Lochnell Arms - Oban

Called in for a couple of pints with my dog to meet two fellow campers. Good beer and reasonable price at £3.70 a pint for Caledonian Best. Have eaten in the past and food has been good as well. Staff very friendly, can recommend.

Maybe problems with staffing made bar service a bit slow? but they managed really well especially in the middle of a heatwave! The room had a lovely view. The food is excellent and service was good in the restaurant.

Tricky to review. A real mixed bag. First impressions aren't great. The sign pointing to the hotel is broken down and doesn't actually point. I spent a few minutes looking for it on Google Maps even though I was almost on top of it and had seen the sign. Not a looker from the outside and this continues as you get into the public areas. Fortunately they have taken trouble to update the rooms (or at least the one I was in) which is the main thing. One reason I booked was because the description of this actual room (the last available) sounded very honest and it was. No view, very small ensuite. But it's about expectations management and I was fine with this. A pleasant surprise was how good a location the hotel has. At the back it has a conservatory style dining room, a terrace and then a lawn which slopes down to the loch.. almost. There are a couple of bungalows, but due to the slope these don't obstruct the view of the bridge and the channel between Loch Etive and the bay. I had dinner. Choices on the main menu are predictable and quite limited (burger, pie etc). After a couple of nights of burger and fish and chips already I found myself drawn towards the goats cheese and beetroot salad.... And I don't even like beetroot. Fortunately they had a couple of specials. What I had in the end was fine (smoked salmon and prawn salad) although I'd suggest they put the large amount of cocktail sauce in a separate pot rather than smother it. Service was good and pleasant for dinner and getting drinks etc. 3 star rating doesn't reflect this as service checking in and out (see below) dragged this down. Breakfast was the usual with haggis as an option also. They had some decent packet yogurts and some fruit. The only unfortunate fly in all of this for me was that I was asked to pay as soon as I walked in the door (after a long hot ride and while still wearing my hot bike gear and loaded up with bags, helmet etc). I later saw other guests afforded the luxury of receiving a bill for their stay as they checked out and paying then. Not a great feeling and would put me off returning personally whatever the reason. I wasn't also given a receipt for the payment and when I asked for one when leaving was told to email in. They did send that when I emailed. I dare say there could be a misunderstanding, but maybe something they could consider improving. So simple but good clean room, OK food, pleasant service, a great location and good value. Despite some niggles for me personally, I'd recommend if you find yourself in these parts.

Staff too busy pulling pints rather than serving customers who are staying in the hotel waiting for dinner. Room 11 badly needs redecorated and beds replaced. Carpets dirty and not hoovered. Nice view of the river with occasional seal hunting for fish.

Good good and staff very welcoming the menu is a bit limited and such a pity they only do Sunday carvery on special days such as Mother’s Day now used to be much better.