• A country house hotel of huge character
• Magnificent location on the western shores of Loch Awe
• Grand public rooms befitting the grandeur of the setting
• Wide selection of individually styled guest rooms
• Fine dining in a dining room with superb views

Intro

The Ardanaiseig Hotel occupies a grand country house surrounded by extensive gardens on what is almost a promontory projecting into the quiet, western, side of Loch Awe. The public rooms are magnificent, especially the grand drawing room and the library bar. Ardanaiseig has a particularly strong reputation for its fine dining in the attractive dining room. The guest rooms each have their own individual character and include rooms in the main house, as well as in a superbly converted boat shed on the loch shore. The setting makes Ardanaiseig especially well suited to weddings, and there is a purpose built amphitheatre on the loch side where ceremonies can take place.

Character and setting/location

As a “get away from it all” location, the Ardanaiseig Hotel has few equals. It stands in the crook of the western side of Loch Awe. It is best reached from Taynuilt by travelling some five miles along the single track B845 through Glen Nant to Kilchrenan, and then a further three miles along a more minor road to the hotel itself.

The Ardanaiseig was built in the Scots Baronial style as a private house for Colonel Archibald Campbell in 1834 by the noted architect William Burn and looks through gaps in trees eastwards over Loch Awe towards Ben Lui. It is surrounded by 100 acres of gardens once seen as a major attraction in their own right and now being restored to their former glory. Parking is in a glade in the woodland near the hotel.

Public rooms/spaces

The public rooms in Colonel Campbell's house were intended to impress visitors, and they continue to do so today. The entrance hall is superb, being broad and beautifully furnished: it is also home to the reception desk. Off to the right of the entrance hall as you enter is the drawing room a room that would not look out of place as the main reception room of a very much larger mansion or castle. Comfortable sofas and chairs are strategically grouped around the room and the focal point is the huge bay window at one end offering almost floor to ceiling views out over Loch Awe.

To the rear of the entrance hall is the library bar, an attractive red-painted room with a range of interesting artworks on view. A corridor extends to the left of the entrance hall, and to the rear of this is the dining room, occupying much of the main part of the house overlooking the gardens and loch.

The restoration of the surrounding gardens is a work in progress, but paths allow guests and visitors to explore them, while to the east of the hotel, terraced lawns lead down to the lochside.

Guest bedrooms

There are 18 en suite guest rooms in total. Four of these are on the upper floor in the main part of the house. Many of the remainder are on the ground floor or at first floor level in the wing that extends to the north of the main house. One bedroom suite is in the converted boat shed on the loch side. It is no surprise to find that this is one of the most sought after rooms, as it offers split level accommodation and a full height glass wall overlooking the loch. Additionally there is self catering accommodation in Rose Cottage, which effectively serves as the gatehouse to the hotel.

Of the rooms within the hotels itself, 6 are graded as master bedrooms with a loch view and 5 are graded as master bedrooms with a garden view. There are also 5 double bedrooms with a garden view.

Guest rooms are individually decorated, styled, and furnished, some with striking colour schemes. The hotel's website carries images of many of the rooms and it is the sort of place where returning guests will rapidly develop favourites.

Guest services

Rooms are equipped with tea and coffee making facilities, bottled water, a telephone, a hairdryer, a television and a DVD player, bath robes, slippers and Molton Brown toiletries. A turn down service is operated which each evening prepares your room for the night and replenishes water and other consumables.

Room service is available, guests can make use of the hotel's safe deposit facilities, and there is an in-house laundry service. Families are welcome, and there is a play area in the grounds. Children under 10 are not permitted in the restaurant: children's high tea is served earlier in the evening. Guests' dogs are welcome, though not in the hotel's public areas.

Disabled access is possible to the ground floor public areas, and at least one room is considered accessible for some mobility impaired guests.

Restaurant and dining experience

The restaurant at the Ardanaiseig Hotel has a reputation which draws diners from a wide area, and a quality which is recognised by its award of 2 AA Rosettes.

A range of meals are on offer. Lunch is served from a daily changing set menu in the dining room between 12.00 and 1.45 and includes three courses and a glass of wine. Meanwhile, a light soup or sandwich lunch is available in the library bar from 12.00 to 2.00 every day.

Afternoon tea is served from 2.00 to 5.00 every day, and this is followed by the service of children's high tea from 5.30 to 6.30 (children under 10 are not allowed in the dining room during dinner service). A packed lunch menu is also available, offering three different options at a range of prices.

But the the heart of the dining experience at the Ardanaiseig Hotel is the daily changing fixed gourmet tasting menu prepared by the team led by Chef de Cuisine, Gary Goldie. Alternatives to the courses on that day's fixed menu can be made available, but we'd recommend going with the chef's choice wherever possible.

By definition, every day will be different, but when we visited the meal commenced with canapés and drinks in the library bar, followed by an amuse bouche of oyster in the restaurant itself. The courses on the menu comprised chilled tomato consommé, sautéed local langoustines, a simply magnificent fillet of Scotch Aberdeen Angus beef with braised oxtail, a pre-dessert of pistachio milkshake and a choice of glazed lime tart with fromage frais sorbet or plated Scottish cheese to conclude. Then coffee and petits fours are served at your table, in the lounge or bar, or in your room.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the restaurant (or via room service) between 8.00 and 9.30 each day. A self service starter course of fruits, yoghurts, croissants, cereals and freshly squeezed juices is followed by the cooked course served at your table. Options available include Smoked haddock or salmon with eggs, grilled kippers with lemon, or simple boiled egg and soldiers. Or you can go for the full Scottish breakfast comprising the usual ingredients and eggs cooked to your liking.

Meetings and events facilities

The Ardanaiseig is an ideal location for weddings and with 18 rooms can accommodate up to 36 guests on a exclusive use basis. The hotel has a licence for civil or religious ceremonies, and these can take place either within the hotel itself or in a purpose built amphitheatre in the gardens close to the side of Loch Awe. Receptions can be held for up to 50 people in the dining room and the drawing room is ideal for a drinks reception. The boat shed is an ideal bridal suite.

Leisure

The hotel has boats available for guests' use on Loch Awe, and safe (but often cold) swimming is possible in the bay in front of the hotel. Fishing permits are available for salmon, brown and rainbow trout, char and pike. The extensive gardens provide fascinating walks in the area around the hotel. For the less active, there is a snooker room in the basement of the hotel, and a Wii games console is available, as are DVDs, books and board games. There is also a piano in the drawing room.

Service highs/lows

The Ardanaiseig Hotel offers a country house experience in a real country house in a tranquil setting in a remarkably remote location. The house itself and its magnificent public rooms provide much of the attraction, complemented by the 2 AA Rosette standard fine dining on offer from Chef de Cuisine Gary Goldie.

Local points of interest

Although the Ardanaiseig Hotel is a little remote, once you have reached the main road at Taynuilt (or another south of Oban) you are within very easy reach of the very wide range of things to do and places to see right across the large area of northern and mid Argyll. Oban itself has numerous visitor attractions including a museum and a distillery. It also serves as the gateway to the Isle of Mull and many of the other Hebridean islands. Taynuilt is the gateway to the southern end of Loch Etive, while the village of Lochawe is home to the magnificent St Conan's Kirk, one of the most intriguing in Scotland. Also sharing a lochside location with the hotel, if on different parts of Loch Awe, are the ruins of Kilchurn Castle and the visitor centre associated with the Cruachan Power Station. Find out more from the Undiscovered Scotland guide to the Oban Area.

Target/ideal markets

The Ardanaiseig Hotel appeals strongly to the leisure market, and in particular to anyone wanting the experience of staying in a country house in this little visited corner of Argyll. Given it stands at the end of a road that leads to nowhere else, it has a surprising number of guests who simply drop in: though in part this is associated with the surrounding gardens, which draw visitors in their own right.

"Excellent location - and the food: 10/10. Heaven!" - Wendy Beaumont (England), 2007

"Food excellent and staff helpful. The stting is so lovely that I would visit in spring just to see the gardens with their flowering trees and shrubs." - Mrs M. A. Webb, 2007

"We have just come back from a short break in Scotland. This hotel was purely magical and we cannot wait to go back. The staff were courteous and the surroundings were superb. The food is the best I have ever tasted and the chef deserves outstanding merits. From the moment you step through the front door you are in another world. Although we have just returned home in September I should imagine visiting the hotel at Christmas would be truly memorable." - Barbara Legg (United Kingdom), 2007

“An exceptional stay. All is excellent: service, dinner, view and the quiet! We hope we will come back very soon again for a weekend from Paris. Thank you!” - M & Mme G. Bertin (France), 2006

“Beautiful setting and very attentive staff but a poor choice at dinner.” - Tom Collier, 2006*
*Editor’s note: as in many of the best dining rooms in Scotland there is a set menu here; check in advance if there is anything you don’t like; all our reports and our own experience tells us that the kitchen will do their utmost to accommodate requests.

“Very fine. Landscape, rooms, restaurant, all very fine. Efficient service.” - P. Lalliard (France), 2006

“On arrival, the reception was warm and welcoming. There was a log fire burning in the grate. The bedrooms are elegantly furnished. The hotel is in an incredibly romantic setting and the atmosphere very relaxing. I am a vegetarian and have been to hotels which have rosettes and awards for excellent food and found that once dinner arrives I am stuck with either risotto or polenta. Here, Gary Goldie and his staff on the other hand prepared a veritable feast for me every evening. I even had my own menu… how many hotels would take the time and trouble to do that? I can honestly say that his creations were the best that I have ever eaten and I do travel a lot both at home and abroad. Therefore I would like to nominate this hotel for the Scottish Country House Hotel of the Year 2005 award, and Gary Goldie for the Scottish Hotel Chef of the Year award.” – Patricia Beaton (England), 2005

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