Kildonan Lodge Hotel

If ever you’ve wondered what it might be like to pay $350 a night to live inside a bog, Room 2 is the place for you. Our family originally booked the Black Watch Four Poster room via a travel agent, who did not realize the room would not be accessible to my father who has mobility challenges. When we arrived and discovered that he would have to climb four flights of stairs to access the room - some of them narrow and spiraling - the staff expressed sympathy for our dilemma but took no action to help us resolve it except to remind us we would lose our deposit if we chose to stay elsewhere. When we settled into our original room, we noticed the decor was shabby and dusty. After two truly terrifying trips up and down the stairs, we noticed housekeeping cleaning Room 2 (on the ground floor) and asked to be moved there in order to ensure my father’s safety for the remainder of our trip, despite the fact that it meant the three of us would be overpaying to stay in a smaller room where I would have to sleep on the world’s least comfortable pullout sofa and my father would be unable to utilize the bathtub due to its height. We accepted the move understanding we’d be less comfortable. What we didn’t realize was that the toilet didn’t flush and that there would be an eight-inch gap running along the window and wall in that room which effectively made it so dewy and damp that the linens smelled of mildew. The parking lot is also insufficient for the number of rooms at the hotel and we were almost required to pay for street parking one night of our stay. This hotel was disgusting, dated, in need of repair, and by far the most expensive hotel we stayed in while traveling in Ireland and Scotland.

Not what I thought it would be. The hotel looked nice enough however I didn’t get to see any of it as we were in the annex at the back. This is shabby and unloved. Rusty radiators, cheap furniture, no fridge etc. Only positive was that it was clean. Wouldn’t stay again.

We booked Kildonan Lodge based on its location and the positive recommendations we had received and were genuinely looking forward to our stay. Unfortunately, shortly after booking, we were informed that the room we had reserved was not actually available due to a system error. Whilst we appreciate being notified promptly, the handling of the situation thereafter was disappointing. The only alternative offered was a more expensive Superior Four Poster Room. As a four-poster bed was of no interest or value to us, this did not feel like an upgrade that justified the additional cost. From our perspective, we were effectively being asked to pay more because of an error that was entirely outside our control. What was most disappointing was the apparent lack of flexibility and willingness to prioritise customer satisfaction. Despite several exchanges, every response simply reiterated the circumstances of the original error and repeated the same two options: pay more for a room we did not want or cancel the booking altogether. There appeared to be little effort to consider an alternative solution or gesture of goodwill that reflected the inconvenience caused. Mistakes can happen in any business, and most customers understand that. However, customer service is often judged not by the mistake itself, but by how it is resolved. In this case, we were left with the impression that resolving the issue on terms acceptable to the customer was not a priority. In the end, we felt we had little choice but to cancel the reservation. To add further frustration, we were advised that it could take up to seven days for our refund to be processed, meaning the inconvenience continued beyond the cancellation itself. What concerns us most is that this experience occurred before we had even arrived at the hotel. If this is the level of flexibility and customer focus shown when dealing with a booking issue entirely of the hotel's making, it inevitably raises questions about how other customer concerns might be handled during a stay. Whilst we cannot comment on the accommodation itself, our experience of the booking process left us with little confidence that customer satisfaction, guest retention, and the value of repeat customers are given the priority we would have expected from a hotel with such a strong reputation. Based solely on our experience of the reservation process, communication and resolution of a problem created by the hotel, we left feeling disappointed, frustrated and undervalued as prospective guests. As a result, we will be looking elsewhere for future visits to Edinburgh and would be reluctant to recommend the hotel to friends, family or colleagues.