear back until after I left, but I'll get back to this later. I was also denied a late checkout, and when I went to check out, I reiterated my concerns to another employee at reception, who said she would pass them along to management...so I finally hear back from management via email a full day after checking out. The supposedly new manager Jay sends me a whole email of fluff with no offer of compensation or anything of substance at all, aside from the fact that they LIED that I was offered another room and a late checkout. Between the lies and excuses that the rooms have yet to be refurbished, I was very disappointed and let Jay know this was simply untrue. Well, Jay doesn't believe me, and reiterated in their reply that the staff offered me another room and late checkout (which is absolute BS). I reiterated in one final reply that this wasn't true, and that I would be sharing my experience publicly if they did not acknowledge this, and make the situation right. They are standing firm, so here I am. All in all, disappointed I spent so much money on a truly run down hotel. My suggestion, try to find another place in Stirling. I will never be returning with this type of customer service. Absolutely outrageous.

We stayed 1 night in January 2020 while on a visit from the US. Old, tired and very small. We paid the extra $30 to upgrade our king room to their best room type. I am not sure what we would have gotten in a standard king if this was an upgrade. Room was very cold with 2 space heaters in the closet that we were instructed to use to get it to temp. The radiator system had no controls and ours appeared not to work as well as other parts of the hotel which were much warmer. We left in the early morning as our stay was not comfortable and we were disappointed.

This is a great hotel, I have stayed here 5 times. The hotel building is the old Stirling High school. There is an indoor swimming pool attched to a health club that residents can use. The car park does tend to get full. The staff on the whole are very pleasant. The rooms have always been good and well dressed. The service in the bar can be poor. I would advise against eating in the restaurant as the menu is limited and expensive for what it is. The quality and standard fall short of what you would expect in such a lovely hotel. The breakfast is okay and the wine list decent. The hotel is on a steep hill, but a great location for exploring Stirling by foot. It is a fantastic hotel sorely let down by it's food.

Stayed for 7 nights on a tour vacation booked through AHI. Had great service in a lovely location. The front desk was very helpful, even with their computer system having trouble. When the wake-up calls weren't working they actually came and knocked on the door. Rooms were clean, bathroom was exceptional. Even with a large group, the service in the hotel's restaurant was prompt and friendly. There were several food options at every meal that covered most of the groups tastes. The desserts were my favorite. A huge thank you to all the staff that waited on us. It's not easy to feed and serve 30 people at one time for over a week. Staff was very accommodating and helped us with all our 'tourist' questions. Housekeeping staff was approachable and pleasant.

This is a lovely hotel with a lot of character. It is set up the hill towards the Castle and is, therefore, in a great position. As it used to be a school, the hotel is set around a quad, with the quad now forming the car park. The rbedooms and a leisure centre, with swimming pool and gym, are set around the quad. The quality of the rooms is very good and they are well presented and comfortable. There is a bar with a small tv room. This, again, is nicely presented but the service can be poor here. The coffee is also poor and not recommended. There is a large dining room which serves a good breakfast but unfortunately falls very short for dinner. I have eaten here a number of times as I have booked a special hotel offer that includes dinner and have been disappointed on each occasion. I no longer book these special offers and have dinner elsewhere in Stirling. The only other downside is that the car parking can become a problem as the leisure centre is open to the public for membership. The hotel also appears to host a lot of conferences so parking can be at a premium. As a hotel to stay the night and have a good breakfast, it is excellent.

Quite pricey, but a really nice meal. We had a lovely evening out there. The menu was extensive, the food cooked to perfection and very tasty and the wine was good too. The staff were all very friendly and helpful, quick to notice if you needed anything without ever being obtrusive. They were also happy to explain any dish and to find out exactly what was safe for someone with food intolerances - they all seemed very knowledgeable about food intolerance, which is certainly not always the case when we go out! I'd happily recommend Scholars for a special evening out - but due to the prices it's not for every day - or even every month for us, especially in these credit crunch times. I'm already looking forward to my next meal there come on lottery

A fine building for a hotel and ideally placed for the Castle for our one-night stopover.The reception staff were polite and helpful. The premium room was comfortable but with a view over a derelict building. Also the shower did not work properly. It was either tepid or scalding. As the problem was the shower thermostat though we were able to draw a bath. The biggest disappointment was the breakfast. If we had wanted a buffet style cooked meal with minimal service and luke warm food I would have gone to either a supermarket cafe or one of the large cheap end chain hotels.