Stayed at hotel Aug 8-9, 2011, on solo golf trip. Room was simple, clean and basic, not fancy. Breakfast was good, full Scottish. Walkable from Irvine train station. Short cab ride to local golf. Owner, Andrew, is very friendly and happy to help you get to/from courses. Be sure to have a meal at the Ship Inn, walkable from the hotel.

My work booked me into this hotel for 2 weeks as it was close to the area I was working. Firstly I appreciate the rates that this hotel charges but some standards dont cost anything!!! The other reviews basically pick up on everything that is wrong with this place eg shabby pillows mattresses, covers and a very odd smell off cheap cleaning products which mask the overwelming stink of dirty cooking fat. What I feel is the worst and worrying fact is that I doubt this hotel has any type of certificates to prove this hotel is up to standard and safe to house customers. The lights in the bathroom were not enclosed as per legal requirements. Also the electrical test stickers were out of date. Even if these were dealt with they would still have to look into there washing and basic housekeeping. The bedding and towels made me itch constantly to the put where I thought they had fleas! During the 2 week stay I had my towels changed once and my room was cleaned NEVER! If you are thinking why didnt I complain, well quite simply you never saw anyone! Cheap and basic for a few nights but a longer stay is not advised.

> On the 13th July, my friend and I stayed at the Harbourside Hotel,
> prior to joining our cruise ship which was sailing from Greenock on
> the following day.
> The best part of the experience was meeting the helpful young
> Roumanian girl who showed us to our room, made and served our
> breakfast, before starting on her cleaning duties. She truly is a gem,
> which is more than can be said for your hotel.
>
> Calling at the Harbourside was a chance that we took on getting a room
> for the night. Had I read the comments about the hotel, posted on
> Trip Advisor, I would not have set foot inside. Many of the adverse
> comments go back as far as 2008 and apparently, nothing much has
> changed since then, although my friend did appreciate the flat screen
> TV. We also appreciated the tea making facilities although the mish
> mash of crockery and spoons once again indicated a lack of care and
> presentation
>
> Superficially, the room looked OK but once installed we realised there
> were many aspects that were totally unacceptable.
>
> I have attached photos to draw some of these to your attention.
>
> The electrics left a great deal to be desired with out of date testing
> stickers and sockets that appeared to be precarious. The fridge was
> rusty and propped up with a wedge of folded paper. In the cupboard we
> found a pot scrubber of unknown vintage which was totally distasteful.
> Thankfully we did not have occasion to use it.
> The bedding was of very poor quality and the duvets appeared to be
> torn, revealing their inner wadding. There were not5 even any cvers on
> the mattresses and the pattern of the mattress could easily bee seen
> through the sheets.The pillows were so flat that even 2 together gave
> little support.
> The towels were grey and threadbare in parts. In fact, I have sent
> better bedding and towels to charity collections than we found in your hotel.
>
> The bed that my friend slept in had springs poking through the
> mattress which resulted in a most uncomfortable night.
>
> Breakfast was adequate, spoiled by the background odour of old and
> stale fat, but brightened by the smile of your Roumanian cook/waitress/cleaner.
>
> I intend to post a review on Trip Advisor but felt it only fair to
> contact you first. I appreciate that we paid a relatively modest price
> for the room but feel that even for this amount, we should have had a
> better standard of facilities.

Andy's reply
> On the 13th July, my friend and I stayed at the Harbourside Hotel,
> prior to joining our cruise ship which was sailing from Greenock on
> the following day.
>
> The best part of the experience was meeting the helpful young
> Roumanian girl who showed us to our room, made and served our
> breakfast, before starting on her cleaning duties. She truly is a gem,
> which is more than can be said for your hotel.
>
> Calling at the Harbourside was a chance that we took on getting a room
> for the night. Had I read the comments about the hotel, posted on
> Trip Advisor, I would not have set foot inside. Many of the adverse
> comments go back as far as 2008 and apparently, nothing much has
> changed since then, although my friend did appreciate the flat screen
> TV. We also appreciated the tea making facilities although the mish
> mash of crockery and spoons once again indicated a lack of care and
> presentation
>
> Superficially, the room looked OK but once installed we realised there
> were many aspects that were totally unacceptable.
>
> I have attached photos to draw some of these to your attention.
>
> The electrics left a great deal to be desired with out of date testing
> stickers and sockets that appeared to be precarious. The fridge was
> rusty and propped up with a wedge of folded paper. In the cupboard we
> found a pot scrubber of unknown vintage which was totally distasteful.
> Thankfully we did not have occasion to use it.
> The bedding was of very poor quality and the duvets appeared to be
> torn, revealing their inner wadding. There were not5 even any cvers on
> the mattresses and the pattern of the mattress could easily bee seen
> through the sheets.The pillows were so flat that even 2 together gave
> little support.
> The towels were grey and threadbare in parts. In fact, I have sent
> better bedding and towels to charity collections than we found in your hotel.
>
> The bed that my friend slept in had springs poking through the
> mattress which resulted in a most uncomfortable night.
>
> Breakfast was adequate, spoiled by the background odour of old and
> stale fat, but brightened by the smile of your Roumanian cook/waitress/cleaner.
>
> I intend to post a review on Trip Advisor but felt it only fair to
> contact you first. I appreciate that we paid a relatively modest price
> for the room but feel that even for this amount, we should have had a
> better standard of facilities.> On the 13th July, my friend and I stayed at the Harbourside Hotel,
> prior to joining our cruise ship which was sailing from Greenock on
> the following day.
>
> The best part of the experience was meeting the helpful young
> Roumanian girl who showed us to our room, made and served our
> breakfast, before starting on her cleaning duties. She truly is a gem,
> which is more than can be said for your hotel.
>
> Calling at the Harbourside was a chance that we took on getting a room
> for the night. Had I read the comments about the hotel, posted on
> Trip Advisor, I would not have set foot inside. Many of the adverse
> comments go back as far as 2008 and apparently, nothing much has
> changed since then, although my friend did appreciate the flat screen
> TV. We also appreciated the tea making facilities although the mish
> mash of crockery and spoons once again indicated a lack of care and
> presentation
>
> Superficially, the room looked OK but once installed we realised there
> were many aspects that were totally unacceptable.
>
> I have attached photos to draw some of these to your attention.
>
> The electrics left a great deal to be desired with out of date testing
> stickers and sockets that appeared to be precarious. The fridge was
> rusty and propped up with a wedge of folded paper. In the cupboard we
> found a pot scrubber of unknown vintage which was totally distasteful.
> Thankfully we did not have occasion to use it.
> The bedding was of very poor quality and the duvets appeared to be
> torn, revealing their inner wadding. There were not5 even any cvers on
> the mattresses and the pattern of the mattress could easily bee seen
> through the sheets.The pillows were so flat that even 2 together gave
> little support.
> The towels were grey and threadbare in parts. In fact, I have sent
> better bedding and towels to charity collections than we found in your hotel.
>
> The bed that my friend slept in had springs poking through the
> mattress which resulted in a most uncomfortable night.
>
> Breakfast was adequate, spoiled by the background odour of old and
> stale fat, but brightened by the smile of your Roumanian cook/waitress/cleaner.
>
> I intend to post a review on Trip Advisor but felt it only fair to
> contact you first. I appreciate that we paid a relatively modest price
> for the room but feel that even for this amount, we should have had a
> better standard of facilities.

Andy's reply

Thank you for your comments, the hotel is undergoing refurbishment at the moment, you were in room 9, which is due a makeover in August.

We booked this Hotel for a family wedding in Irvine. I had an email sent to me that if I was checking in after 7pm, the Hotel would be unattended.
The Hotel boasts "off Road parking", but no intructions or signs to get to it.
The Hotal smelt of fried food, throughout the building and up to our room (Room 2). Our room smelt of fried food. A poor attempt had been made to get rid of the smell, by wedging a glass cup to keep the window open.
We firstly noted the pillows, that were stained with god knows what!!!, the Duvet cover also had stains as well as the bed sheets. The complementory towels were meant to be white, but were grey!!
The final straw was when i sat on the bed i dissappeared as the springs on the matteress had long worn out!!!
I wrote Andy an email and, in fairness, he contacted me straight back apologising, saying that he will look into it, however reading the reviews it sounds like these comments have been mentioned for years and still nothing has been done about it!!!