Cairndale Hotel

Went for a wedding- if it had been my wedding I would have not been pleased. We arrived Friday evening ate in the restaraunt, bad mistake, the food was over priced and veg was almost raw, very small portions OK if you're on a diet. The drinks are expensive juice and carbonated drinks are more expensive than the beer-but that's served warm. I did complain about the food and didn't get much response. The wedding food was slitely better, but not much on the plate again. The staff are nice enough but haven't got a clue how to do silver service. The whole place needs a refurb. If you have a wedding booked CANCEL. There are loads of nice B&B in the area book them instead the're cheaper and nicer.

The Reception Check in was quick and straight forward. The receptionist was polite and friendly. The Room The hotel appears to have had some decorating work done. Not the best job I’ve seen (if you were standing in front of the door when the job was done you'd have been painted too!!), However, the room was acceptable and clean. The main drawback was the noise from the kitchens and service area that could be heard when the window was open. With no air con, the window had to be left open which meant i was woken up earlier than i'd have chosen. Ask for a room that doesn't back onto the service area!! The restaurant was quite busy. The food off the fixed menu was ok as where the breakfasts but the a la carte provided much better quality food. The waiting staff were very friendly and helpful. The Facilities The health club has superb range of very modern gym equipment and a pool too. There's a sauna, Jacuzzi and a steam room which were also free to use. After using the facilities there's a nice little cafe area to grab an orange juice. The Bar This was the biggest dissapointment at the hotel. Quite often, during our 3 night stay, many of the beers available were either flat or warm (even the bottles). The staff apologised but that's not quite good enough. One of the bars in the hotel was never even opened (July is peak season isn't it?) and the hotel seemed to be busy enough. The Location. About 5 minutes walk from the centre of town which keeps the place reasonably quite but handy enough to try some of the bars/shops etc.

stayed here for two nights with about 60 family members. We had stayed here two years ago and the standards have definitely dropped. We were there with our baby and were put in a room that only had access via stairs, there was no cot in the room and the fridge didn't work. The evening meal in a private room was nice, however, the hotel staff kept walking through our dining area with hot plates of food for other areas!! We ate in the small restaurant at the pool area and had melted plastic served with our salmon and monkfish roulade!! I asked the staff if there was any other access to our room and was just told no, no offer of another room or alternative. In fairness, the hotel was full. We had actually upgraded our room so that we did not feel cramped with the baby cot etc. I complained and told them I was not willing to pay a supplement for a room that was not suitable. The £40 was taken off but for one night only, I had to insist that I wasn't paying it for the second night either. Not a hotel I would recommend which is a shame as it was much better two years ago.

We booked our stay via the hotel website only the day before our stay and the internet rate of £75 b&b for the three of us was a very pleasant suprise. Our room (#14) was a very spacious family room with all the facilities you might expect. The room and bathroom were both very clean. No complaints at all! The tariff includes free access to the Leisure Club which was greatly appreciated. The pool, which we had pretty much to ourselves, was warm and a good size. Again absolutely no complaints. Breakfast was a comprehensive self serve buffet with extra options that could be cooked to order (kippers etc.)....... Guess what, no complaints! Overall, I cant help thinking if this hotel was a little bit newer it would be operating with four stars.

I stayed here with my husband and two young children for a two-night break. The room was clean and well-furnished, and seemed recently decorated. It had a double bed, a single and a fold-out sofa bed, all of which were very comfortable. The bathroom was also clean and well-appointed, and there were signs telling you how to turn on the hairdryer and so on, but no sign about how to work the bath/shower mixer taps, with the result that my husband and I were both showered on when we tried to turn on the bath! That's my only complaint about the room, however. One of our party has mobility problems and the steps up to the front door made things difficult, although I saw that there was another door at the side, which was presumably accessible by wheelchairs or buggies. The pool in the leisure centre was very good and the kids loved it. The breakfast buffet was excellent for quality and choice, and the staff were all pleasant and attentive. I would definitely stay there again.

Booked DBB internet rate £90 for 1 night and would say this was very good value for money. We stayed in room 22. The room was clean and big enough and certainly adequate for a one night stay. It was however very hot - I tried to turn the radiator down but it had no effect and so we resorted to opening all the windows which we would have preferred not to do as the hotel is on a fairly busy road. Luckily the hotel turns the heating off and so the temperature did improve during the night. We used the pool/ sauna/steam room all of which were very clean. The evening meal at Reivers was very good as was the service. There was a buffet style breakfast which was very well organised and there was plenty to choose from. We were attending a wedding at Comlogen castle the following day and found this hotel the ideal place to stay the night before

Arrived Easter Saturday to stay over Bed and Breakfast until Easter Sunday. Also booked the Cabaret dinner and show. We had a great night! Our room in Park House was very comfortable, modern and very clean. The dinner was superb - everything was piping hot (I love my food really hot) and we washed it down with a couple of bottles of a very nice Australian red! The cabaret show was super - Vince Hughes was a real character and entertained us with his songs and light-hearted fun! The DJ for the disco was very good also. Breakfast buffet style was good also - lots of fruit, juices, cereals, hot food, croissants, and tea and toast served to the table. We wished we were staying another night for the ceilidh but alas had to leave! All staff were very pleasant. As for the heating going off during the night (a previous report mentioned this) - didn't bother us - we don't like being in a stuffy bedroom all night! If people feel the cold, then take a hot water bottle with you (!) but we were very comfortable. Would have been good to have had a heater in the bathroom (pretty cold coming out of the shower!) but I'm not complaining, just making an observation! Had a great day in Dumfries - hotel is SO handy for the town- went to the Cavens arms pub on Buccleuch street for lunch - fab! Thanks Cairndale for making our overnight stay so enjoyable.

Just returned back from a two night stay at The Cairndale and we found it to be a fantastic hotel in a great location. The leisure facilities were second to none and the breakfast was fantastic with a great selection. Our room was number 47 and it was an ideal family room for 2 adults and a teenager. We were pleasantly surprised at how spacious the room was.The only very small niggle was that the bathroom had a slight leak coming from around the toilet bowl. We will return again possibly in the summer. My thanks to all the staff who were also very friendly and helpful. Mrs S Hewitt. 29/03/08

I couldn't stay at this hotel ever again. The heating was an absolute disgrace. The heater (and I use the word heater very loosley) wasn't switched on when we got into our room and it may as well never be on again for all the use it is. The room was a good sized family room and the shower had good power, just a shame we had to have the shower on acting as a heater. The food was of high standards, but it just cant compensate for the severe lack of atmosphere in the place. Probably ok if you're on business passing through, but not for families looking for relaxation. If you do go - take extra clothing to wear to bed. Heating goes off at night throughout the hotel, so if your room's cold it's going to get much colder.

Stayed 3 separate weeks for 3 nights each stay on Business. Was in November/December so very quiet. Very nice hotel, stayed in different room each stay, single rooms are not that big , but comfortable enough. Double room 21? was great. Reception staff very helpful and informative Breakfast was excellent. Small bar area ( larger one was closed, due to season) Free wi-fi internet was a good bonus. Gym/ Spa is first rate, staff were apathetic to the point of rudeness, but the actual facilities were good. At £50 per night B&B, I would certainly recommend this hotel. Dumfries itself is horrid, apart from the walk along the river and the Fee Robbie Burns house museum.