The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa

I was part of a large family celebration on Saturday. Unfortunately we were very disappointed to find there were no vegetarian options for a main choice. We complained and the chef suggested there was the choice of two sandwiches. Not really an alternative to a proper meal. The response to our family’s first review was to say it was a temporary menu, still not acceptable. The Marcliffe describes itself as vegetarian friendly apparently that means they can rustle up a cheese and pickle sandwich.

The property styles itself as 5 star, that’s why we booked, but to my mind it’s only moderate 3 star. Our room was tired but very clean and bed comfortable. Admittedly it’s Scotland, but there was no air con, only a fan. It was not during our stay. The big disappointment was that they didn’t warn us of the extensive building work which started early each day. Had we known this we’d have selected another hotel. We were also attracted to the extensive grounds, but again we didn’t know that much of this was taken by the contractors. Staff were charming and helpful. The food was very good but one dinner was a disaster when the chef ignored all we’d told the waiter; in fairness they waived the bill that night.

I am very sad to write this Review but having been a loyal customer of the Marcliffe for many years I have to say that my dinner experience there this evening was a huge disappointment and represents a significant deterioration. I had booked dinner for 7pm for my daughter’s birthday. We arrived at 6.50pm and sat in the lounge. Nobody came near us for 20 minutes at least. Eventually we were given a drinks menu. After another 10 minutes someone took an order. 10 minutes later drinks arrived. No olives or nibbles were offered. It took until 8pm before we were given a dinner menu. Another 15 minutes before our order was taken by a rather brusque head waiter. In the Restaurant we sat for about 15 minutes before anyone came near us. Eventually we were asked if we wanted bread (I thought this would have been offered on sitting down). It took about 20 minutes for starters to arrive. My daughter asked for no chips with her main meal but was still given them. It must have been a wait of around 30 minutes between finishing starters and getting mains. The food was good when it came eventually. We declined sweets/coffee and just paid and left. There are insufficient staff and there is no direction or coordination of staff in the Restaurant. The ambience is poor. The experience tonight has I’m afraid put me off ever going back to The Marcliffe again. Very sad.

We recently enjoyed a stay at the Marcliffe and were very impressed. The service we received was brilliant and a perfect blend of comfortable yet professional. Tony especially was a great laugh! We enjoyed drinks before our meal that came with light nibbles and were able to browse the dinner menus at our leisure. Shortly after we were shown to our table to enjoy our meal. The food was incredible and presented beautifully too. Our room for the night was a great size and had all the amenities we required for our stay. The bed was extremely comfy! Nice morning we had breakfast which was nice however some more choice at continental buffet would be size. Overall a great stay and defo will be back.

Visited for my sister’s special birthday celebration! The staff were amazing, nothing was too much and they were genuinely happy to serve. Food was fantastic - breakfast was a feast and great choice. The room was indulgent in a classic way, think towels, quality linen, big comfy beds fit for a princess! Fresh bottled milk I fridge! The only thing was TV took a while to work out and no instructions! But that not enough to ruin my stay! Will definitely be back!

Stayed for 1 night in a superior room. Went for pre/post dinner drinks and had dinner in their restaurant. It was the day they were launching a new menu so the staff were keen to highlight some dishes. The food was generally ok, perhaps I chose the wrong dish ( Shetland cod)… which was served with way too much sweetcorn in the Cullen skink sauce. The Mille feuille dessert was the star of the meal. The bar staff were very friendly and made great cocktails. I would say some aspects of the decor are quite tired and need upgrading/ replaced ( the large sofas in the bar are discoloured/faded)… someone needs to pay attention to this. Overall, we had a good stay.