Name: The Highland Hotel by Compass Hospitality
Address: Bay Highland Hotel, Strathpeffer, Strathpeffer, Strathpeffer, IV14 9AN, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Heating

Garden

Terrace

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Rooms

Restaurant

Snack bar

Packed Lunches

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Parking

Fax and copy machine

Business

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Personal protection equipment for guests

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hotel

Strathpeffer Pump Room

Highland Museum of Childhood

Castle Leod

Inverness Airport

The Highland Hotel by Compass Hospitality

Strathpeffer

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

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23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Beautiful Victorian Hotel overlooking the village. The rooms were a little dated but that added to it's charm.  It was lovely, clean  and warm, comfy beds and everything that you needed for a great stay. On a couple of nights there was entertainment which was great. The staff were lovely and friendly and nothing was too much trouble. The breakfast is buffet style with everything that you could want. Excellent value for money, great location for exploring. I highly recommend it and would definitely stay here again. Thank you for a fantastic stay.

Beautiful Victorian Hotel 

Firstly the staff at the hotel are wonderful, so friendly, always smiling and helpful. The rooms are clean but tired, two members of our coach party had no heating in their rooms and were freezing. There was a laundry bin in our hallway collecting leaking water from heavy rain. The food is not great, I don’t think the scrambled egg had ever seen a chicken and smelt terrible, We came on a coach trip, there was no porterage when we arrived, as there had been at the hotel in Newcastle. The hotel is up for sale so maybe it is inevitable things are not being addressed, however frayed towels which you could read the paper through, and curtains with a foot of dust could be fixed as could some of the food issues. We traveled with Shearings, our first hotel in Newcastle was fabulous so this place  compared very poorly. 

Coach trip

Arrived at the hotel after 12 hours from Yorkshire we were late not the drivers fault arrived at 8-30pm was told to got to the bar we were told  it was soup and sandwiches staff not very happy I asked if they had gluten free bread a big no we dont make gluten free sandwiches so I had the soup. Room not bad carpet needs cleaning the window there was no paint on it. Went for breakfast the following morning asked for gluten free again was told I will ask the chef waitress came out with a plate of five slices just pushed into my hand I later went to the shop to buy myself a loaf rather than have that every morning. No choice of teas no herb or fruit teas no decaff been in a lot of hotels and all teas were present for choice.luckily I brought my own.
Drinks were set out on two tables in stainless steel jugs the milk you had to guess three jugs set out nothing to say if it was full skimmed or soya. I had the scrambled eggs with Bacon the eggs were terrible pale and full of water 
We were on second floor had a hole in it a large bin on wheels was catching the water. Hotel is looking very very tired not maintained very well i fact very dull I remember it was a joy to be there I have been five times in the last few years and even brought some disabled people and they had a brilliant time.
One of my reasons for going was the entertainment Highland dancers and Ronnie Ross he was the star and  many people went back time and time again this year we found out he wasn't there he had been relieved of his duties because he asked the manager if she would stop people playing pool why he was performing it would have distracted us from the entertainment. 
It is such a shame that a lovely hotel has gone as it is this is not what we are accustomed to we waiting for your assurance it will improve also I am writing to Homes and Hotels and Shearings
 

My findings

We had a three night dinner bed and breakfast , the food in the evening was always hot and quite a good variety. However in the morning the breakfast left a lot to be desired, the food was almost cold every morning, it's a shame as it would have been nice if it was hot . The bacon was stone cold the sausages not much better, we wanted a fried egg but where told scrambled egg only. I don't think you would have liked it if I projectile vomited in the dining room. The Caledonian in fort william where we stayed a few weeks ago you could request a fried egg. There was no heating on at all on sunday, so it was pretty cold. 

Cold buffet breakfast.

Stay from 3-5 Oct 2023:
What we did like:
We were warmly welcomed at the reception and informed of the standard information to the hotel and orientation. All our questions were answered in a clear and friendly manner. Our room was a standard double without a view. We have to say we were pleasantly surprised at the size of the room and cleanliness. The bathroom was modern with a large shower. The bed was very comfortable and the atmosphere in the hotel at night was very quiet, we both slept fantastic.
Breakfast was a buffet style with hot food and a good variety to meet tastes. (gluten free options are available). 
We do have to say a special thank you to Leah one of the morning staff working in the dining room on the 5th of Oct. She is very upbeat, cheerful and helpful to everyone. Watching her interact with other guests was a delight to see. 
 Parking in the evening can be tricky but the wonderful night reception was very helpful (thank you to him)
We also do have to say that we love the large old hotel atmosphere with its long hallways, creaky stairs and hidden ghosts.
check out was easy and pleasant with familiar staff bidding us a good journey and to come again.
All in all, we were very happy with our stay, we thank the staff and will definitely come back.

What we didn't like:
Our first breakfast 4th Oct it would have been a bit better if the set up was explained and the staff had orientated new guests to the buffet.  We felt that due to some unexpected staff shortages at the hotel the morning staff seemed stressed, and it showed.


Grand Old Hotel with history

Having read the previous reviews I was somewhat concerned that our stay at the Highland Hotel was not going to be a pleasant experience. However we had a lovely stay.  We were, however, lucky that there were no coach parties staying when we stayed. 

Check in was friendly and seamless and we were allocated a large room on the second floor - The room was well equipped with a good shower, comfortable bed and adequate tea and coffee facilities. The only downside with the room was the soft chairs had seen better days and need replacing.  Despite having a neighbour the room was extremely quiet and we had a great nights sleep - the advantage of a victorian building. 

The hotel caters for all visitors and even serves meals in the main foyer for those individual who do not want to eat in the dining room . 

Our evening three course meal was good (given how much we were being charged) and represented value for money. They were able to easily deal with a gluten free diet.  The staff laid a table for us by the window and brought us the wine list on request. 

After diner we adjourned to the bar area and enjoyed the entertainment provided by the visiting musician - we even danced the odd reel. 

In the morning we were shown to the same table we had the evening before and enjoyed our buffet cooked breakfast (with tea/coffee served at the table). 

In summary whilst the Highland Hotel does need ongoing refurbishment however our stay was lovely and I would definitely stay again if visiting the area.   All the staff were extremely friendly.

Exceeded our expectations 

Booked with Shearlings for four nights with dinner,bed and breakfast. The food was atrocious and consisted of the cheapest poorest quality processed food. What you received was barely recognisable from what was described on the menu. The hotel itself is looking very run down in places and the only outside seating area is a designated smoking area. The best thing about this hotel are the staff who were all lovely and very helpful. Would not return.

Dreadful food

This hotel could be something quite special. At the moment it is letting itself down on so many counts.

The receptionist who greeted us on arrival was very friendly and helpful and a real pleasure to deal with.

We had checked in on line, only to discover that the hotel does not have the system installed, so the online check in is a waste of time. This also meant that the upgrade options included on the communication are not seen by the hotel and neither are requests for a dinner reservation. So don’t be surprised if you arrive at the hotel and the hotel has none of your details.

The room itself was spotlessly clean and housekeeping do a great job, in most respects. The room was well stocked with tea, milk and sugar, and a coffee maker. So we could actually make neither tea or coffee. Attention to detail is what makes a hotel special, and attention to detail in this matter costs nothing. A visit down to reception remedied the situation very quickly.

Dinner was an experience that was unacceptable. A remedy was agreed with the hotel after dinner, but so bad was the experience that it needs to be mentioned here.

The table we reserved on check-in was by the door, despite there being numerous other tables for two being available. We asked to be moved. This was resisted by the restaurant staff, but eventually they gave in with much huffing and puffing. The table by the door would have been a noisy and potentially drafty affair, and the hotel were unhappy about this when told without my having to mention it as an issue. 

My partner and I were provided with different menus, so there was then an issue over which menu was the right one.  There are also no prices on the menu so you are left wondering how much you are going to be paying. I am not sure that this is legal. It is certainly not professional.

Don’t expect a wine list, and asking for a drink was met with a member of staff telling us that we should get our own from the bar.

The restaurant menu was misleading. The steak and kidney pie, with suet pastry, new potatoes and seasonal fresh vegetables with a red wine gravy was actually a steak and kidney pie with shortcrust pastry, mashed potato (from a packet, and not fresh potatoes peeled and cooked) and frozen vegetables. The red wine gravy had not seen a drop of red wine and was clearly a powdered gravy mixed with hot water.

The starters were obviously shop bought and served with a tired looking salad. 

This was not the work of a chef as I am sure any chef would not be putting out this standard of food. A chef should be doing more than taking things out of a packet and heating them, yet that is all that is happening at this hotel.

Returning to the room, the bed was comfortable, but for a superior double it seemed odd to provide a large room with the smallest double bed possible. I had assumed that superior double meant a superior double room and double bed. No.  Large room with a tiny bed. It actually looked really odd.

The bathroom was brilliant. It was very clean, spacious and well designed. It also appeared quite modern.

The curtains in the room had not been properly hung and were not fixed at one end and the balcony rail visible from the room was rotten. There also appeared to be a dead animal just outside the window.

Breakfast was a similar experience to dinner. Staff standing around doing nothing, a queue to get a table (despite the restaurant being almost empty) because tables are not cleared. The breakfast choices are poor, and laid out in a very confined space meaning that movement around the breakfast bar is difficult and risks accidents with food being split on the floor. Items running out at the breakfast buffet are not automatically re-stocked by staff and requests for top ups were met with a sigh and a dirty look.

Tea and coffee were not brought to your table, but you had to go and find your own from various tables around the restaurant. 

One interesting point to note is that the restaurant supervisor/manager appears to feel that it is more appropriate to be anywhere else than the restaurant. They had other jobs to do that could have easily have been done by a more junior members of staff, whilst the manager could be ensuring the guest experience is enhanced and I am sure their constant presence in the restaurant would produce a more efficient staff. 

The breakfast experience could be so much better if you were shown to a table, given a tea or coffee flask and advised where the breakfast buffet was and how it was laid out.

This was not a good experience and I would avoid. It was certainly not worth the price. With a little bit of care and attention the experience could be so much better.

Give this hotel a miss

Where do I start. They hotel is in desperate need of refurbishment  and modernising. From the entrance there is an awful damp , musky smell. The smell , continues into the bedroom. In the room the shower was terrible . The temperature of the water was either scorching or very hot. Nothing in-between.  If you turned the temperature down to the least temperature,  the water comes out as a trickle. 
The breakfast choices are very limited and if you don't go early the staff are reluctant 
to top the hot choices up. Every hotel I've ever stayed in, the chefs check and replenish the food in the bane marie's. 
Now the restaurant staff , the male waiters are pathetic and lazy. They stand around chatting while there are tables to be cleared. If they do attempt clear them , its embarrassing,  we sat 1 hour for breakfast one morning and 3 waiters took longer than that time to clear 4 tables. The female waitresses are very good though and seem to do all the work the males should be doing.
The quality of food is very poor too, everything was a micowave meal. I had the  canneloni and pasta bolagnaise choices on 2  nights and they were  both micro meals. They even left the plastic celophane on the plate, from the top on the container in the cannelloni.
The restaurant manager does have no clue, in what is going on and and let's the male waiters do nothing while the females do all the work. She needs to manage her staff. A lot of the time she is no where to be seen.
This is unacceptable if you pay to stay there, as its not cheap to stay here. You would want a refund.

Restaurant Chaos

I made and paid for a booking with the hotel through the booking.com website for a one night stay, which came up as confirmed on the website, and then went immediately to the hotel.

To my surprise, the receptionist told me they had no rooms free and I would not be able to stay. They tried to blame the booking.com computer system for the problem but I do not really accept that excuse.

The receptionist then assured me that they would action a refund of the money I had paid, and I left to find alternative accommodation.

However, in spite of a long series of emails to both the Hotel and to Booking.com, and although the facts of the case are not disputed, neither party will now action the refund to me - both saying that it is the other's responsibility.

My verdict:

Incompetent - it's not good enough for the hotel to blame Booking.com for the double booking of the room. If they are using agents then it is their responsibility to ensure that their booking processes are fit for purpose.

Untrustworthy:

The hotel has taken my money and has provided no service in return. They do not seem to appreciate that they have an obligation to ensure that I am refunded. I think this could be construed as theft, which is of course a criminal offence.

The Highland Hotel by Compass Hospitality

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