Columba Hotel

OK for what you pay

On the outisde and in public areas this hotel does not appeal but the room itself was good. Breakfast ok although hot breakfast was cold on our first day. The hotel is in a great location for Oban centre and restuarants etc. and it is evident that they are trying to moderise. Not bad for the price.

Wait until remodeling completed

The service was great - the front desk staff and the wait staff at breakfast were very polite and patient. The breakfast was self-serve, but very tasty. But we checked out after only one night (we booked for two) because the room was not up to standard. It was quite expensive and we expected more than a heated towel bar to warm the bathroom (with discolored, tattered wall to wall carpet), a huge gap under the doorway to the hallway and three holes in the walls where wall sconces had been removed and newspaper used to fill in the opening. Wind blew through the window frames and rattled the blinds and the hotel bar must have been doing a brisk business because we listened to garbage being tossed into the dumpster until quite late. We would have called to complain but the phone was not working. If I understood correctly, we could not call to the front desk or even outside the hotel. The hotel seems to be in the midst of an interrupted remodeling and while some rooms might be completed and very nice, the room we stayed in was uncomfortable and sad. The front desk staff offered to move us to another room but there were none available that were any better. But, in all fairness, the staff deserves a better facility - the people we met were very polite, professional and apologetic. I asked for a refund of our second night and received it without hassle.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

The location is about 5 minutes brisk walk to the ferry terminal, train station and a major bus stop. Our room overlooked the water and it was fun to watch the ferry coming and going. I would recommend the Cal-Mac ferry’s package tours to the Isle of Mull as a convenient way to travel. The visitors center was very helpful with currency exchange, a wide variety of maps for sale, and internet connection. The staff was very helpful.