The Stirling Highland Hotel

From my recent and only experience with this hotel my advice would be to AVOID having anything to do with them. I’ve booked and paid upfront a 2 night stay with the hotel directly. With other options we chose this hotel for to the pool facilities. After receiving an email from them a week after booking to advise the pool is out or order I contacted them to see if it would be fixed in time for my stay and was told no. I requested a refund as the pool had been a main feature for us. Many emails and phone calls (after long waits) I’m still being given the run around- apparently Chloe has passed my request to duty manager Scott to look into, but yesterday was too busy seeing brides and today is too busy with a wedding. I’m still no closer to resolving the issue or getting a refund and so disappointed with the lack of professionalism from the staff of this hotel. How can they advertise a pool and not expect cancellations because they don’t currently have a working pool? Even attempting to book now there is no mention of the pool being out of order - totally Mis- advertising their facilities.

Nice room and secure parking in the courtyard. The ‘library’ was a great place to enjoy a drink before dinner in huge comfortable leather chairs. Staff were great. Our dinner was okay but the pork crackling that accompanied the Pork Belly was inedible. Perhaps it was just garnish but we were disappointed that it was too hard to break and impossible to chew.

Super location and what a brilliant re use of what was the High School. Car park in the centre of Stirling at very sensible pricing (think it's free if you book direct). Excellent reception staff, over and above when it came to finding misplaced property. Yes the hotel is maze of levels with lifts to only the top floor. Adds to the charm. Rooms ok..and much better than a travel lodge etc. Coffee and drinks in the bar on the evening was pleasant. Breakfast is buffet style, and actually quite good. Would stay there again..location, location, location oh yes and they have a telescope!

I had been 25 years since I’d been here and OMG I was astonished at how run down this place is now. We had an afternoon tea voucher that we couldn’t use (diabetic) so asked if we could change it for lunch. My shoes were sticking to the floor and the table sticky as well. The seating area was very dark and gloomy. The seats were mismatched and rather worn. The restaurant was empty apart from a table with ladies wearing bath robes (presumably from the spa). I ordered the “Signature Rib Eye Cheeseburger” described as a beef patty in a toasted brioche bun etc. I asked for it to be well done with no pickles or gherkins of any kind. The burger came out in a generic “bap”, no brioche in site, and covered in a vile chopped gherkin green paste! Upon ordering we told the waitress we were happy to pay any difference between the cost of the voucher and the meals we had. The burger was £18.95 and the other meal £17.95. The voucher cost £35 and I had a coke for £3.45. We expected to pay for the coke and the £1.90 over and above the cost of the original voucher. Instead they charged us £23.45!!!! After that surprise, we went to visit the ladies toilet which we found to have tissues strewn across the floor, plastic flowers as decoration and generally in a (much in need of a refurb state). All in all, not somewhere I will revisit.

Mum and I stayed here for 2 nights as part of an offer. We were welcomed by friendly staff, directed to a nice room. Lovely clean beds and nice bathroom. The windows were a bit drafty causing the room to be cold. Dinner was absolutely delicious, and breakfast was a buffet style including full Scottish and continental. We booked in for some spa treatments and these were performed by wonderful staff who were professional and helpful. We really enjoyed our 2nights at the hotel and will definitely do it again.

Easy helpful check in, although early got the car booked in to hotel car park, enabling us to go walk around Stirling, Room was a good size, comfy bed, Dinner not to our choice of menu but food we had was really good, Great choice and a quality breakfast, On this occasion didn't visit the Spa,

Hotel is nothing special and they charged me £40 to park the car in the hotel car park, when it says free parking on the website. Be very careful which site you book through as I was charged a huge amount extra because of how I booked. You are unable to contact the hotel to discuss it as they don't answer their phones and don't call back if you leave a message. Be Warned, go elsewhere!

We found the hotel to be quite good. Our room on floor 3 was good, apart from the bath was really high at the side and too high to get a poor hip over this. A wash down instead of a shower had to happen for one of us. Also, the shower was poorly designed. A very high over head static shower head was ridiculous if you did not want your hair to get wet ! The controller was also past the shower head and you had to reach through flowing water, be it very cold or very hot until you were able to make it an ambient temperature acceptable to bathe under. Really poor. The room itself was well designed, plenty of space and a good new tv. Wardrobe and drawer space were good. Some newer hotels have terrible designs for your clothes etc......this was good. The breakfast was delicious. There were 4 of staying here and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. A great choice of very good quality breakfast fayre was on offer. A nice feel to the dining room also helped.

AVOID - DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY! We had 2 nights booked here for our 1st year anniversary. I emailed the hotel a week prior and got no reply. The first hint of TERRIBLE SERVICE! When we arrived at 3pm we wanted to freshen up as we had a special meal booked at Gleneagles and had been travelling by train for 4 hours. NO HOT WATER- mentioned this to reception and again the following morning. She said someone was coming out to fix that day (Sunday) (no apologies!) we had to go about our day with no wash. Monday morning before check out - still no hot water. Complained about this again after believing we would get some compassion about this. I have a disability and I am a female & it wasn't the best time of month so I need to shower regularly that aside. I explained this and they couldn't care less. The receptionist said she would report this to manager and he would get in touch. No manager got in touch. I had to phone every second day for a week and ample emails. Kept getting ignored and fobbed off. I get the impression the lame excuse of a "manager" was too scared to speak on the phone as every time they muted the phone they came back saying he was in a meeting.... ALL DAY?!?!?! then I'd get a response via email from him. Considering this appalling service and the money we paid it's a right to be able to wash with hot water. He didn't show any compassion for the lack of service. No apologies or what can they do to make it right. He denied a refund at first so I contacted the Cairn Group which is the owning business of this hotel. Then all of a sudden I'm getting a refund for ONE NIGHT (the cheaper night by a lot) I replied saying this was the wrong amount so he changed it. (Chancer!) Considering the lack of management skills and duty of care for customers and the lengthy time it took Scott to reply to us we should've been given a full refund. The staff doesn't care and is disgusting! One of the girls on the phone even commented how bad Scott's customer service was. He agreed to give us a refund then went away and enjoyed 4 days off without even processing our refund and I had to chase him up on his return. His lack of communication was unacceptable!! On a slightly lesser note - the TV didn't work and the white wine which was served was warm and got told the ice machine was broken when I asked for some ice to be put in it. (Managed to make cocktails though - with ice... How odd)

First of all on arrival they make you pay for parking in the hotel parking lot. Outdated room , pillows are hard and flat , you can feel the springs in the mattress and the bed just isn’t comfortable at all . Breakfast is ok at best the food looks like it’s been sitting there for hours . Would not recommend this place at all . The building itself is beautiful an old school but apart from that not impressed at all .