I'd refer you to the review titled "What this could be" for a VERY accurate assessment and would echo those comments. Though, I will add
that the nice website and hotel brochures, whilst not blatantly deceptive, are more indicative of Atholl Palace's apparently excellent marketing department or firm than reality. We had booked a
"valley view" room which was not available, likely due to an RBS conference underway, despite arriving before 6PM and did receive a tariff reduction, but only 4 pounds per night which was correct- if brochure photos are to be believed, we'd have gladly paid for the nicer(?) room. Ours was large albeit very spartan and lacked AC- not that we needed cooling, but it might have been sorely missed during a
warmer period. We never ate supper at the hotel owing to a rather pricey menu which we suspect did not reflect superior offerings and found (for the plentiful, if unremarkable breakfast buffet) that, as in other areas of Scotland and NOT being racist!!, there was more than a little difficulty communicating with immigrant members of the wait staff resulting in the need to repeat requests plus some errors in response. Fee-based internet access was available, however the Wi-Fi (not their fault) was down most of the time so the desk person did let us check e-mail on the hotel system and that was appreciated.
We got a sense that functions are well supervised and those facilities were impressive but, sadly, I believe there are probably some better "bang for the buck" (or should I say "pop for the pound") alternatives than the Atholl Palace in and around the lovely town of Pitlochry for families and couples on holiday.

You can certainly see why this used to be THE place to visit in the area. The building is magificent, the grounds beautiful and the location and surroundings are just majestic.

Sadly, time has not treated this grand old lady well. Although the public rooms are mangificently situated with awesome views over the town of Pitlochry and local countryside, their decor speaks of a bygone era and looks tired and jaded. Our room overlooked what must have been a new extension which, for reasons best known to the architect, was furnished with a tourquoise roof. Given that when we asked to change the room we had no less than 3 alternatives, it appeared that business wasn't as brisk as maybe it should be.

Breakfast is a slightly greasy affair but I'm maybe being harsh as it wasn't that bad and this is Scotland, coronary capital of the world after all.

This is all a real shame because there is a lot to be said for this place. If you like tennis then there are loads of well maintained courts to play on. The spa and sauna are pretty good if, like the rest of the hotel, they could do with some tlc. Like golf? There's a pitch and putt course in the grounds as well as there being any number of cracking courses within a reasonable drive. And the local scenery has few rivals anywhere in the world.

If only there was a fairy Godmother who could wave her wand and turn this place back into the magnificent fairy castle it must have been when it opened. Then they could charge what they wanted and they would still be turning people away.

Stayed for two nights in the Atholl Palace Hotel (Friday 6th April - Sunday 8th April 2007). I was a bit concerned regarding the reception staff at the hotel going from previous reviews but can honestly say they were very pleasant. On arrival at the hotel we were welcomed by the staff and offered a Glayva whisky to welcome us to the hotel. Our room that we were offered wasn't too great as we had air conditioning units outside our window but I went to reception and was given two sets of keys to go and check out these rooms and pick what we wanted. These rooms were an upgrade from what we had booked and had fantastic views - we were not charged anything extra for this. My only complaint would be the food. We ate in the hotel on the first night and was very disappointed with the standard of food. Our breakfast on the other hand was lovely and had no complaints whatsoever about this. All the staff were very pleasant in the hotel and our room was well maintained. We were booked in for a meal on the second night at the Old Armoury Restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious and would recommend that. Once again I would like to say that we enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to others but would eat elsewhere.

We stayed for a romantic weekend on 16th & 17th February 2007. On arrival we were amazed at the fantastic structure of this hotel, the drive up to the hotel is lined with trees and the view of the hotel from the driveway is wonderful, we even spotted a red squirrel!!

We were give a welcome drink on arrival and sat by the log fire and enjoyed before going up to our room. We had booked a special room and were given room 138. It had a four poster bed, corner bath and was beautifully decorated.

The pool and spa are very nice, don't forget your swimmies!

There was a wedding on Friday and Saturday and the atmosphere was wonderful.

We enjoyed the food very much, breakfast was a buffet, the views from the restaurant are to die for. Service at dinner was very good but not intrusive, James, the restaurant manager was very attentive.

After dinner we enjoyed ceilidh music which was in the lounge.

All in all we really enjoyed our stay, the location is beautiful, we will be back in the summer when I'm sure the grounds will look great.