Dunblane Hydro Hotel

Hotel has obviously had a fair amount of money spent refurbishing it, but came away feeling that it was just a case of papering over the cracks. We stayed in a standard room in the extension building. Room was small and had a view of the carpark. It had the worst sound-proofing of any room I have ever stayed in. You could hear every word the people next door were saying. We complained and moved rooms although the only room available was a disabled access room, so no bath, just a shower. It also only had a tiny double bed which turned out to have a dreadfully hard matress. Went for dinner in the new Nick Nairn restaurant - it's not cheap so I had high expectations. My dinner was very good, but my partner's was poor. The food the next morning at breakfast was awful -bacon like rubber, hard eggs, poor service. My biggest gripe was over cleanliness in the bedroom - bedhseets had stains and the bathroom certainly wasn't spotless. Wed didn't use the pool as it looked like something youy would find your local council running - certainly not a luxury spa. Overall not good.

We arrived mid afternoon and did not really expect our room to be ready as 4 o'clock is normal check -in time,but the girl on reception said come back in half an hour it may be ready then.This procedure was repeated on 3 occasaions before we eventually did get our room at about 3.45.Had we just been told 4 o'clock we would have gone for a walk or done something else. Our room was very nice if a bit small and had a lovely view over the hills The conscierge who showed us to our room could not have been more helpful,a good start. Friday nights meal was very good and the menu had something for everyone from fish to chicken,(a couple of fish dishes),and seemed good value at £23 for 3 courses although £23 quid for rump steak did seem a bit much,but we did enjoy our meal.Pity we are still waiting for an ice bucket for our wine. Now things go rapidly downhill! Saturday morning breakfast,what can i say! Firstly a queue to get in ,then,no bowls for fruit,no sideplates for bread,only one toaster for a full dining room which resulted in people queueing down one side of the dining room,i gave up.The cooked food continually ran out at both self service stations so you had to be on your metal to find all that you were looking for, and when you did it was lukewarm and going on to cold plates. What about that Nick Nairn! Now Saturday night,we start with the debacle that is 2 different menus on the go at one time(both the set menu),one having 3 less items than the other,and a waiter who could not confirm which one was actually the right one.Eventually we ordered from the shorter one only to be told later that we had actually ordered from an "old menu ".A bit late when you are at your desert. Furthermore ,on asking for a jug of iced tap water we were told ,sorry we've ran out of jugs,maybe an ice bucket for our wine,you've guessed it, sorry we've ran out of ice buckets.What about that Nick Nairn! We did eventually get both, with the head waiters remark of ,"have this bottle of water on me".We also noticed other people sending food back and as a previous review said, the burger seemed to be a particular problem ,with a woman next to us losing patience and just having nothing as she said ,"it did not resemble the description on the menu in any way".Are you listening Nick Nairn!Very average for what is supposed to be very good. Sunday morning breakfast-a joke-not a very funny one.Came down to queue of about 50 people, stretching back to the front of the reception desk, waiting to be seated.Took one look and decided to check out without breakfast as the queue did not seem to be moving at all. On checking out ,we mentioned this to the receptionist whose only comment was "i know its terrible is'nt it".Superb!!! Got £10 reduction on our bill due to breakfast farce-BIG DEAL! Scuttled out of there pretty sharpish and had our breakfast at Mc Donalds.Come on Nick sort it out or this will continue to be an embarrasment to your name. In conclusion ,this hotel is a very nice place to stay but the restuarant is struggling badly to provide even the basics never mind something that you would expect a prominent chef to be associated with, Mr & Mrs Campbell. Guests on weekend fri 19th and sat 20th Feb.

We got a DBB deal through another website and I can only assume that the other guests did too, as the hotel was busy late February. Hotel has recently been refurbished and very nice it is too. Our room was on the top (4th) floor. A bit compact, though good sized bathroom and nice toiletries. Check in was easy and friendly, in fact every staff member we encountered were very pleasant. Ate both nights in Nick Nairn's Kailyard restaurant. Impressively decorated, the first night we had a memorable meal and excellent service. On the second evening service was scatty a little impersonal and the food didn't live up to expectation. The menu is limited, so if you were dining in the hotel for several nights, I believe you would struggle. My husband ordered the cheeseburger which he left, it was inedible. The Duty Manager did acknowledge that another burger had already been returned to the kitchen and he would be bringing the matter up with the chef. He comped our bottle of wine which was a nice gesture. I had a massage on our second day. The Spa itself is disappointing, shabby and in desperate need of a refurb. However I believe this will take place in March 2010. At the moment the treatment rooms open onto the main corridor to the changing rooms. I happened to be there at a time when several very noisy children were using the facilities, so the first 5 minutes or so of my massage were accompanied by screeching and running up and down outside. Not very conducive to a relaxing experience. Lastly breakfast was great, excellent choice, all self service, but food hot and plentiful. We were lucky to miss the free for all rush that was mentioned in previous reviews. Not sure if I would return, possibly for a girlie weekend when the Spa is updated, provided they charged decent prices for treatments.

Pros: First impressions of the hotel are outstanding. Bar staff were great, even taking the time to recommend cocktails based on what I had previously ordered. Very clean, everything throughtout the hotel was always in its place. Champagne and cocktails were reasonably priced. Complimentary quality magazines and wine available in the room. Fitness centre and pool was excellent. Cons: Suite was nice but not quite as luxurious as I'd expected. Only times for restaurant available were 6pm or 8.45pm, as we'd had a late lunch we opted for the later. Unfortunately we were made pay for this when the dish that had my mouth watering on the menu was sold out - very disappointing for such a high profile endorsed restaurant. Plumbing in the room was terrible - shower was poor, couldn't get cold water from the tap and what water I could get took an age to drain away as the plug hole wouldn't rise properly.

We booked to go to Dunblane Hydro because of the Nick Nairn connection. The food was average and we would have expected much better if Mr Nairn had any real involvement with the food. Housekeeping in the public area was not up to standard. All in all a very disappointing stay. The next time Nick Nairns name is used to advertise a hotel restaurant we will ignore it.

My husband and I stayed here for 2 nights on the Valentines weekend. The room was lovely, very modern with great shower. The bed was so comfortable I am considering buying the mattress topper and pillows from Doubletree website! The restaurant was very nice although quite expensive. The leisure facilities are good and the hotel is in a lovely setting. Would definately return.

Just to say I was very dissapointed in my hotel stay. We originally complained at reception that our shower head bracket wasn't holding the shower head. We had to hold it to have a shower. The sink plug did not pop up as well meaning we could not drain the water. Additionally, the stand light did not work. Simple quality control problems easily fixed before we entered the room. These were fixed of course but too late for us ( apart from the light). The next morning my wife was having a shower and all lathered up when the water suddenly stopped. She had to hand wash it off. I'm confident that the hotel knew about the plumbing problem well before I ever arrived. All in all a forgettable experience.

Hotel is beautiful, very clean bedroom and bathroom.Gym and swimming very good. Where it all goes wrong is in the dining room. The same menu is offered every night which is not good news forr not good news for non meat eaters.the gnocci was served luke warm,i returned it to the kitchen the second one was no better, this was also sent back.Breakfast service is chaotic cold tea and porridge so thick we could not eat it.Other residents had similar complaints about food and service. Dunblane is a lovely place with nice shops and friendly shopkeepers.

having just returned from 3 day stay ,we found hotel clean ,comfortable ,and very friendly,our room on 3rd floor of stirling wing was clean ,tidy ,and warm,large telly in sitting area ,also in bed room . bar area was very comfortable restaurant first class ,meals of a high standard with service to match,all we can say is WELL DONE, to all at doubletree by hilton ,, we will be back tamata..

Not a great first impression if you phone the hotel in advance of your stay. I called twice just to confirm some small details, as it was a treat for my wife's birthday, and both times I was left a little anxious about the whole thing, as they don't quite have the knack of a welcoming telephone manner. However, great first impression as you approach the hotel from the town, as it sits atop a hill, set in acres of its own land, overlooking Dunblane, visible from quite far off. Impression is continued as as you climb the stairs to reception, whcih is very grand. The staff work very hard to give a warm welcome, and dish out freshly baked giant cookies as you check in. Four star luxury hotel, and there are luggage trolleys, but no porter was offered to help take our heavy luggage to our third floor room, some distance from reception (large hotel). This dented our hitherto impeccable first impressions just a bit. However, when we opened the door to our two-room suite, we were very impressed all over again. The rooms delivered all they promised to on the website, with luxury toiletries, dressing gowns, slippers and a jacuzzi bath. Then there was a 42" tv in the living room and a smaller one in the bedroom. Two rooms divided by heavy wooden doors, so when I wanted to read while my wife watched I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Dancing on Ice or something, I was able to read undisturbed in the next room. Bedding beautifully comfortable Egyptian cotton. Fantastic view from third floor room in modern extension part of hotel. Cleanliness faultless, our housekeeper lady very friendly and helpful, like all the staff, all the time. They all wear button badges with 10 on them, like children's birthday badges. Apparently, it's to remind them to deliver a 10 out of 10 experience to all the guests. Leisure facilities good, but changing areas, both male and female, need an upgrade. Leisure staff just as friendly, welcoming and efficient as the hotel's. To dinner on our first night, a Saturday, at the hotel's Kailyard restaurant. Food beautiful, and not too expensive, considering the location and setting. The restaurant was very busy, but the service was nevertheless prompt and courteous. However, mains portions ridiculously small. BUT, when I requested some potatoes to fill me up, I was rushed an extra portion at the speed of light, and free of charge. Once more, we were impressed. And no longer hungry. Off to bed and down to breakfast the next morning, noticing that they hadn't left me a newspaper. Nice young lady at reception apologised and mumbled something about sending a lad to the newsagent. I later researched and foind out that they yet to discover The Observer in Dunblane. I managed to forage an Independent on Sunday in the town's Tesco. However, that was after breakfast, which is when I got really pissed off. I've stayed in some cheap, package-holiday-type hotels in London where you queue for breakfast and become like part of a conveyor belt mechanism, plodding mechanically around the dining room, fetching yourself breakfast in a never-ending line, snaking round and round. Well, this was the very same, except my fellow guests in the queue were more upmarket and we were paying much more for the honour. The dining room is not big enough to cope with breakfast. We queued for 20 minutes or so before getting in and then they had run out of some stuff. I repeat, the dining room is too small to cope with everyone coming for Sunday breakfast and they need to do something about it. It's a masssive flaw in an otherwise great experience. Nevertheless, breakfast on day 2, a Monday, proceeded with no queuing and no food shortages. I had requested in advance flowers in room on the second day as it was my wife's birhtday, and they were going to charge me £25. However, when it came to check-out the only extra charge was for dinner on Saturday night (I checked: they didn't charge me for the extra emergency rations of potatoes), and no charge for the flowers. I decided, after a brief struggle with my conscience, that it was most likely a gracious gesture from the management, and didn't burden the nice young lady with queries about it. We paid and left. We'll probably be back, too, if we can get another half-price deal.