OYO Dunmar House Hotel

For a hotel which aims to provide a 5* experience (as per their website), they need to drastically improve their aim! Recently stayed for one night in what was described as a "Deluxe double" room. We arrived around 4.30, and were booked in efficiently, then personally taken to our room by the duty manager Leane. We unpacked our bag, quickly got changed and left to have an evening in Stirling. On our return and having more time to look closely at the room, we discovered no soap in either of the soap dispensers, a cracked window, window frames with flaking paint and black mould, windows were dirty. There was black mould on the back of all curtains. The theme continued in the bathroom. One window was screwed shut because the catch was missing, the roller blind didn't work, the toilet flush was loose and the cistern cracked. The wash basin was cracked, the chain on the plug was broken off. The plastic bath panel was cracked on the edge. There was black mould on the baseboard of the shower. Back in the bedroom, the old fashioned wooden floor standing clothes hanger was unusable as the top was broken, there was a sizeable chunk of wood missing on the bedframe, and when we turned on the centre light the amount of dust and cobwebs on the fitting was shocking. One of the bulbs wasn't working. The duty manager Leane was called, and she agreed that the room fell well below the standard, but the hotel was full so she couldn't move us. She said the owner was in the hotel and she would get him to come and see the room....he didn't bother. It was too late to start looking for another hotel, so we had to stay the night. The next morning, the new duty manager (Maggie) advised us the bill had been reduced from £99 to £49. After the delicious breakfast, we advised her we were not willing to pay for the room, but would pay £25 for the breakfast. She rang the owner who just said "OK, that's fine" This hotel needs a disgusting amount of money spent on it to bring it up to an acceptable standard, and its clear the current owner has no interest in doing it. I feel for his staff, who are doing a great job and deserve a medal in my opinion......he's lucky to have them.

We felt we were visiting Downton Abbey! The property could use some improvements, but the atmosphere far surpassed the little issues.

The Dunmar Hotel is a charming hotel with plenty of character. If you are looking for a weekend away from the "multi chain" hotel groups where you're basically just a "number" then go to the Dunmar. Yes there are areas which are needing some attention, but this is part of the charm of a beautiful old building. My wife and I stayed two nights and we had two incredible peaceful nights sleep. The room was spotless, yes there were marks on walls etc but you'll find that in any hotel. The breakfast was plentiful and tasty, we didn't have evening meals as we were visiting friends, but on both evening's the restaurant/ bar area looked very busy. The staff were lovely and helpful and we will definitely make a return visit the next time we're in the area. These beautiful "old hotels" were part of the fabric of generations and are still worth a visit.