Dunalastair Hotel Suites

Staff friendly and helpful

Room very cold on arrival and took several hours to warm to a comfortable temperature. Included cooked breakfast was good. Dinner acceptable but overpriced for the dishes provided, for example £11.95 for 4 small haggis bonbons and £32.95 for “Chef’s special” of a pleasant but unremarkable dish of baked cod and vegetables. Service very slow with around 30mins to first course then further 30mins between finishing starter and getting main. I suspect kitchen not adequately staffed.

The room and bathroom was big and fully equipped and the bed was good. The locations and the building are very beautiful, worthy of the drive in the middle of nowhere. And definitely worth the price on comparison to all other stays we had in Schottland.

The stuff did not offer a 5* service as in other similar hotels (from a practical point of view and the vibe of service), and the cleaning was suboptimal. The restaurant in the hotel offers tasty food but is very pricy and one of the slowest services I have ever seen - from ordering the main food (even with no starters) takes 1.5h! And keep in mind there is really no other choice to eat elsewhere but another hotel (which in our case was fully booked).

The hotel is well finished to a good standard, food was good and the courtyard is a joy to sit and enjoy the good weather, my room which was the studio was well appointed with plenty space.

This good hotel missed a few opportunities to be an awesome hotel but yet there were a few small issue which they could change, like the room had a fidge but it was very noisy, also the bathrooms have very poor showers not fitting to the style of this hotel, the price of drinks were absolutely disgrace £7.50 for a pint of local beer!!! And we had to leave early next day and asked for receipts to be left at reception upon departure but they did organise this and the staff in the morning had no idea how to yo do it, the staff need to improve a lot in my opinion, also my work colleague had a room opposite me which was same price as mines but was tiny and like an oven so be careful when selecting a room especially if in a group.

Although in the hotel itself having a small apartment gave a great feel to being in a home from home. After coming back from a long walk and being told that thee was no food the staff went the extra mile in making sure that we received a small choice and getting something to eat which was really welcomed.

Very limited choices of beers, Given that there is now a vast number of micro brewery' I had expected a choice of "local" ones (I know not to everyone's liking but its me :-) , Very limited choice of bar snacks also again given the location and area would have expected more - On a positive note from that we landed up supporting the local shop greatly!!!

The hotel was located within a lovely setting within the village. Our room had great views of the surrounding hills. There is an al-fresco dinning set up at the hotel enclosed courtyard with, again, stunning views. We didn't get the chance to experience it. Perhaps next time.

The breakfast and dining area lack ambience. Food was mediocre for the price. The staff, particularly at breakfast, appeared stressed and were quite short when attending to request from hotel residents, perhaps due to understaff? Or other staff members not pulling their weight and this particular staff was attending to everything and everyone?

The outside of the hotel was tidy and very smart. The reception area was clean and professional and really set the theme for the stay. The huge antler light on the stairs had a lot of cobwebs on it. The room was lovely, clean but very hot, radiators were turned off and windows opened immediately on arrival. There extra touches of coffee machine etc was lovely but there was no sweetex. 5 star hotel should be able to source BBC1 on its TV but we didnt visit to watch TV. If your biscuits were opened and placed in a glass jar this would look and feel much more luxurious. The Monadh was lovely but could definitely be more luxurious. The tables need something rather than just salt abd pepper on them, it gives the room a bistro feel, a glassed candle perhaps with a bit of tartan that gets lit when you sit is always good for ambience and makes guests feel welcomed. Menus were on paper which was fine but some were crumpled and dogeared. A menu folder perhaps in leather/wood would have kepted menus clean and easily accessible for amendment whilst looking 5star. The lights were fabulous but needed cleaned as they had lost the brilliant shine mirror and glass gives. The flower displays on the tables in the bar looked great but on closer inspection were very dusty abd the glass bowls were dull. None of these observations ruined our short stay but they are all simple fixes and only need a little attention to really make the place sparkle. Over all it was 9/10 but everything from the surroundings, to the staff, the service, the food and drink was very good but could easily be an excellent.

Heat in rooms and mydic at breakfast was loud.

The staff at the Dunalistair were exceptional very attentive. The hotel location is beautiful plenty of walks straight from the hotel, we travelled to Rannoch Station and took the train to Corrour which is stunningly beautiful. The rooms are very quiet. Never once heard another guest leaving their room, nothing worse than doors banging as people enter or leave their rooms! They have all the facilities you would need in the room. We ate at the Monadh every night which can get a little repetitive and it is quite expensive although the quality of food is very good.

The bathroom was a little dirty, the tiles by the shower could do with a good scrub, and the shower hose was a little mouldy. Mattress could do with an upgrade really wasn’t comfortable, didn’t sleep very well for the 3 nights we were there. This was not anything that would stop us returning as it truly was a great hotel and great value for money

Lovely staff, super quiet and beautiful area. Comfy bed and spacious, clean room. It was my partners birthday and they left him little cakes and a Happy Birthday card which he really appreciated. The hotel smells amazing! Not sure what they use but it really is lovely. Lots of tea and coffee in room, shortbread too and nice toiletries. Perfect spot for hillwalking and relaxing. Food was brilliant too. Great value for money (for the room!)

Food was very expensive - £20pp for breakfast and no other cafe or shops around so limited to hotel food. We drove the 35 minutes to Pitlochry for brunch instead.

Overall experience during our stay was outstanding, at this well-appointed hotel. There were plenty of parking spaces, including overflow secure parking. Set in an idyllic little village, the whole hotel seems to have found a fine balance between an old building and modern deco, making it extremely comfortable for guests. Absolutely every member of staff was outstanding. Particularly, Natasha excelled in the art of delivering cheerful professional customer service. Service felt very individualised. For example, unlike most hotels where breakfast is a buffet style self selection, here your breakfast is made to order, hence taking longer to arrive at the table. Same with dinner. All meals were excellent and well presented and were worth the wait. If you are a fast fooder- best you forget it during your stay here- we did!!

It would be rude to call these dislikes! Particularly as the hospitality industry is recovering from the pandemic, staff shortages, and other related impacts. So, we would say this hotel is doing better than most because of its staff. However, we found the room cleaning and housekeeping were late in the afternoon, often after we returned from a day out. Another general issue is- this hotel is located 13 miles from the main road (A9), via B847. If you not a confident driver, you might find some of the narrow passes a bit challenging, particularly if you drive a large car. But it's not insurmountable if you don't rush it!!

Beautifully refurbished building, We we’re given a complimentary upgrade for our anniversary from studio to a junior suite (206) which was generous. Staff where extremely friendly and available to help. Great toiletries, robes and slippers. well equipped kitchenette, nice selection of tea/coffees and bottled water included, tv and seating areas. Evening meal was lovely as was the setting and furnishings. Bar and lounge area comfy. Relaxed evening and good selection on continental breakfast included in rate. Short walk to shores of Loch Rannoch and the nearby waterfall. Great views over the square and mountains from windows. I’m sure we will return.

The fridge in our room was noisy, and carpet in need of cleaning (both discussed with team before leaving) and will be dealt with. The music played throughout the public rooms wasn’t to our taste, but not really an issue. Beware if you’ve opened the windows and you’d like a bit of a lie in, the bus arrives around 7am :D