Samantha E.
Yelp
My husband found The Portcullis by googling castle hotels, and this was a wild success. The Portcullis is quite literally built into the walls of Stirling Castle-- in its past lives, it's been a school for boys and a military store; now, it's a pub downstairs and hotel upstairs.
The rooms aren't the fanciest rooms I've ever stayed in, but the beds were comfortable and the showers worked great. Most importantly, the views are great-- the window in our bathroom in room one looked directly at the castle, and the other windows gave us a look at the town. Our rate included breakfast-- we didn't end up taking them up on the hot breakfast, but they had quite a few options that looked great.
The pub is great as well-- we stopped there for dinner, lunch and after-dinner drinks during our few nights in town. At dinner I had a delicious salmon and shrimp pasta special, and my husband had a steak stir fry special. At lunch, my husband enjoyed the fish and chips-- they were probably some of the best either of us tried in Scotland. I had a baked potato topped with smoked salmon-- how had I not thought of this before? Not fancy, but a delicious combo, for a very reasonable price. They had a great selection of beers on tap, both Scottish and otherwise, as well as a nice variety of whiskies and other drinks.
Stirling is definitely worth a visit, and Portcullis is a great place to stay to do it!