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This charming, ancient island inn is now an award-winning boutique hotel. Nestled in the charming village of Lamlash the hotel boasts one of the most beautiful locations on the Isle of Arran; looking across Lamlash Bay toward the Holy Isle which rises 1,000 feet out of the sea. The Glenisle was honoured at the 2011 Scottish Hotel Awards, scooping up a Gold Medal for hospitality as well as the prestigious Rising Star Small Hotel award. Once you have experienced Arran from the comfort of the Glenisle Hotel you might find yourself, like so many others, coming back year after year for a regular break which both relaxes and revitalises.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Modern
Languages Spoken
English
Location
A841 Hamilton Terrace, Lamlash KA27 8LY Scotland
Glenisle Hotel
1,067 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
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Nestled in a prime location with picturesque bay views, the Glenisle Hotel is lauded for its warm and inviting atmosphere, complete with tasteful decorations and the charm of live music. Guests have called out the hotel's impeccable cleanliness and comfortable rooms, although a few noted they could be more spacious.
The service at Glenisle Hotel is often highlighted as attentive and friendly, contributing to an overall memorable stay. While opinions on value vary, with some finding the pricing reasonable and others pointing out discrepancies in cost and quality, many travelers enjoy the diverse dining options and live entertainment available.
Location
Picturesque
Atmosphere
Welcoming
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Reasonable
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Relaxing
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I was a bit worried when I booked the Glenisle, as the cancellation policy required notice 2 weeks prior to our scheduled stay in order to receive a refund. My concern was based on a possible ferry issue which might prevent us arriving on the scheduled date. But the worry was for naught, and I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in the door and were greeted by Gavin.
Our room was upstairs, towards the back of the building, and featured a peek of the water, but mostly of the distant mountains and the church down the road a bit. I had booked a king sized bed, which was really quite comfortable. There was a closet in the corner for clothes, etc, a chair in front of the window, and a desk in the opposite corner that held a hospitality tray that included tea/coffee and hot chocolate and Scottish shortbreads. Upon arrival, there were two small treat packages that held Scottish Tablet made on the island, which added a very nice touch.
The bathroom had an electric shower which included local vials of soap/bodywash/shampoo and conditioner all made on the island as well. Hot water was no issue. The towels were large, but there were no washcloths. A hair dryer was included in the room. The bathroom was tidied up each morning when we were out. We stayed three nights and were quite comfortable. Free parking is located in the back of the building. Breakfast is included with the room rate, and we enjoyed a delicious meal each morning. The last morning, I made a special order with potato tatties, sausage and scrambled eggs, and was assure that it was "no bother". (I didn't want all that the full Scottish Breakfast would supply). The only downfall was the lack of fruit, which I do enjoy in the morning.
We ate dinner every night in the hotel, as it was convenient, delicious and had enough options for us to pick something different. We did make the effort to reserve dinner each night, although we were told that hotel guests are assured a meal, but they might have to wait for a certain time if the restaurant is full.
There are plenty of "comfy" areas in the hotel where one can just sit and relax without having to be in a hotel room. And, the front room has an awesome view of Holy Island.
Gavin and Nathan both went out of their way to make our stay extremely pleasant. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend staying here.
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Date of stay: September 2022
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is located along the main ring road roughly in the middle of the village. There is a tiny car park at the back that gets filled up very quickly (you could also get blocked in there) so parking on the road is preferable.
We stayed in the Superior Room 14, with stunning views. The room and the bathroom formed one suite with sliding doors separating one from the other. As a bonus, the bath was located in the middle of the bathroom affording an unforgettable panorama over Holy Island and the Firth of Clyde, whilst having a leisurely soak.
The bed was huge and very comfortable. There were tea/coffee making facilities and even a pair of binoculars but no fridge. Rather limited wardrobe space. With this being an attic room, the ceilings were sloping everywhere so one has to need to watch one’s head.
Food in the restaurant was absolutely delicious. We learned subsequently that the new chef had just started and he really knew how to impress! Both steak and salmon were in piquant sauces and melted in the mouth.
Watch out for Sundays though: dinner finishes at 6pm!
Staff were friendly and helpful.
With the owners planning to refurbish the hotel further this is the place to stay on Arran Island.
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Date of stay: August 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Room 14 for the views
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We spent 3 nights in the Glenisle Hotel, in a clean, warm, bright, dual aspect room with sea views from one of the windows. Bathroom had bath as well as shower - much appreciated after spending the day walking/climbing in the rain. Staff extremely friendly and food good. The Glenisle is a small hotel overlooking the Firth of Clyde and we were made to feel very welcome.
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had booked in here as a 2 night birthday treat. There were hardly any Available hotels left in Arran for the 2 nights, so settled on the Glenisle because it did look quite nice and had good reviews (though I can’t understand why).
We were shown to our room. The room was so small, like a shoe box. No room to keep the suitcase without tripping over it. The curtain was hanging off the rail. There was a 40cm ridge/lump in the mattress and we couldn’t get the window to open properly. I made the guy on reception aware and told him we were really disappointed as the first impressions were not good. He was really apologetic and very helpful. He came up to the room very soon after with a complimentary bottle of Prosecco and told us he would inform the manager/owner and while we were out for dinner, he would ask housekeeping to sort out the curtains and bed. I said I did not want to stay the second night and wanted to check out early.
When we got back to the hotel after dinner, the room had been sorted out, but it was stifling hot in there (all night). There was a loud noise all through the night (I timed it every 5 minutes), that lasted for 15 seconds and stopped us being able to sleep. At first we thought it was someone in a nearby room that was flushing the toilet very frequently. We soon realised this was not the case as it was happening every five minutes right through the night. This is probably one of the worst nights I have ever spent in a hotel, and at £140 per room per night, it was far from cheap. I would have had a better night in travellodge or Premier Inn and certainly wouldn’t have cost anything near to £140 a night.
I had quite a few interactions with the guy on reception who was very apologetic, personable, professional and went out of his way to try and help. He is a credit to the hotel.
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Date of stay: September 2020
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at the Glenisle last year(2020) while there were still many restrictions in place and we blamed the breakfast on that, but we returned last week just for 1 night. The room (£154 for a very small cosy double) was lovely - good coffee tray, bottles of water, arran toiletries and well decorated. The staff were really friendly - if frazzled, they seem very thin on the ground. We were looking forward to a nice breakfast but it wasn't to be! The buffet style 'continental selection' consisted of 4 open glass bowls of cereals (cornflakes etc), 2 opened full size jars of jam with communal spoons, and some fruit juice. For the cooked food, we ordered a bowl of porridge and a full Scottish breakfast. My porridge was inedible - a solid mass of oats that I could have turned intact out onto a plate and served with no cream / honey etc so even with some milk from the jug I couldn't eat it. The Scottish breakfast was the cheapest sausages etc and a fried egg with slimy uncooked white on top. Toast wasn't offered but we asked twice for it and it eventually came just as we finished. We won't return, as it was the same last year when we stayed for a few days, and a good breakfast is one of the joys of a hotel stay. A really nice hotel spoiled by a penny pinching breakfast.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The staff were friendly and try their best , one guy seems to do a lot himself. I was meant to book in for 2 o'clock , i went back at 3.40 as there was only one cleaner on.I was in room 3 and all night there was a noise, then every now and then was like water filling up, i don't know if it was heating system or what.I phoned reception at one as it was horrible.Answer phone said someone will get back to you soon as possible never heard a thing back.I hardly slept a wink, and for 100 pounds a night room i thought was unfair. In morning I went for breakfast same guy who seems to do the most , asked me if 8 would like cup of tea for the road, I said yes. So I sat down thinking breakfast must be late. The wee chef popped his head round and said would you like a breakfast, i said yes please, I said I was never asked.Other people were coming in getting menus and shown to tables etc , and I thought oh well it must be me! It looks a well nice place on photos etc ,and I only complained about no remote for TV in afternoon, as didn't want them thinking I took it. He said okay but you could not turn volume up manually as it would maybe have drowned out the noise. I could have complained in the morning , but actually felt for the guy as , he seemed to do a lot.Its a shame as its in a beautiful location. Think the owners need to have a good look at the place.The Covid system they have was good will say that!
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Date of stay: September 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Don't book room 3
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We arrived on Friday evening, ordered wine for dinner to be advised that they had run out of Sauvignon Blanc which seemed unusual for a Boutique Hotel. Dinner was disappointing as I had ordered Risotto which tasted & looked more like rice pudding but to be fair my husband’s steak was ok.
At 11.20pm we were wakened by loud banging on our bedroom door, to be confronted by the Head Chef who told us that the owner had requested we be informed that we weren’t allowed to smoke in the room & that he had seen a cigarette end being thrown out of our bedroom window.
My husband explained that neither of us smoked & that we had both been asleep prior to his banging on our door His parting words to us were that if we had been smoking then we hadn’t to do it again. No apology, no remorse of having made a mistake, Customer Care at its best!
The following two mornings we requested to speak to the owner but heard nothing further from anyone. To make things worse there was no fresh fruit for breakfast, despite it being on the menu but this was then produced after a request for it & the following morning they had run out of porridge, in Scotland would you believe!
We paid £675 for three nights in a Superior Suite including breakfast which was grossly overpriced for the standard of this Hotel.
The one star is for the young guy who served breakfast, he was courteous, efficient and helpful despite being run off his feet.
The Glenisle Hotel is not to be recommended.
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Date of stay: October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Expensive for what you get. The hotel needs a lot of attention.
I have never left a hotel review on trip advisor before but I really felt that I had to write this so that people do not arrive still expecting to enjoy the lovely hotel that it used to be.
This hotel has obviously changed ownership and all details that made it special have gone. We had visited there a few years back and then the place was spotless and had a lovely really lovely atmosphere. The Bistro was excellent at that time and the owners were true perfectionists. There are still pictures on trip advisor of how it used to be! So don’t be fooled. These are not reflective of its current condition.Previously I would have classed it as a lovely boutique hotel but I’m sad to say that this is no longer the case.
We arrived mid week for this stay and because we were uncertain about restaurant availability due to the COVID 19 situation we had booked our first evening meal for in advance. In hind sight that was a big mistake.! There was a single member of staff working that evening to serve at the bar, wait on all the tables in the restaurant and attend to the bills. As a result the service was very slow but we felt so sorry for the chap serving and he was trying so hard that we didn’t say anything. It looked like a number of other the guests felt the same. He was extremely courteous and was doing the very best he could on his own. Sadly the food was poor too and as a result we didn’t eat dinner there again during our 3 night stay. I can recommend a couple of places just a short walk away. We a lovely meal at the Lamlash Bay Hotel and a good bar meal at the Drift Inn. So my advice is to skip dinner at the Glenisle Hotel and try those instead. Breakfast was fine and the staff were helpful. We had booked the short break for our Anniversary and the room we had was the most expensive one in the hotel.It looked fine at first glance but on closer inspection it needed a proper clean! I kept thinking the previous owners would have been so shocked at the state it is in now. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and wall lights. The white painted furniture was still pretty but grubby at the handles. The blinds and the bathroom windows were really very dirty and the whole room needed a deep clean. The shower could have done with a going over with bleach! The bedroom carpet was clean and appeared new but the bathroom floor looked dusty and dull .There was a piece of string holding the shower door handle together and a plastic cable tie doing the same for the magnifying mirror !!! There were hooks on our bedroom walls and in the stairway but no pictures!!! Why? On the plus side the bed was extremely comfortable and the room had 2 lovely armchairs. The white towels were a mixture of fluffy new towels and threadbare old ones. I am so sad to say that I truly couldn’t recommend the Glenisle Hotel to anyone now. We were so looking forward to this stay based on our previous experience. It was such a let down.
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Date of stay: September 2020
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Don’t pay top rate for this hotel.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Booked using itison vouchers, been just over a year ago and had an enjoyable time, however, was very different this time. We were shown to a tiny room on top floor with basic bathroom. As we felt it wasn’t clean, ie: radiator was thick with dust inside and room was very cold, (we were told it would heat up),however we asked to be moved which we were to a room double the size but radiator was still thick with dust! Restaurant was closed in the evening so we dined elsewhere. When we came back to hotel at 8pm, the bar was closed and the whole place was in darkness. Next morning at breakfast dining room was baltic. Sadly feel this hotel is in need of major refurbishment and certainly won’t be back until it’s carried out. Disappointed clients
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Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Although the staff were very accomodating initially with our booking, and very friendly throughout, the overall experience was really quite poor. Our situation - there weren't two double rooms left and we were a party of four, so two of us took a single room with one single bed and one camp bed. I think at the rate for a single room, this would have been acceptable, but they whacked on a supplement because there were two of us. I think it was £134 per night for an extremely small, cramped room in the end. Although we were grateful for somewhere out of the rain, to be honest.
Enduring the above would definitely have been acceptable if the facilities had been nicer. However, the lounge was closed for renovation, and so there really wasn't anywhere nice to sit, other than within a sea of bare dining room tables placed in the dining/hotel entrance space. Additionally, we got thrown out of this sparsely populated room around 10.30 every night when the bar closed.
I appreciate that Covid is an awful situation that has caused the hotel to have to adapt its interior layout, but we really did pay an awful lot of money for an experience which I'd say overall was much less comfortable and enjoyable than that of an average Travelodge, on this occasion. I assume though that post-Covid though, the experience will be much better.
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Date of stay: September 2020
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Glasgow, United Kingdom3 contributions2 helpful votes
Yes, there are ground floor rooms that can be made available by special request. I suggest you contact the hotel directly to arrange. I have a friend who did something similar a couple of months ago.
Mr McVey,
Thank you for your message. I am very sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting in touch with us.
I am doing my best to answer your question but TripAdvisor will not allow me to include an email address in my reply. I have even tried writing out the email address in words but TripAdvisor still blocks my message.
So, you could send me a message via TripAdvisor or you can find out email address on our website (I would give you a link to our website but TripAdvisor blocks that too). Or you can ring us on +44 1770 600559. Reception is open between 8am and 11am every day.
If all else fails you could message me your phone number and I will give you a ring. One way or another I hope that we manage to get in touch with each other.
regards,
Geoffrey
Thank you for your message. I'm thrilled that you'd like to spend your honeymoon with us and I'm sure that we can find you just the right thing. I will give you room rates below and we can also add a dinner package for you: 2 courses for £18.50 per person per night or 3 course for £23. You can see our full menu on our website.
Our Premier Suite is a fabulous place to spend a honeymoon. There's a full description including lots of pictures on our website. The rate for B&B is £185 per night.
Other rooms are:
Standard Room: £127 per night
Cosy Double (our smaller double rooms) £119 per night
If you'd like to discuss any of these options just drop me an email or give me a ring. Our full contact details are on our website.
cheers,
Geoffrey
Thank you for getting in touch with us. We do not allow dogs in the building. We tried it for a year and the general feedback from our guests was that they prefer to know that there are no dogs in the building. However, I do know two hotels on the island that do accept dogs are the Auchrannie in Brodick and the Lamlash Bay in Lamlash. If you come to Arran I hope that you'll still drop in and see us for a coffee or a meal.
There are more places to choose from in the Lamlash area.
PRICE RANGE
£56 - £78 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United KingdomScotlandIsle of ArranLamlash
NUMBER OF ROOMS
13
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