Dunoon & Highlands (D)

Dear all Our 5 day trip to Dunoon was fantastic The booking staff were very helpful obtaining an accessible room as usual, but on this occasion nothing was mentioned about overall hotel accessibility & the brochure does not advise of steps into the hotel etc. There were 2 steps into the hotel which we just about managed to get the electric wheelchair into the hotel (on arrival 2 members of staff lifted it in). The lift was too small to drive the chair into while seated but we did manage to wheel it in. There were about 5 steps down to the dining area & bar but we just about managed to walk down & up them. The steps around the hotel should have been made clear on the brochure. The Esplanade hotel room was good, the food was very good & all the staff were excellent & very helpful. The location was excellent for us, just a 5 minute walk to the local ferry & buses & just a little further to the shops. The Lakeside coach from Ellesmere was very comfortable & the driver Michelle was brilliant. She was very friendly & helpful & she put the electric wheelchair on & off the coach most of the time (which she didn’t have to do). Michelle gave us excellent information of each place we visited & en route, she was very knowledgeable. Before our free day Michelle gave us a map of Benmore gardens which we were interested in which showed an accessible route which was very useful to know beforehand. We had plenty of free time at each place to explore. Our group of fellow passengers were very friendly. We are looking forward to many more trips with yourselves which are already booked & hope the hotels are as accessible as the rooms. Please feel free to use any of our above comments. Kind regards, Andy & Wendy Chilton

Outer Hebrides (A)

A very go go go trip, mostly living out of your suitcase. Trip involves 3 ferry crossings, we only had one bouncy one from Ullapool (storm force 8) First Hotel, Watermill in Paisley, lovely staff, nice food, good comfy beds and rooms but we were only there for one night. Great location for a quick scout around the city. Second Hotel, Caladh Inn in Stornaway, the best hotel of the bunch. Amazing breakfasts and evening meals no fault could be found. Spotlessly clean facilities, beds rooms and communal areas. Third Hotel, Dark Isles hotel, staff superb, food again good with table service. My only gripe with this hotel was as a single traveller we were put in the attic rooms, with just a velux skylight, but the window didn't open and the room was like a sauna. Well away from even a basic shop. Fourth and final hotel, Station Hotel, Perth... Where do I start with this one, the worst of all of our stays, so glad it was only for one night. Its a grand victoriana hotel, with superb foyer, ballroom and the most exquisite staircase (which they've painted grey) but the rooms were dingy not very clean, and all the guests on the coach didn't receive the same "calibre" of room which wasn't right seeing as how we'd all paid the same money. The hotels corridor carpets especially on the first floor were riding up and did cause a tripping hazard. Think they're trying to rebrand as a boutique hotel but with the grandness of the structure it just doesn't sit right, copious amounts of grey everywhere (almost like they'd had a cheap job lot of it) The main moan about this hotel was the bar was supposed to close at 11pm ,it closed at 10.30 and no one was offered a drink with their "late arrival" meal. Also we had 2 people on the coach and at no time was we told that the chocolate brownie dessert contained nuts, which could have had dire consequences. Our driver Michelle was an absolute star, couldn't have wished for a more professional person to put up with us lot for a week. First class driving and a joy to be around. Please use her more :)