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Reviews of The Machrie Hotel & Golf Links

4 out of 5
The Machrie Hotel & Golf Links
The Machrie Hotel & Golf LInks, Islay Island, Scotland

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 86 out of 113 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 19 out of 113 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 5 out of 113 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 3 out of 113 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 113 reviews" "

10/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

9.4/10

Amenities

9.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

JOSE H

Business traveller, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Linda

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
First visit and we loved the hotel and the island. We loved the walk down to the beach.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

4/10 Poor

Vanessa

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
DO NOT STAY HERE
Where to begin with this place: - reservation: made a refundable reservation in April through hotels.com. A few days later, wanted to amend the reservation from 3 to 2 days. The hotel wouldn’t pick up, hotels.com couldn’t reach them. Either way, hotels.com said it would be fine. Fast forward to the stay in June, I show them the email, they acknowledge the attempt and say we’re good at check in. At check out, they refuse to give me a bill of my stay saying I made it through a third party service (having stayed at hubdreads of hotels I have never seen this before). Of course, they charge me for the 3 nights. It’s been a week and they are still refusing to pay me back. Nightmare! - Rooms: we stayed in 2 rooms that weee beyond tiny, holiday inn style quality and paying £300 pounds a night. Stay at the Port Charlotte or the Islay for much better value Service - my husband was preparing for knee surgery and they did nothing to help him. No wheelchair on site. We were told to walk the golf course to find my dad even though the course was empty and they could have driven or lent us a golf cart. 0 help for his disability. Restaurant - the food is awful. Don’t eat here. Had to order a steak raw for something even close to medium. £55 surf and turf was barely edible.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Matthew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Joannie

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Torrey

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful and serene, looking out over the golf course and the water!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

6/10 Okay

David

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Limited Dining options, limited hours. Staff is below average in regard to what we would expect for a resort of this caliber.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

peter

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
this place is just gorgeous, the rooms are perfection, super clean, the views and the golf course are beyond perfection.....and the staff.... there are no words! They held the kitchen open for members of our party on the late ferry. We were 4 couples who travel a great deal and this little gem on Islay is on our must return list. Thank you for a perfect stay
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jared

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Terry

Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Claire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommended
We had a wonderful stay. Juan the manager helped up sort out a problem we had on arrival. It made our stay great.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Julian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Putting green heaven
Thank you for letting me use the putting green for 2 hours each day free of charge, even though I wasn't there to play golf. I didn't see any recycling bins in the room for paper etc? Also, how about a small shelter at the bottom of your road so people don't get soaked when waiting for public transport. Overall, these are minor quibbles about an otherwise excellent stay.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Theodore

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent hotel on the island of Islay. The golf course surrounds the hotel. The staff provided excellent service. The restaurant was great, all 6 of us had a great dinner and breakfast the next day. The room was very spacious and the beds were wonderful. About 10 minutes outside of Port Ellen.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Bimi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The Machrie is emaculate!!! We srayed here and had a lovely walk down to the beach. The dinner was one of the best food ive ever eaten!!! Our room the Ben Hogan suite was amazing lots of attention to detail,providing guests with a true holiday with all luxurious comforts!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

William

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful, from front desk to restaurant/bar to pro shop, everyone was pleasant and went out of their way to make sure every need was taken care of. The only downside I experienced was the food, which I found to be very average for such a nice property. I ate breakfast once, eggs benedict, sauce was cold; and dinner once, steak was tough. This is a downside since the property is along the coast and not within walking distance of any other places to eat.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023
Response from The Reception Team on 20 Mar 2023
Hello William, thank you for your fantastic feedback, I am glad that you enjoyed your stay with us and that the team we able to impress. I have noted your comments regarding your experience in our restaurant and I will feed this back to our Chef.

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Outstanding hotel and service. Completely happy with overall experience. Window view of the property, walk to the beach and a cozy fireplace was a plus. Restaurant was food and staff were excellent.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023
Response from The Reception Team on 20 Mar 2023
Thank you Jennifer for your excellent feedback, I am glad you were able to enjoy our surroundings, we truly have a unique spot. Look forward to welcoming you back soon.

10/10 Excellent

Rosemary

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from The Reception Team on 20 Mar 2023
Thank you Rosemary for your excellent feedback, I am glad you enjoyed your stay.

10/10 Excellent

Anthony

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Exceptional in every way - We’ll be back!
From service on arrival to the house team everyone was fantastic. A special mention goes to Jo and Gabriel in the restaurant team who shared knowledge and conversation without imposing themselves on our stay. The hotel is cleverly furnished, managing to turn a large modern space into a cosy, comfortable and welcoming stay - you really do feel ‘at home’, a really luxurious one! And that’s before we mention the golf course… spectacular - well beyond my game! I’m off to practice for our return.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2022

6/10 Okay

Lawrence

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
great location. nice property. lounge and restaurant setup puzzling. strangest room service menu i have ever seen. in-room coffee and water service not refreshed. our stay in early november so may be breaking in new staff?
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022

6/10 Okay

Caroline

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Paige

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A stunning place with excellent and welcoming staff. The food is fabulous and the rooms are spacious and new. The views of the golf course and water are stunning! The perfect place for exoring everything that Islay has to offer.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mara, Bainbridge Island

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful property;; gorgeous golf course. Room and meals were outstanding. Was a little disappointed that the spa had no appointments and didn’t have more than one staff member who was out Sunday and Monday but everything else was perfect.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Marissa, RESTON

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property is gorgeous and the staff are phenomenal. Phoebe, in the dining room, is specifically delightful and goes out of her way to make guests feel welcome.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Eliza Naumowicz on 22 Aug 2022
Dear Marissa,Thank you for your lovely review.I am happy to read that you enjoyed your stay with us and that we made you feel welcome.We try our best to meet our guests' satisfaction and I am delighted to know we did just that for you.Thank you again and we can hopefully welcome you back again soon!Best wishes,Eliza NaumowiczFront Office Manager

8/10 Good

Gillian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Could do a lot better
No complaints about hotel accommodation, location or surroundings. The hotel lets itself down by the restaurant. Food was overpriced and poorly executed. One starter came to the table with two scallops on a large white plate with a couple of tiny bits of crispy bacon( we think) Our main was salmon and asparagus. It arrived raw!!!! I had a piece in my mouth when I realised it hadn’t been cooked. Husbands the same! We immediately returned it and waited 45 mins for the dish to be returned which was perfect. Crispy skin . Poor value at every turn £28 for a small piece of salmon and 3 tiny asparagus pieces.Scallop starter was expensive as well. The staff were lovely and extremely pleasant but wait times were horrendous for dinner and breakfast. Would we return, maybe for the golf but not to stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Machrie Stunner
Fabulous Hotel.. with spectacular views across the golf course.. service needs to tighten up a we bit.. but staff were very pleasant and accommodating. Would defo be back.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022

4/10 Poor

Steen

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

William

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
from check-in to check-out our needs were taken care of by the staff. The first evening seating for dinner was way backed up for the later times, but the staff did their best to take care of us. In fact that led to them giving us (a group of 4) the best table in the house the next evening and very special treatment. It is very close to 3 great (if you want to experience the peaty whisky) distilleries and has a wonderful golf course along the beach designed by Old Tom Morris… Don’t miss this out of the way hotel on Islay!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

David

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent hotel and golf
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Glenda

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Awesome! The property was quiet and welcoming. We enjoyed hearing the sheep and sea at night - made for a good nights rest.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent renovation of hotel and golf course. Still have some growing pains having come through pandemic. Service is not up to standard of hotel. We had a large group 22 and they were unprepared and stuck us in a small dark room and gave us choice of 6 or 830 for dinner. Food was not very good and ordering process ridiculous. How about sitting having a cocktail in the gorgeous lounge over looking the golf course and ordering off the menu. No kippers for breakfast and no toasties at lunch, not acceptable. Golf course much easier wider “resort style fairways “ and most blind shots eliminated. The “old Machrie” was much more memorable. Course conditions were not very good apparently the Greens keeper made a mistake last fall and killed a lot of grass. Fairways and greens too slow. If the Machrie is to become a golf destination they will need to build another course. People unlikely to travel for one course Hope they can get this worked out
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

8/10 Good

Paul, Margaretsville

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful renovation of the golf course and hotel. Went with large group and they are not well suited or prepared for this. Shuttled off into windowless room down the hall. Meals substandard compared to the restaurant menu and ordering system day before is ridiculous. How about groups gather in beautiful lounge and order meals off the menu at dinner time. We had option of eating at 6pm or 830 that is not acceptable. Also no kippers at breakfast and no toasties at lunch, get your act together. Golf course has some wonderful holes but is much easier and not nearly as memorable as the original Machrie. I truly believe that they need to build an additional golf course and make it a destination
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nicole

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful property. Just wish I had brought my clubs and had more time.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

D Bruce

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Machrie.
Nice clean and tidy hotel, with friendly and very helpful staff. Nothing was a problem for them. Very good and varied breakfast, evening meals of a high standard with a good wine selection.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2022
Response from Eliza on 19 Jun 2022
Dear D Bruce Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are all delighted to know that your stay here at The Machrie was comfortable and enjoyable. Your comments mean a lot to us and we appreciate it greatly. Thank you again for staying with us and look forward to seeing you in not so distant future! Best wishes, Eliza Naumowicz Front Office Manager

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hotel!
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

David

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021

8/10 Good

Corinna

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay!
It was an amazing stay and can’t wait to go back.
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Glyn

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful Stay
Excellent service by all staff.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

8/10 Good

Robert

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely Dining Room
Wonderfully designed hotel with views from the dining room exceptional. Unfortunately the menu was very limited and did not really change in our 3 day stay.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2021

4/10 Poor

Dan

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
False advertising!
We booked this hotel on the basis of the amazing vegan menu on their website. (My partner is vegan) We got there to find most of the staff didn’t even know there was a vegan menu… and when we got it, most of the items were not available. More to the point, it was very clear the waiting staff didn’t care in the least. For a higher priced hotel I’d expect a higher quality service. We left early and stayed at another hotel which was half the price and far superior.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

PAUL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This will become a destination . Top draw and matched by a fabulous golf course and quality food offerings. We will be coming again.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This hotel is stunning, from interior design, food, staff and golf course. Not forgetting the stunning view and beach. Actually don't want to share it, want to keep it all to myself.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is beautifully furnished, comfortable and bedroom was lovely. When no masks and no one way system are needed anymore it will be perfect. The staff are all really helpful and we were made to feel very welcome.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Louisa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Bob

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful location on a wonderful links course beside a long stretch of Sandy beach. Hotel is immaculate staff friendly.
Beautiful coastal retreat
Stayed 3 nights in May 2021

10/10 Excellent

Janice

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing short break
First visit since hotel revamp and it didn't disappoint. Particular thanks to Megan on reception and Lorna, Duncan, Gabriel and LJ for their excellent and friendly service. Hope to be back soon.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2020

10/10 Excellent

Malcolm

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
6 star....
All round superb. Lodge was fantastic, great views. Staff were on the ball consistently. Difficult to fault the place.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2020

8/10 Good

Dene

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stay and play.
Staff are excellent, hotel very comfortable, food needs more variety in resturant. Golf course is wonderful to play and facilities are good. Golf professional is extremlly accomodating and nothing is any trouble. We will be back to stay and play golf.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2020

10/10 Excellent

Anne

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful location, staff & service
Wonderful location, excellent staff & service. 2 issues: hearing controls in the Lodge Suites need to be adjusted to enable guests to control - far too hot night & day. A resort like this one needs to offer room service to the Lodge Suites not just in the main hotel - too far to carry heavy trays across the gravel for guests in daylight never mind darkness! However, we all had a great week and will return when the above issues are addressed.
Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2020

8/10 Good

Kate

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel, rooms very comfortable, staff were great. Food coukd be improved in quality and variety.
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2020