• Magnificent views over the Firth of Clyde
• A superbly comfortable small hotel
• An outstanding dining experience
• Excellent customer care from hands-on owners
• A great location on the southern edge of Dunoon

Intro

Abbots Brae is a small hotel standing in extensive gardens on a hillside rising above the south end of Dunoon's West Bay. Run personally by owners Colin and Christine MacPherson, the hotel offers a truly relaxing “home from home” experience that ensures that guests will want to return. The views from the hotel are superb, looking out over the Firth of Clyde, and these are shared by four of the eight comfortable and well appointed en suite guest rooms. Guests can relax in a comfortable guest lounge on the ground floor, while the dining room is where you enjoy the outstanding food served by the hotel.

Character and setting/location

Abbots Brae is an imposing three storey white-painted house built in 1843 as a holiday retreat for a Glasgow glass merchant. It stands in two acres of wooded gardens which rise steeply from the road running along Dunoon's West Bay. The drive climbs through woods to emerge on the terrace on which Abbots Brae was built, while the gardens continue to rise to the rear of the hotel. Parking is in front of the hotel or to its side.

The location gives Abbots Brae magnificent views, between the trees in the garden, out across the Firth of Clyde. These extend from Gourock past Helensburgh to the Rosneath Peninsula before concluding with the seafront of Dunoon itself. It is a vista in which there is constant activity, from the ships sailing up and down the Clyde to the ferries busily linking Dunoon to Gourock.

Public rooms/spaces

The central front door leads you through to the entrance hall, at the rear of which is the reception desk and small bar area. There are two main public rooms. To the left as you enter is the guest lounge with its comfortable sofas and chairs. If you can tear your attention away from the views out of the front window you find the lounge offers a range of books and maps, and a chess table. To the right from the entrance hall is the dining room. This has well spaced dining tables, and nice artwork competes with more views (or more of the same view) from the front window.

The staircase rising two storeys from the hall has a nice airy feel, and is decorated by stained glass detail in the windows.

The surrounding gardens can be explored by guests, and you should not be surprised to find yourself in the company of roe deer or red squirrels if you do so.

Guest bedrooms

There are eight en suite guest bedrooms, all of which have been decorated with individual flair and which, between them, offer a range of options. Most are named after places on the Cowal Peninsula and each has information about the place it was named after.

The largest, which serves as a magnificent bridal suite when the hotel hosts weddings, is the Lamont Room, named after the local Clan Lamont. On the first floor, it combines sea views with a large four poster bed and a doubled ended bath and separate shower. Another room on the first floor and two more on the second floor also offer sea views. Glendaruel has a super-king size or twin beds. On the second floor, Ardentinny offers a super-king size or twin beds, and Benmore, which enjoys the best views in the hotel, has a four poster bed. Both Glendaruel and Ardentinny can be used as family rooms.

Three rooms, two on the second floor and one on the first, offer double beds and garden views. The eighth room, Innellan, is on the ground floor and has a double bed and en suite shower. It is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

Guest services

All guest rooms are equipped with televisions, radio clock alarms, a hospitality tray, telephone, hairdryer, complimentary toiletries, individually controllable central heating and – like the rest of the hotel – free WiFi. A laptop computer is available on the first floor landing for the use of guests without their own laptops. Room service is available, and guests may also make use of an iron and ironing board.

Disabled access is good. A ramp is available to allow access to the ground floor from the drive, and access to the lounge and dining room is level. There is one bedroom on the ground floor, and it has been adapted to be suitable for wheelchair users.

Restaurant and dining experience

Dinner is served in the dining room from 7.00pm until 8.30pm and is a real highlight of any stay at Abbots Brae. You start with drinks and canapés in the lounge, where you make your choice from the menu. The menu, which usually changes on a daily basis, is a triumph. Typically four starters, four mains and four sweets, including cheese, are on offer. We've seldom if ever been faced with a menu on which we felt we'd like every single option: in itself a tribute to chef Colin MacPherson. Those with special dietary needs can be catered for with a little notice.

It can only be an example of what was available on one day, but we found the starters of grilled sea bass fillet and the crayfish tail salad with Bloody Mary sauce to be superb. But then, so were the Atlantic cod au gratin and the slow cooked Scottish beef and ale casserole which we chose as our main courses. And at the risk of repetition, both the mincemeat and spiced apple strudel and the Scottish cheese selection turned out to be excellent choices from an excellent menu.

Underlying the success of the dining experience is the care taken in preparation and presentation and, especially, the desire to source the best ingredients as locally as possible. Shellfish comes from the west coast, and usually from Loch Fyne. Beef is Scottish born, raised and slaughtered. Bread is home made, and it shows in the freshness and quality of what arrives on your table.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the dining room between 8.00 and 9.30 and is simply excellent. A starter buffet course is available but you are also given a choice of porridge or brose. The latter is an enticing mixture of milk, oatmeal, honey and whisky (the menu carries a warning that it should not be chosen by drivers!) and it is served to the accompaniment of the story of the origins of brose as a traditional Scottish dish.

The main course offers a choice of the Scottish breakfast, with ingredients whose origins are specified on the menu: or a range of alternatives including oak smoked Loch Fyne kippers; smokes salmon and scrambled eggs; Tobermory peat smoked haddock with poached egg; or just eggs on toast.

Meetings and events facilities

Abbots Brae is available as an exclusive use venue for small intimate weddings, birthdays or anniversaries and other gatherings. The dining room has a capacity of up to 24 and 16 adults can be accommodated in the guest rooms.

Weddings of between 2 and 24 can be catered for, and the hotel is licensed as a wedding venue, with ceremonies taking place either in the gardens or in the hotel itself. Alternatively, the hotel can be used for the reception following a wedding at Dunoon's picturesque Registry Office.

Leisure

A range of leisure activities are available locally. These include rambling, sailing, fishing, pony trekking, hill walking, boat trips, or golf on a number of local courses. The hotel's own gardens offer the change to stroll through a woodland environment where you are as likely to encounter roe deer or red squirrels as other people.

Service highs/lows

Christine and Colin MacPherson run Abbots Brae as a hotel that treats its guests they way they themselves like to be treated when away from home. Combine this with their natural flair as a host and hostess and you end up with a superbly comfortable home from home: the sort of place you would without hesitation recommend to anyone wanting a break in this part of Scotland.

Local points of interest

Abbots Brae is less than a mile from the centre of Dunoon, the major town on the Cowal Peninsula and the destination for the two ferry services which link the peninsula with Gourock. Dunoon itself is an example of an attractive seaside resort which retains much of what attracted people to it in the first place. The wider Cowal Peninsula is one of the least well known parts of Argyll and repays exploration. Particular attractions include the Benmore Botanic Gardens just north of Dunoon and, a little further afield, the town of Inveraray with its castle, jail, maritime museum and other attractions. Meanwhile, the ferries place the hotel within an hour of Glasgow. Find out more from the Undiscovered Scotland guide to the Dunoon Area.

Target/ideal markets

Abbots Brae is ideal for anyone wanting a comfortable base on the Cowal Peninsula, and in Dunoon in particular. It is particularly popular with guests on short leisure breaks, as well as with people who find it or are recommended to it while on business in Dunoon. For all the reasons set out in this review, Abbots Brae is the sort of hotel that benefits from a high level of repeat visitors: when you have discovered it you will tend to want to return!

"This hotel was stunning, this photo doesn't do it justice, we had a room with a sea view which was amazing, the scenery is constantly changing, we could have sat all weekend watching the wildlife in the garden and the weather changing across the forth of clyde but we did leave the room to take a couple of the very pretty walks locally......one even starts in the garden. We only ate breakfast in the hotel but the selection was great and cooked to perfection. We would definately make a return visit." - Ms Harwood (England), 2009

"The Abbots Brae somehow manages that neat trick of being both a beautiful grown-up escape for mum and dad AND of being a welcoming hotel for children. I called (at very short notice) looking for two rooms for myself, my husband and my two children and got the friendlist attention. By the end of the call I felt like I was going to visit some pals - not stay in a hotel! And the Abbots Brae then lives completely up to its warmth. What a welcome from Colin - and then we found that we had been assigned rooms which almost formed a suite. The rooms are beautifully appointed and spotlessly clean. The en suite bathrooms are immaculate. The stunning view of the Clyde meant that my two children were more than happy to see the river traffic go by, and to watch the lighthouses start beaming as it got dark. And my husband and I were delighted to be relaxing in a lovely, peaceful hotel. And the breakfast! Talk about setting you up for the day! You can climb mountains on this stuff. Well, stroll along the beach and throw stones into the water, at any rate. We only had time for one night. By the time we returned to our home in the middle of noisy, bustling Edinburgh, we felt as if we had been relaxing for a whole week. I wish I didn't have to tell everyone about this hotel, so I could keep it all to myself - but everyone deserves a treat in life. IF you've got one night, one weekend, or three days - forget the expensive chain type hotels - this is it. Damn. Now you all know......" - Susan Morrison (Scotland), 2007

"Read about it last October in the 'Scotland on Sunday' and said at the time that sounds like my kind of place. My partner stored away that information and organised a surprise stay for my 50th birthday. The hotel lived up to all we had expected ... and more! Welcomed at the car, lovely room (Lamont), super walk up the gorge behind the house, superb meal (steaks were spot-on and very friendly efficient service), great breakfast and even a surprise birthday cake. What more could you ask for? Only one regret - we only had one night. Next time (and we will come back!) it will be for longer. In fact we would like to get a few friends together and make a party of it ... but we've bagged the Lamont room! Thanks to all for a great birthday treat." - Andy Sinclair (Scotland), 2006

"8 of us spent New Year there and we were treated to the most warm and wonderful 3 days. It was like having everything done for us, yet feeling as if we were actually in the comfort of home. Brilliant and congratulations on a job very well done." - Trevor Kinch (UK), 2006

“Brilliant! The hotel was in a super location. The helpful owners charming – and he a good cook!” - Holly Mitchell, 2005

“A magnificent small hotel with a stunning view onto the Clyde. The owners are welcoming and friendly while the food is fantastic.” - Gary Lawrie, 2005

“Nothing too much trouble for the owners and staff. We had a lovely stay in a bay room, and enjoyed wonderful meals.” - J. Smith (England), 2005

“A truly delightful small country house hotel remarkable for its beautiful views over the Firth of Clyde. Professionally run by friendly and attentive host and hostess for whom nothing is too much trouble. Comfortable and elegant en-suite bedrooms, softest white fluffy towels (!), and in the dining room an enterprising menu of superbly prepared and presented food.” - Mr & Mrs H C Samson (England), 2005

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