Polochar Inn

It's taken me five months to write this review as I've been trying to get my money back....to no avail. Booked a room in the Pollachar in March for staying in July. Paid the balance a month before the stay. I was told a few days before we arrived there had been confusion over the date and we couldn't be accommodated. We ended staying in the Borrodale. The manager did bring us over for food on the evening we were due to stay, but we were still considerably out of pocket and we were unable to get the money back through the hotel or our credit card company. Very disappointing. The food was good and the management team did try and help, but money is money.

The location of this inn is worth 5 stars. The breakfast is also worthy of 5 stars. Most of the staff were superb. Only 2 were a bit grumpy. The rooms are delightfully decorated with a wee bit of Harris tweed but not overwhelmingly so. The bathrooms, particularly the shower, are in desperate need of replacement and I found the black mould in the grout very off putting. The common areas are also in need of redecoration, particularly the bar area. I understand they are now closed to do some work on the inn so will be planning a return.

Unbelievably rude. The lady behind the bar ignored us as we went in for a drink. She was watching something on an iPad and eventually decided to turn around. The bar was empty. There was no ‘hello’ or ‘ welcome, how can I help’ just a sullen face and no conversation. We ordered two drinks and they were grudging poured, in silence. We paid contactless and again no conversation or ‘would you like a receipt’. We rented a cottage nearby and went in to book dinner for the nights that we were staying. That lack of courtesy meant we couldn’t wait to leave and did not book dinner. The bar service was probably the worst I have experienced. No wonder the place is empty if that’s the standard of service.

We booked via MAC Adventures as part of our Outer Hebrides Hopscotch. On arrival, when we finally managed to locate a member of staff, we were given our key. On entering the room it was clear it hadn’t been cleaned from the last resident - bed slept in and unmade, wet towels all over the bathroom and bin full. Went back to reception to find another couple who had found somebody else’s clothes in the room they were allocated. We were allocated a different room which had been cleaned but had a faulty shower, virtually no loo roll, fittings hanging off the wall and black mould in the shower. We were not allowed to bring our 8pm dinner booking forward to 7pm - fair enough but when we returned at 7.50 we were told our table still wasn’t ready but we could sit over there if you want. We were finally brought menus at 8.10 and were told that 4 of the main courses were not available (leaving about 3 to choose from). There was a wait of almost an hour between our starter and main course then we were told 2 of the 4 dessert choices were not available. The food we did receive was nice and plenty of it and they did not charge for the one dessert we did have. We couldn’t find anyone the following morning to check out- despite ringing the bell 4 times so ended up just leaving the key on reception. Would not recommend.

First thing to say - the food we had was excellent ( langoustines , venison stew , seafood chowder , fish and chips , scallops ). Great sea view from our room , comfy bed , good shower , friendly owner and staff. Service can be a bit slow but we expect that now with staffing challenges for most remote hotels. This did not impact our experience which was very good overall. We will be back.