Sherry Zhou

Review of Inverlochy Castle Management I...

A wonderful place to stay a night, with lovely gro...

A wonderful place to stay a night, with lovely grounds to explore and nice features within the hotel as well. My husband and I had a wonderful time boating on the lake, walking along the Victorian path (and visiting the two cemeteries bordering the walk), and to the walled garden (which unfortunately wasn't open when we went).

The room was quaint and cozy, though a bit dated as others have mentioned. Regardless, I was happy with the room and had an enjoyable bath and beautiful views.

The breakfast was also one of the best hotel breakfasts we've had in Europe. The creme brulee porridge was perfect in texture and lightly sweet. The vegetarian haggis was nicely seasoned and the poached eggs were perfectly poached. We were lucky and the croissants came out fresh and hot, which was absolutely delicious. My favorite was the raisen custard pastry. The freshly squeezed grapefruit juice definitely tastes fresh.

The worst part was the afternoon tea. The service was impeccable, and the tea selection was decent, but the desserts themselves were not the best. I felt like the pastries were not well done - most felt overly cakey and dry. We enjoyed the fillings, but the crust or base would be so dry that we couldn't enjoy the dessert as a whole. The scones also weren't warm, which was a bit disappointing. The tea was served in a huge porcelain pot, which I don't think was a great choice, since it meant the white tea oversteeped before we could finish the pot. I think a smaller tea pot that we could steep more exactly would have been better. The sandwiches were fine. The best part was the soup of the day at the beginning. We ended up ordering the full version of the soup and thoroughly enjoying both the bisque soup and the sourdough bread. I would only order one afternoon tea between two people, and more for the relaxing atmosphere than the food. It did look very impressive, and was quite filling.

I do have to say the staff was wonderful and the stay itself was enjoyable. I also really enjoyed the Inverlochy edition whisky, which was really smokey. The staff member we asked about it was busy, but very knowledgeable about the whiskey. It's such a shame about the afternoon tea, perhaps their set menu dinners are better.