Cloonie
Google
Well, we’ll remember this one! We went for my partner’s birthday, which is close to Valentine’s Day, so maybe we paid extra for it being a special weekend. But, this place was EXPENSIVE and for that price you expect everything to be perfect and it wasn’t. An unfortunate encounter with one of the restaurant staff left us both rather upset.
Starting with the room, it was lovely – perfect. The room and ensuite bathroom were both rather small – some would say cramped – and access is up a steep flight of stairs, so if you’re large or have mobility issues I wouldn’t recommend it. I loved the underfloor heating in the bathroom and the wonky quirkiness of the ancient building. There was a big coffee machine which we didn’t use. My partner had forgotten his shaving kit and I went to reception to ask if they kept any spares, but they didn’t. I think a good hotel should keep a few necessities for both men and women. To get to breakfast, you have to leave the hotel and walk up the road to their sister establishment. On a sunny morning, this might be lovely, but in rain or you find walking difficult, it’s a nuisance.
Breakfast was very disappointing. I really enjoy the cold buffet you find in a good mainstream hotel, especially the little salads, the nuts and seeds for your yoghurt, the fruit salad, the pastries, and the cold meats and cheeses. On our first morning, the cold buffet had none of this; only breakfast cereals and some bread to toast yourself. There were two covered dishes marked “cold meats” and “cheese”, but they, like the bowl marked “yoghurt” were empty. Breakfast ran from 08:30 until 10:30 and we arrived at 09:45 which doesn’t seem unreasonably late to me. The next morning, we made the effort to arrive earlier and there was some fruit salad plus some unexciting cold meat and cheese. No pastries, nuts and seeds, or salads, alas. The cooked breakfast was fairly standard and arrived promptly.
The main problem came with dinner. It was Valentine’s night, so they were probably full and maybe stressed. A few minutes after our main courses came, the waitress rushed by, saying, “everything ok?” My partner said that everything was fine, but I said nothing because there was something seriously wrong with my dinner but I didn’t understand what the problem was. After she left, I carefully tasted each item to work it out. I had some beans – they were undercooked, which reduces the depth of flavour, but acceptable. There was some mash with (I think) smoked fish in. That was tasty. Then, there was a cube of cod. It was extraordinarily salty. Not just a bit over-salted, but really inedible. I was very hungry so I tried to eat it, but it made me feel ill.
Some people - maybe most people - don’t tell the staff when they get a bad meal at a restaurant. They don’t want to create unpleasantness. But I feel that the kitchen needs to know if things aren’t right and, if you do it with the right attitude, you generally get a good response from staff. Not in this case. When I explained to the waitress that the fish was inedible, her response was unexpectedly sharp. She complained to us that we hadn’t mentioned it when she came by earlier. My partner, who hadn’t known earlier that my food was faulty, was upset by her attitude and so was I. But, I couldn’t have complained before I understood what was wrong with my food. I really wanted a replacement piece of fish, but this wasn’t offered. Instead, they brought me some more of the mash. We shared a pudding of chocolate mousse. The mousse was tasty but the presentation was lacking (see photo).
All in all, if it weren’t for the salty fish and the encounter with the waitress, I’d have said the experience was good but definitely overpriced for the quality of the food and accommodation on offer. I did like our quirky little room, though.
