Best Western The Links Hotel, Montrose

~~~~First Impressions~~~~

When driving up to the hotel you are immediately struck by how lovely this Edwardian building is. The building has been extended to include more bedrooms and a business/conference centre. And we were more then pleased when we seen it. From the driveway, we could see lovely rooms with balconies and we could see into the restaurant and a conservatory style coffee area.

Facing the hotel was a park ...
...enough view. There was plenty of parking in the car park and parking was free during our stay.

The hotel reception was small but beautiful, very in-keeping with the Edwardian building it was housed in. We could see into the bar, which faces the reception, and at the end of the hall there was a set of stairs leading up to the rooms. At the top of the first flight; facing the main entrance was a lovely stained glass window, I've included ... more

~~~~First Impressions~~~~

When driving up to the hotel you are immediately struck by how lovely this Edwardian building is. The building has been extended to include more bedrooms and a business/conference centre. And we were more then pleased when we seen it. From the driveway, we could see lovely rooms with balconies and we could see into the restaurant and a conservatory style coffee area.

Facing the hotel was a park which had a playground and pitch within it, a pleasant enough view. There was plenty of parking in the car park and parking was free during our stay.

The hotel reception was small but beautiful, very in-keeping with the Edwardian building it was housed in. We could see into the bar, which faces the reception, and at the end of the hall there was a set of stairs leading up to the rooms. At the top of the first flight; facing the main entrance was a lovely stained glass window, I've included a picture of this at the bottom of the review.

I had phoned ahead to the hotel as we needed directions coming in through Montrose - they were more than helpful and pleasant and gave us the information that we required. Upon arriving at the hotel, the girl on the reception chatted away with us and we all had a chuckle together. She must have taken a shine to us because when she handed us the room key she told us she had given us a "special room" - Intriguing!

~~~~Rooms~~~~
There are twenty five rooms within The Links, all with different themes, names and décor. Our "special room" turned out to be one of the rooms with little private terraces attached. The terrace was great; it had a table and chairs and came in very useful in this non smoking room. I think only three of the rooms have these balconies, unless there are more at the other side of the hotel, which I didnt see.

Our room was lovely, I've been racking my brain to remember the name as all of the rooms in the hotel have different names, for the life of me I just can't remember - I will update if I do. The room had wooden flooring and had cream walls - quite contemporary. Some adding touches of rug and some ornaments were included which really added to the homely feel of the room. Its not often you get these finishing touches in hotels, as they probably worry that they will be taken home as keep-sakes - the Links is obviously a more trusting hotel.

One end of the room had French doors which led out to the terrace/balcony area, this overlooked the car park and the park beyond. There were tea and coffee making facilities (something I always miss in European hotels……but then I suppose the mini bar makes up for that!). The bathroom was spotless and had lovely little goodies for me to add to my collection back home. The shower thankfully worked and was quite powerful. Also in the room was a desk/dressing table, table and chairs, double bed, television with local channels.

There were lovely fluffy towels waiting for us in the bathroom and the pillows were fluffy and thick - perfect.

There is a nightclub adjoining the hotel, although I don't think it is run by the hotel. This was almost below us but it didn't cause us any problems at all.

Other rooms in the hotel can accommodate singles and couples. The hotel also has a special honeymoon suite for newlyweds or anyone celebrating a special occasion. I believe that all rooms are non smoking and rooms are serviced daily with linen changes.

Ground floor rooms are available on request, as are late checkouts.

~~~~Facilities~~~~
Facilities within the hotel include restaurant, bar, Parking (fee required), Pets Allowed, Bar, 24-hour Front Desk, Newspapers, Terrace, Non-smoking Rooms, Continental Breakfast, Free Parking, Express Check-in/Check-out, Safety Deposit Box, Heating, Luggage Storage. Room Service, Meeting/Banquet Facilities, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Internet Services, Packed Lunches, Fax/Photocopying, Wi-Fi / Wireless LAN

Of the above facilities we only used the restaurant for breakfast, parking and the bar so I am unable to comment on the rest, although as they are fairly standard I'm sure they are fine.

The hotel can accommodate weddings and as I'm in the process of planning my own, I can honesty say that I would happily have my wedding here, it would be a lovely location - especially to go and get your photos done down at the beach.

The hotel can accommodate private functions in one of its rooms these include the drawing room which is found in the Edwardian part of the hotel and can accommodate up to 24 people for a meal, party or conference. The fairways suite can accommodate up to 110 people for same and the event centre offers an even larger space for weddings, conferences or parties.

~~~~Location~~~~
The hotel is located on Mid Links in the town of Montrose. We stayed in April and felt that the hotel would be ideal as a base for the surrounding areas but that the area didn't really hold enough attractions for us. We stayed for two nights and really didn't need anything much to keep us occupied. We were happy enough to go out walking during the day and having nice meals in the town at night, followed by a drink in the hotel bar.

As above there is a park facing the hotel and if you have children I'm sure that they will appreciate this during the day - there is a road in between the hotel and park though.

The beach is a ten minute walk and we thoroughly enjoyed strolling down here during the days. There is a great play park for the kids down here and also a coffee shop. We spent a brilliant afternoon down here, as it was spring there weren't too many people about and we had a walk down the beach and just wandered, it was really peaceful.

Areas accessible from Montrose include 10 mile(s) from Brechin, 30 mile(s) from Dundee, 50 mile(s) from St. Andrews, 50 mile(s) from Perth, 48 mile(s) from Leuchars and 13 mile(s) from Abroath to name but a few. I can recommend Arbroath for a day out.

The hotel definitely offers an ideal base to explore this area of Scotland.

~~~~Food and drink~~~~
The hotel is well known for its food and has been awarded an AA Rosette for the cuisine in its restaurant. The menu offers a mix of Scottish and continental cuisine.
The restaurant is open 6 days a week Monday to Saturday from 12noon to 1430 and 1800 to 2100 (2130 on a Saturday). On Sundays the restaurant is open for Carvery Lunch from 12 noon to 1430 and then for a Mixed Carvery and Grill in the evening from 1800 to 2100.

When we stayed at the hotel, we were on a budget and found the dinner menu a little out of our price range but hopefully the next time we visit we will be able to sample the food. I did have a look at the menu wasn't entirely to my taste, I couldn't find too many veggie options but I would happily look over the menu and consider dining here if I was to stay here again.

The restaurant caters for both lunches and dinners, just be sure to book your table in advance. The Koffiehaus is a pleasant area to sit and enjoy your newspaper or your book, or maybe just a little peace and quiet - refreshments are available here and these include a choice of continental coffees, teas, home-made pastries, croissants and an extensive lunch menu is also available with a choice of freshly made soup, banquettes, paninis, baked potato's and much more.

One meal we did get to sample was the breakfast - and what a breakfast it was! I had a vegetarian breakfast which wasn't on the menu but I asked for anyway - scrambled eggs, potato scones, grilled tomato, beans and toast. My better half had the full Scottish works - all the above including sausages, bacon, black pudding and fried eggs. He thoroughly enjoyed it. No issues whatsoever.

After out meal on the first night, we sat in the bar and had a few drinks, which we enjoyed. The bar was very busy and there seemed to be a lot of locals which added to the charm. I had a few glasses of wine and, although I found these expensive, it wouldn't have put me off having a drink here. This may simply be reflective of the fact that we were on a budget weekend away.
The bar is comfortable and nicely decorated with a wide choice of drinks.

~~~~Hotel policies~~~~
Check in from 1500
Check out at 1100
Reservations must be cancelled one day in advance of your arrival date. In the event of a no show or a cancellation in breach of this policy, the cost of the entire reservation will be charged.
The cancellation policy may vary per room type; please check the room description as well.
Cards accepted include: American Express, Visa, Euro/Mastercard, Diners Club, Switch. The hotel reserves the right to pre-authorise credit cards prior to arrival. Our room was charged on departure.

~~~~Nearby attractions~~~~
The town of Montrose itself is a lovely quaint town but we found it quite quiet during the day. It was lively at night and there were quite a few pubs and restaurants to choose from. This suited us down to the ground as we just wanted to relax for a couple of days and have nice dinners and do a bit of walking on the beach.

If you have a car there is plenty in the area to choose from. Attractions include:

1 mile(s) from Montrose Museum & William Lamb Studio

1 mile(s) from Montrose Beach

1 mile(s) from Montrose Air Museum

1 mile(s) from Scottish Wildlife Trust

4 mile(s) from House of Dun-Georgian Manor-Scottish Trust Historic property.

8 mile(s) from St. Cyrus Wildlife Centre

10 mile(s) from Brechin Castle & Garden Centre

11 mile(s) from Brechin Cathedral, 11th century round tower

11 mile(s) from Caledonian steam railway

12 mile(s) from Arbroath Abbey & Harbour

13 mile(s) from Fettercairn Distillery, whisky museum

13 mile(s) from Arbroath Abbey, historical ruin and signal tower museum

14 mile(s) from Fettercairm Village & Distillery

15 mile(s) from Country Connection Crafts

15 mile(s) from Edzell Castle & Garden

18 mile(s) from Carnoustie Golf Course, championship course

23 mile(s) from Dunnetlar Castle, location for the film Hamlet

27 mile(s) from Aviation Museum-Kirriemuir

28 mile(s) from Glamis Castle & Gardens- national trust, royal residence since 1372

30 mile(s) from Discovery Point-Dundee

38 mile(s) from Aberdeen City, major cultural city

~~~~Transport~~~~
The hotel is close to plenty of transportation links including Montrose bus terminal (0.5 miles), Montrose train station (0.5 miles) & Dundee Airport (33 miles). We drove to the hotel from Glasgow which was approximately 100 miles

~~~~Staff~~~~
We found the staff really lovely and extremely helpful. We didn't come across anyone who was sullen or didn't have a smile. The girl who checked us in on the first day was especially lovely. I have the names Catriona or Shona in my head, but this may not be her correct name - good chance it isnt!

~~~~Price~~~~
Rooms are currently being advertised on the site for anywhere between £89 for a double/twin room up to £114 for a leisure stay. This price is for a stay in June, so you might be able to get a cheaper break in the spring! I will be checking for myself as writing this review has put me in the mood for going up again.

~~~~Value for money~~~~
A definite thumbs up for value for money. I think we paid about £60-£70 pounds for our room per night which is a great price to pay for such a lovely place.

~~~~Conclusion~~~~
I would definitely recommend this hotel for a short stay if you want to unwind and re-charge your batteries. Having the beautiful beach so close was an added bonus and a great way to spend the day. The staff definitely added to our stay as they were so nice. We were really pleased with our terraced room and the breakfast was great - a lovely time was had by both of us.

In particular, I believe that the hotel would be a great base for couples looking to get away from it all together - as I said above there isnt a great deal to do outwith the summer months - but just being able to stroll about and have nice dinners together was enough for us.

Useful website addresses

http://www.linkshotel.com/

http://www.information-britain .co.uk/showPlace.cfm?Place_ID=328

Thanks for reading. Sharon x  

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