Dornoch Station

Beautifully located with sea views and a gorgeous sandy beach nearby — perfect for family walks. The refurbishment is tasteful and respectful of the hotel’s history. However, service falls short: breakfast is slow and understaffed, and room servicing is inconsistent — used cups left, and tea/toiletries not refreshed. A charming place, but let down by 3-star-level service.

The best afternoon tea! My partner and I went for our second visit of the year to enjoy the most wonderful afternoon tea. Everything was superb, the service is second to none, the food was fabulous and the setting is beautiful. We can’t thank everyone enough for going above and beyond to make my partners birthday treat so very special, it is a precious memory we will keep.

Booked lunch for two. Upon arrival we were directed to the Golden Gorse restaurant. After a 10 minute wait in a deserted restaurant I returned to the desk to query as we were advised upon booking that it would be the Ross Bar. Reception staff agreed we "could" go to the bar where the staff member assured us that the Golden gorse was only for dinner. He told us to sit anywhere except the reserved tables (presumably one was actually for us) he served us a drink (never once offering a second or even water) cutlery and the menu and returned quite quickly with the starter, a chicken parfait which outweighed the oatcake portion by 96% the singular oatcake had been broken into 4 small pieces. The parfait itself was delicious, however sat on a bed of lettuce and an overly apple rich base, the overriding flavour was apple and a distinct lack of crunch. The bar was very quite by this time only two other diners who had finished, yet we were sat at an uncomfortable bar table by an open window. Main course arrived haddock with triple cooked chips, peas and tartar sauce, and smoked salmon salad. Again no bread or anything crunchy with the salmon, the lettuce and cucumber were distinctly limp I had to request salt having fetched a salt and pepper cruet set myself only to discover both contained pepper. I requested bread which I received with their whipped butter (definitely needed salt) . Finally desert, which for someone who enjoys a variety of rich deserts the option of 2 sizes of cheese platter, a sticky toffee pudding, white chocolate -white chocolate Isn't CHOCOLATE - cheesecake, lemon torte or a pannacotta, the deserts just fell short of choice. The coffee was delicious. Now given we have been eating out in Dornoch to select a wedding venue, this won't be it. The location is beautiful, the hotel is gorgeous, the staff are friendly if somewhat oblivious to quality and effective service. The food falls far short in comparison to it's local competition, Surf and Turf have superior flavour and freshness. For £100 it was very disappointing.

I've been to the venue a handful of times, including a birthday dinner which was utterly spectacular. The venue is beautful and I think it's been finished to a very high standard. The food I had for my birthday dinner was outstanding and I've been back since and it was of an equally high standard. I thought the prices were very reasonable too. Oh, and premium loos. Like, in a way that you think, "I'm not going to be impressed by a loo" and then you are. But let's not focus on that (although you will be impressed) and instead finish on the staff who are all utterly lovely, freakishly attentive, and impeccibly professional. It's tricky to find good staff up the road, and even more so to keep them. But the team at the Station are excellent and always make me feel welcome when I pop in.

Absolutely love Dornoch Station! Not only is the setting stunning, the hotel itself is beautiful inside with an incredible eye for detail. The service is second to none with everyone going out of their way to make sure our experience was the best. And the locally sourced food is top-notch. Would highly recommend, even if you just visit for a few drinks in the bar!