Port Charlotte Hotel

Fell into it on a gruelling cycle last Saturday. Best pint of lager shandy ever Went back for dinner and it was a hot. The staff are superstars. I had the Gruinart oysters to start. I’d also had them at The Oyster Shed on the island and they are sensational. My pals had steak and they were drool worthy. Location is the star too though.

We had a perfect 4 day stay at this beautiful hotel. The staff were so sweet, the whiskey was plentiful. The rooms were lovely and our view was amazing. The restaurant had delicious food for vegans and non vegans. Everything was lovely would love to go back.

Recently stayed for a few days and couldn't rate it highly enough. Comfortable rooms, great food and an extensive whisky collection. Very friendly team especially Lorna and Gary, it really felt like we were staying with friends and not a hotel. If you're looking to book on Islay no need to look elsewhere you cannot get better than the Port Charlotte. It was our first visit here but definitely won't be our last.

This was a fantastic place to stay for our multi-day whiskey tasting tour on Islay. It is located on the water and offers beautiful views of the bay. There's a place to swim if you are brave enough. The rooms are very comfortable, good-sized and well appointed. The staff was incredibly welcoming and helpful with a few small requests -- i.e. packing tape to box up our whiskey! We chose the hotel as it had a restaurant on-property--and were glad we did. We ate both our dinners and breakfasts at the hotel. The food and service were outstanding and they have a fantastic wine list.

Family dinner on a Tuesday evening. Had visited on a couple of previous occasions when visiting Islay and it seems that service has gone downhill slightly recently. Food was excellent as normal. No qualms about that whatsoever. Service was the issue. Seated in the restaurant and after menus were handed out and after a short while before any drinks orders were taken, one of the waitresses started collecting wine glasses off the table. Had to tell her that we were going to be ordering wine and the glasses were replaced. The main waiter in the restaurant was very softly spoken and so was difficult to understand at times. Seemed awkward when serving. I honestly think the evening was missing Lorna - the times we were there before she was managing the restaurant. When I asked at the end if Lorna still worked here, got a very vague reply that was "sometimes". The Lorna equivalent that evening (didn't get her name, assume she would be the restaurant manager for the evening) made one appearance at the start, seemed quite brusque and wasn't seen again throughout the evening. Total contrast to previous experience.

This was a disappointing stay. When I arrived they put me in a room with two twin beds, even though I booked a 1 bed room. They told me the reason was that they thought I was coming with someone else. I have no idea where they got that idea, or where they got the idea that if I was coming with someone else, that I would want two beds. I made a reservation for dinner and came down on time. I was sat at a small table in the corner, and prior to my entree they told me I would have to move because the band was there and going to play from that spot. So they moved me into the middle room that is somewhat like a lounge, but it was a strange room to be sitting in eating dinner. I asked if I could instead sit in the dining room and they said no, all the tables were reserved. About 10 minutes later they came back and said you can move to the dining room. So I got up to move twice during a single dinner. In the dining room there was a group at one table, but there were 4-5 other tables completely open. No one sat at those tables the entire time I was there. There were no other attempts to make my stay nice. If I was staying here for more than one night I would have attempted to check out early and move to a different hotel. Ultimately, service was poor overall, not just for the price. When factoring in the price I paid, it was downright atrocious.