I visited Airth castle for a girl’s weekend and spa break and was so looking forward to it, unfortunately it started badly and just got worse.
On arrival the receptionist did not even acknowledge me although I was standing right in front of her waiting to check in she took 2 phone calls before looking up and saying "yes?" not even a hint of a smile.
The room itself was in the main hotel complex which wasn’t an issue but it was quite tired, the plug in the sink did not work the curtains were faded and the chrome plating had worn off of the bathroom accessories. I found the bed very hard.
While at reception later on a different member of staff actually shouted at another guest because he didn't have the credit card he had paid with online. I have to make it clear that the man just seemed to be trying to explain that he didn’t have it with him I couldn’t believe how rude and loud she was.

Later in the same evening we were refused service in the bar because there were non hotel guests in the bar. When one of my party enquired about the drinks she had ordered she was told the staff would not bring them to the table but that she would have to go up to the bar. I feel it is relevant to add we were not being drunk or rowdy. When I asked why one of the members of bar staff would not bring over the bottle of champagne was told that they didn't want to break any licensing rules which I understand, but then went onto imply that because it was late on in the evening people sometimes ordered drinks and then weren’t going to pay which I felt was quite offensive. There was a real lack of any customer care or service.

On the Saturday we enjoyed breakfast in the main dining room and a good spa day, all of the beauty staff were friendly and professional and the facilities in the beauty area were clean modern and well equipped. This was Airth Castle’s only saving grace.

At dinner that night we waited one and a half hours in between ordering and being served. When we complained we were told by the restaurant manager it was our fault because we had been late which was untrue.

Our waiter was very good and deserves a mention because he was friendly helpful and apologetic about our wait for food.

Sundays breakfast was another negative. The hotel was hosting a private function in the main dining room so there was a long wait to be seate, in another smaller windowless room. Another long wait at the buffet, poor service to the tables as there was only a few staff and the food itself was of a much lower quality than the morning before. The scrambled eggs must have been powdered because they just tasted like foam, the bacon was hard and the pastry I had was stale.


I had such high hopes but the poor customer service, chaotic breakfast and tired rooms mean I could and would not recommend this hotel. The experience was not 4 star and I would not stay here again.

Chose to visit for a weekend in early January with a group of friends. The spa facilities , rooms and restaurants were great. We enjoyed a party night on the Saturday where the quality of the buffet was superb. The rooms were clean and comfortable, with the only fault being that there was no tea/coffee making facilities and no hairdryer either in the room or available from reception. However this will not put me off rebooking this hotel. Access from the main motorway network from either the west or east of Scotland was quick and easy and the location was a perfect base to explore the surrounding area.

On arrival at 3pm I was told my room was not ready. I asked when it would be I was advised she didnt know. I said I will sit in the lounge can you come and get me when its ready I was told no I had to just keep coming back to reception to find out myself.

On entering the room the first thing I saw was black tape holding the window closed. If it had been windy outside the window would have came in as the tape was the only thing holding the window closed.

My grown-up Son and I were visiing family and booked to stay for 2 nights based on the fact that it was a Castle and mostly because of the photos on their website which are all misleading. Nothing like the actual thing. Firstly you don't get to stay in the Castle but the main Hotel. The entrance and communal areas are ok but when we went to our room we were completely shocked! The room was a good size but had dated, scratched and marked furniture which looked like it came from a charity shop. In fact a charity shop would not be able to sell this as it is in such bad condition. Only good for firewood. One lamp was not working and all of the lampshades in the room were all watermarked. The twin headboards were skew-iff, there were strange white stains on the sofa and chair and the lid on the small bin in the bathroom was broken and fell off.
BASED ON THE CONDITION OF THE ROOMS THIS SHOULD NOT BE A 4 STAR HOTEL!!!!!! After checking in we went to the Inchyra Grange to check it out and wished we had stayed there instead. It was much more luxurious and well worthy of its 5 stars and only a few pounds more.

I complained to Laura in Reception and she offered us another room which was smaller and had supposedly been refurbished, but apart from a new bathroom it didn't look any better . If this was their best then sorry I was not impressed! She also said that there were only 6 rooms that had been totally re-done!! (out of 126!)

We will NOT be returning to Airth Castle even if they re-furbish because if their website is misleading now I don't trust it to be any better when they do. In these times of tightening our belts we need to have value for money and unfortunately Airth Castle does not tick all the boxes - spend your money elsewhere - you have been warned!!