Machrie Hotel & Golf Links ★★★★

The location is very beautiful. The common areas are quite nice. The restaurant and its staff are great. Bed is very comfy. Quiet. Staff left a little bottle of gin and a letter on my dad’s room since it’s his 70th birthday trip.

The two reception staff were not great problem solvers. First I booked three rooms which in booking.com were described as having king size beds, yet one was given with a queen size bed. When we asked about the change, the morning receptionist said there wasn’t anything available and that the comfy double room we booked didn’t guarantee a king size bed, when actually on Booking it specifically says it has a king size bed. They never offered any kind of compensation, neither did the apologized. Then, the night before leaving I wanted to check out to be able to leave promptly the next day, and I was surprised with a 350 pound bill for some local calls I had to make. When I said to the night receptionist that it seemed excessive to me and if there was someone o could talk to about it, he suggested to send an email to the head of reception to see if they could waive it off of at least clarify. I went back to the room and told my husband. He went down and only then the receptionist got the manager, who was in the hotel, and they realized there was a mistake in their system and it should have been 3.5 pounds, not 350. They waived the 3.5 pounds for the inconvenience. I never received an email reply from the head receptionist. And only after that, the night before leaving and only when I went down again to pick up something I had left behind- the receptionist said to me that the manager told him to ask us if there was anything we needed to make up for not giving us a room with king size bed. I actually feel like they gave us 2 not so great rooms (other than my dad’s room), because I did the booking through booking.com. This booking was made in April and the trip was in October.

Location was spectacular, very clean and well appointed room. Was luxurious feeling with nice touches to the room that made us feel at home. Staff were pleasant and friendly; gave us great recommendations for places to visit. Bed was comfortable and rainfall shower was amazing.

Nothing in particular.

Rooms were clean and comfortable

Nothing

Fantastic location Very friendly, helpful staff

Absolutely spectacular. All the touches were there in a magnificent setting.

The setting is beautiful. You can walk through the golf course to the beach and it's like having your own private beach. The rooms are comfortable and clean (not luxurious but cozy). I don't think any hotels on the island are that fancy so this is definitely one of the nicer and more spacious ones (rooms are not huge but at least they aren't tiny). The food at the restaurant was pretty good too which is convenient. Staff and people on the island were extremely nice.

Staff and food were lovely.

An awful lot of money for dinner, accommodation and drinks …don’t get me wrong, food was nice as was room and hotel but having spent 6 weeks travelling there was nothing particularly spectacular that warrants the amount asked when compared to other hotels, restaurants and facilities. Again very lovely place but be prepared to haemorrhage money for aspects you can obtain elsewhere for less … Islay is remote and I appreciate that but there was also no real attempt to assist travellers abroad with how there is a real need to book , as it turns out you need to well in advance or miss out, to access distilleries. Golf course is nice but yeah …aren’t most of them ? Seen better … not sure what all the money is for to be honest …

The Hotel is marvelous and the Golf course absolutely pristine. But please do not come hungry between lunch and dinner service in the restaurant. Even though the hotel facilities menu states that there is room service available from 9am - 10pm. It does NOT exist. You cannot even get a sandwich between 3pm & 6pm. Nothing! Nada. They do not even answer the phones. Quite disappointing seeing that this is a supposed 4-star facility.

Front desk staff could have been much more helpful and informative.

Cappuccino excellent.

Would be good to have a swimming pool?

Lovely setting & location & restaurant

Bedroom was very large and very clean and comfortable, especially the pillows and the towels. Staff were very helpful.

Breakfast was not the best as we sat down around 10 am and I think food had been in hot trays for a while but maybe that was a one off.

From the moment we arrived at the hotel we just knew it was going to be a great hotel. The reception area is beautiful and we received a very warm welcome. Room was perfect looking out to golf course. The restuarant was amazing as was the food and the staff very friendly and extremely helpful. The location is perfect as it is only 10 mins from Port Ellen by car and only 5 mins from Airport. The price to stay was surprisingly similar to most of the hotels on the island.

The staff are exceptionally friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. The Maitre’d was fantastic and the reception staff one and all, so helpful. The accommodation was fabulous. Food was delicious.

If you would put some umbrellas to use on the way back to the lodges at the back glass door that would be great! Also a pillow menu would help as I prefer a stiff/ firm pillow rather than soft ones and you couldn’t help with that. Otherwise the stay was perfect!!!

Food was excellent and staff very attentive. Golf course was in pristine condition.

It would have been nice to have had a swimming pool there as my wife doesn't play golf.

The location was stunning. On site golf course excellent.

Room 43 had no way of getting ventilation at night. As a result room was too hot despite no heating being on.

Fantastic boutique hotel sitting right on The Machrie Links. Hotel owners and staff looked after our golfing party fantastically well. Visiting with Paul Lawrie/ Stephen Gallagher / Barrie Douglas foundations for the Race to Machrie tournament. The hotel staff could not have been more welcoming nor could they have done any more for the young people competing . Thank you very much

Staff were very friendly and attentive and the views from our room and the dining room were great. Athough full the hotel didn't feel like it, always plenty of seating available.

Would have preferred a feshly cooked breakfast as opposed to the buffet style where food tends to dry up. Road into the property needs a proper surface , missing the pot holes in the dark is a feat in itself.

Hotel was lovely decor fab rooms comfortable Staff friendly and helpful .location good for exploring the island we took our car so easy to get to jura ferry and bowmore would recommend this hotel

Fab food, restaurant and bar with view was fantastic. Lovely room

A bit out of town with little transport options. Golf tournament happening while we were there - couldn’t use restaurant and bar was also out of bounds with service in the reception area poor as they were busy serving the golfers!

Comfortable bed and pillows. Good access to Laggan bay. Large bathroom. Quiet Lovely sitting rooms/lounges with fire places. Close to Port Ellen

Breakfast ( not even continental ) not available if you are leaving on the early ferry. Don't start breakfast till 7am.