Rosslea Hall Hotel, Rhu

Author's product rating:   

Quality of Rooms	Poor
Standard of Service	Excellent
Quality of Food & Drink	Terrible
Quality of Facilities	Poor

Advantages:	Absolutely wonderful staff
Disadvantages:	Fawlty Towers without Basil

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I took my mum on a 5 day coach tour to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs in September, for her 80th birthday. It was her first big outing for 18 months, as she was knocked down by a hit and run driver in January of last year, and hospitalised for three months, having about 7 operations (we lost count) and left permanently disabled and walking with a stick. She lost her independence and her "get up and go" so I wanted to take her somewhere nice to try to give her a boost.

Anyway, I digress.

When we arrived at the hotel the setting itself was wonderful, Rhu is only a small place but the hotel overlooks Rhu bay and in itself looks very impressive, so we were hopeful that it would be a good stay. The staff when we arrived could not have been more helpful, and our bags were whisked up to our rooms within minutes of arrival (there being no lift).

First problem was we had asked for a first floor room, and there appeared to be none, ours was on the second floor, up two small flights of stairs and a bit of a trek down a corridor - ok for me, but a bit more of an obstacle for my mum.

The room was disappointing - ok, but only just, I have stayed in nicer Travel Lodges. It was basically shabby, and not in a decaying grandeur kind of way that would give it character - it was just shabby. There was a piece of paper on the bedside cabinet thanking visitors for their patience and understanding while renovation work was being undertaken - but in our five day stay we saw not a single piece of evidence of any work whatsoever taking place.

The first night the toilet seat fell off while my mum was enthroned, thankfully not causing any damage to my mum, but a piece came off the loo seat. We mentioned it to reception and they said someone would sort it out next day, which indeed they did - however they refitted the broken toilet seat, so when we used it, it was not very comfortable (I am trying to be delicate here!).

The food, ah the food, where does one start? I am a vegetarian, and therefore used to kind of muddling through or accepting whatever comes my way, I am used to boring bog standard stuff like veggie lasagne, veggie curry, broccoli and stilton bake etc, the sort of thing the average pub puts on it's menu for the veggie minority. However, the chef at Rosslea surpassed himself in awfulness. The first night there was no vegetarian meal for me (which might have been the fault of the tour operator but given the ensuing incompetency of the chef, I think it was probably his fault). So when they were asked to provide something, they offered me penne in tomato basil sauce or something else which sounded very unappetising. So I chose the penne. The soup arrived, and I didn't actually twig at that moment that it was - guess - tomato and basil! However when my bowtie (not penne) pasta appeared in a bowl a while later, it was indeed swimming in - tomato and basil soup! As if that wasn't bad enough, the bowties were overcooked and stodgy, and there wasn't even a piece of sweetcorn or whatever to brighten it up a bit. Absolutely abysmal.

Next night I was given a choice of one dish, which was vegetable stir fry, but I thought "nobody can make a mess of that can they?". You guessed it. Wrong again. When it was plonked down in front of me I couldn't believe it - it was basically just an assortment of frozen vegetables drowned - and I mean drowned - in soy sauce. It was just black. I tasted a tiny bit just to make sure I was not mistaken, although by it's appearance it was obvious and yes, the taste proved it - pure soy sauce, nothing else. Completely inedible. And yes, I did tell the waitress when she came to clear the plates why mine had not been touched. I didn't make a fuss though as I didn't want to put a dampner on my mum's 80th.

Next night I asked for a cheese salad, I thought nobody could mess that up surely. Well, it was edible, but it was entirely uninspiring, and very tiny. A few limp lettuce leaves with 3 grapes and 3 pieces of stilton propped up on the side of the bowl.

Next night sadly the stir fry veg appeared, no doubt the one I had returned uneaten the previous day.

As for entertainment, there is none. We had a choice of sitting in the almost empty hotel bar, or watching telly in our rooms, we chose the telly. It's not even like there is anything to go and do locally as Rhu is a nice place, but there is nothing to do, so I would definitely not recommend it for families or anyone wanting to do something more interesting than watch the tv in the evenings.

Anyway, all in all, the most abysmal food I have ever had anywhere, including the grottiest pubs. A beautiful hotel from the outside, lovely surroundings, but very dull and decaying inside. However, on the plus side, wonderful staff. I was trying to give them a poor rather than a very poor, but I can't, it was truly awful.

For the 4 nights stay for the two of us it cost £500ish but that included coach travel and some excursions, but it was still not worth the money.