My wife and I have just had a very relaxing four day stay at the Kildonan Hotel following a fairly hectic family wedding in Perthshire over the previous weekend and I could not have picked a better place for it. We arrived on the Monday afternoon in steady rain and were greeted by Anne (one of the owners along with her husband Rod) with great warmth and shown to a really beautiful room (No 8) which has a very nicely appointed bedroom with ensuite bath/shower and a separate large sitting area equipped with 2 comfortable easy chairs with a table plus another lounger chair with footstool, a cupboard unit containing tea/coffee making items and a large flat screen LCD TV on the wall. The sitting area has floor to ceiling glass windows with lovely views over fields and sea in two directions (South and West) so that it can catch the sun through the afternoon and evening and these are angled slightly to provide a small outside area of balcony - unfortunately in our case it rained on 3 of our 4 days however this did not spoil things for us as we spent the whole of our second day simply lazing around reading the papers and watching TV which was very welcome after the weekend activity. With regard to the other facilties in the hotel we found the food in the restaurant to be excellent both at dinner and breakfast and we also sampled the fish and chips in the bar which lived up to expectations as indicated by previous reviewers. All in all we could not fault the hotel or its owners and staff in any way and cannot comprehend the negative comments made by others who stayed there recently. Perhaps they were expecting something like the Ritz or Clariges in London!! We would certainly not hesitate to say that if you want a pleasant relaxing break in a well appointed small hotel in a fantastic location with fabulous sea views you would need to go a long way to beat the Kildonan Hotel

We booked two family rooms in this hotel in March for our stay in August. The first thing that suprised us was that they took 50% of the fee at the time of booking which was a little unusual but also because they failed to tell us when booking so we had to check this with them when the money left our account.

When we arrived we were a little disappointed with the outside because the car park was really scuffy and did not seem part of the hotel which to be fair looked quite smart. It was difficult to get the kids into the hotel without going through very muddy puddles, and you could not put any bags down on the ground.

The hotel is very nice inside although the back stair carpet was quite dirty due to sand from the beach. The room was a nice suprise, very comfortable, modern and clean. There was a few problems with the room from a family point of view. One was that the kids slept on a sofa bed off the main bedroom but there was no blind on the door onto a balcony which meant if you did want them to sleep longer than 6am in the summer it would be difficult because it was so bright and also the glass windows/door were a bit of a hazard as one of the children ran into the glass thinking it was open! There was also tea/coffee making facilities but nowhere to plug the kettle in except on the floor next to the kids bed which isn't very safe.

The staff were not very friendly and didn't seem to want to go out of there way to help. We had to leave the hotel at about 8.30am to catch the early ferry but breakfast was not served until 8.30 and no alternative was offered. We had to ask for breakfast and were told the chef did not start until 8.30 but we could have cereal and toast.

The dinner was nice but overpriced. The dining room has nice views and is lovely in the summer but it is a bit cold and clinical.

Checking out was complicated and confusing the Manager/ owner? seemed to have difficulty working out was was owed and what had been paid.

Overall the hotel is nice but it seems to be the sort of place that concentrates on meals and the bar and the hotel guests are just a side line. I would not recommend this hotel for families which is a shame because the family rooms are quite nice.

As a group of two families (two adults, two small kids & two adults and two small kids and a baby) we stayed at the Kildonan on our way to Islay.
We pulled into a rather grubby, un-Tarmaced car park - rain meant big puddles and lots of grimy mess all over our bags and kids!
We were shown to a nice, clean and large room with a joining twin room for the kids. Great, so far!
After checking in we went to explore the beach - unfortunately bad weather (we assume) meant that the beach was covered in rubbish.
We had dinner in the restaurant - food was good but we shouldn't have to pay London prices in remotest Scotland!
We went to bed, but unfortunately were kept up to late thanks to loud music in the public bar below the room. The room was great but why put a family room above the bar??
Our Ferry to Kintyre was at 9:30 the following day - unfortunately the hotel does not provide breakfast until 8:30 (how bizarre - perhaps they want a lie-in after all that late night partying?!), so we made do with a cold breakfast and missed the cooked breakfast included in our room rate. The staff seemed a little put out that we had asked for an 'early' breakfast.
On checkout the following day, our kids were playing quietly in the reception as the pressured parents check-out. To be told by the manager that "She'll wake up the guests" (referring to one of the three year olds) was annoying, unnecessary and frustrating given our experience with the noise the night before.
This final experience soured our experience of the whole hotel and made me realise that not once had we had a friendly encounter or even a smile with a single member of the staff.
Perhaps they would be happier if we took our custom elsewhere in future? Not recommended for families.

Stayed here for two nights at the beginning of August. Had a room with a suite/separate sitting area which had a balcony giving a sea view. The weather as it was warm and sunny and the hotel has lovely gardens overlooking the firth of Clyde and Pladda. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food was excellent and the bar next door had an interesting folk music night whilst we were there!

Great place to stay, well worth a visit.