Hotel Reviews
A glorious sunny afternoon in the middle of Autumn took me to the Stunning Sherbrooke Castle Hotel . The middle of November can sometimes be a weather catastrophe for driving in Scotland but not today .
Sherbrooke Castle Hotel is a magnificent Baronial building sitting high up overlooking the leafy suburbs of Pollockshields in Glasgow. I was amazed at how you can be driving through a concrete jungle and motorway one minute and then seconds later in a very picturesque part of Glasgow. On entering this lovely building ( Which has ample parking hidden away at the back not to distract from the view of the Hotel) you are hit by the lovely scottish tartan flooring and wood which surrounds the grand reception area.
Very welcoming staff then escorted us to our Table. The view from the table was just lovely and the staff discreet but efficient . Crisp cotton white tablecloths and highly polished and immaculate Teapots and crockery , just loved the attention to detail on the tables .
For this Tea we recieved a glass of Prosecco along with choice Loose teas and a lovely display of Sandwiches , Cakes and scones. I have to say that the sandwiches were some of the best i have tasted to date , very very fresh and moist with a lovely salad garnish and roasted fried vegetables crisps. The second layer consisted of tiny little scones with a lovely jam and to my surprise clotted cream , again very good. The cakes were excellent ,fresh and a good selection. This was not the cheapest at a discounted price of £24 for 2 but i have paid double this for not nearly as good . I would highly recommend the Sherbrook Castle Hotel for Afternoon Tea and for an all round great experience in the heart of Glasgow.
Today was a wee breather in what seems like an eternity of torrential rain in the west coast of Scotland. I hesitantly ventured out around the Clyde estuary to a tiny little place called Cove and to the stunning Knockderry Hotel . Knockderry is situated on one of the most stunning sea lochs on the west coast of Scotland and boasts a 2 star rosette rating . It also has its own Marina for those long lazy days out sailing when you just need to anchor up and take in some shore time. This hotel is quite simply stunning and immaculately well kept. I absolutely love the tartan , open coal fires and authentic wood engulfing its every corner. The grounds overlook some of the best scenery in scotland and you could lose yourself just gazing out at the small boats and sailing yachts gently meandering by . Let me begin by tempering this review by stating that i I have eaten here in the evening about 5 years ago and the service and cleanliness again were outstanding as was the evening meal but i was here today to review the Afternoon Tea .
We were very warmly welcomed into a beautifully appointed dining/bar area where all the tables were dressed for lunch or Afternoon Tea in crisp white linen tablecloths . There was roaring coal fire ( July !! ) which was beautiful to look at and great for tourists but sweltering to eat in sadly. We were sat at an enviable location in the window overlooking the Loch. Our waitress was quick and efficient and we were soon served with our choice of bagged tea in a teapot and two stands of sandwiches and cakes. They looked absolutely beautiful as did the stunning stands.The sandwiches had dried out before being served to us and the sundried tomatoes were dried out to a crisp sadly. The salmon sandwiches were nice. The plain scones tasted lovely with a crumbly texture and lovely flavour and the blueberry jam was devine. The sultana scones however were raw in the middle and flat. The cakes were a bit of a mixed bag with 2 tiny slice of Ganache squares which just melted in the heat and really unless firmer would never really have worked. The macarons simply were inedible as soft and gooey and not at all like a Macaron ! The chocolate brownie tasted nothing like chocolate and nothing like a brownie. The cakes that were brilliant were the shortbread rounds which just melted in the mouth , the sticky toffee cake which was one of the best i have tasted to date and the vienesse biscuits which were excuisite. So in short, although my arrival was announced beforehand, this could have had a bit more attention to detail for a good Afternoon Tea, but for me the location , hotel , staff and simple traditional elegance here would make me return time after time .
Afternoon Tea for two today in Rhu was at the Rosslea Hall Hotel . This is one of my favourite places in the Helensburgh area, not least for its stunning views over the Firth of Clyde . This Victorian mansion is set on the shores of the Gareloch and sits in its own beautiful landscaped gardens. I have quite a history with this hotel so its difficult to right a biased review but here goes.
On arrival we were greeted by a polite and friendly waitress who showed us through to a small dining area already set up for Afternoon Tea and overlooking the Clyde. Fresh white linen tablecloths and lovely china crockery was set up on arrival. I was starving so when the stands arrived i was ready for the good selection of freshly cut sandwiches . Lovely chunky thick sandwiches with roast beef , tuna and ham nice and fresh .
The small cakes were nice and fresh and a different selection to the usual Afternoon tea with Chocolate pots and Cranachan shots with shortbread. The scones were not to my liking being more like a crumbly biscuit texture than scone, but my associate liked them, so scones are obviously a personal choice .
We had ample butter , jam and cream served in silver domes which was a nice touch . The price at £11-95 was the cheapest to date and given the surroundings and service was extremely good value for money. Now onto my next Afternoon Tea ..............
(Afternoon Tea was the order of the day and what better place to have it than the stunning baronial mansion that is Mar Hall . This stunning building dates back to the early 18th century and was recently renovated at a cost of around 15 million. The building was formerly Erskine Hospital but does not give a hint of this nowadays . The ground has a golf course and spa and it is classed as a 5 star wedding venue . On this count i can not argue. The long winding and immaculately kept driveway hides a stunning loch view until you turn a sharp left at the end and there is the reason this place holds a dear place in my heart . A view to die for and A couple of bronze stags welcome you to the grand halls . Inside the main Hall is the reception where you are courtesly greeted on arrival and shown into one of the most beautiful drawing rooms i have seen. Lovely tapestries on the wall and mostly all original features still remain here. Love the large wooden doors of all different sizes leading into different corridors and allowing a peek view of the stunning view outside and all around the grounds. Anyhow i was here for the Afternoon Tea priced at £22-50 each ( The cake stand pictured was for 2 people at a cost of £45 June 2016) . Now on my travels in the last 20 years this would not be considered cheap or even moderate so i was anticipating great things. We were seated at a table for two which was a great deal higher than the chairs making eating and viewing what was actually on your table a bit of a problem. In fact both myself and my guest had to stand up every time we wanted to see or move something on the table . This will be over looked i told myself when the Afternoon Tea comes. We were politely told our Afternoon Tea would not be long and neither it was . Out arrived one stand with 6 tiny sandwiches ( No garnish , dressing, or savouries) A middle plate with two rock hard scones and a tablespoon of clotted cream . The 1 strawberry which garnished the clotted cream sadly tasted of onion . The top tier was full of tiny little pastries which looked great but i would question whether they were all Baked on the premises . Sadly my experience was tarnished by the offering of the two tiny egg mayonaise sandwiches ( 1 for me and 1 for my guest ) They tasted of vinegar and quite obviously had turned in the heat of the kitchen or just not fresh . A second batch was brought to the table which were perfect and tasted of egg mayonaise but by this time i was feeling a bit queezy at the thought of what i had just eaten. There was no atmosphere in the large beautifully decorated halls where we sat and this is a shame . Overall i would say my experience here is not how i remember it from years gone by but for a wedding venue or overnight stay it would be hard to beat .