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HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Mid-range
Location
4 West Princes Street, Rothesay PA20 9AF Scotland
The Bute House Hotel
21 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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We had an excellent stay. Harry and Harry were very good in welcoming us. We had a family comfortable room ensuite which made our vacation very relaxing. The b&b is walking distance to shops, bars, restaurants, and only 3 minutes from the port. We can't ask for more!!! ems, manu, che and ely
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Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at this family run hotel for four days and we will definitely go back. The location is good, it is close to the pier where the ferry comes in and its close to all the towns amenities. The owners are very helpful and the breakfasts are good. It's very clean and well maintained.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Harry G, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 28 Aug 2014
Thank you for your review, its always great when guests appreciate our efforts to try and make your stay with us as best we can. Thank you
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This is a difficult review. We really liked the couple who are managing the hotel and the room had a lovely view of the harbour and is very close to the ferry.
The building itself is very dilapidated and old. On entering it smells musty. The rooms are only just adequate for today’s modern demands, but it seems other properties in Rothesay itself are similar. Do put a mirror on the wall somewhere so you can see to do your hair and make up
Steph, the temporary manager, was delightful and helpful but hotels need permanent management to keep up the standards
The hotel was great for dogs and we had 4 greyhounds and a shih tzu at breakfast
Overall if you know what to expect, for what we paid, it was ok for an overnight stay
Bute is beautiful and worth a visit and the stately home ‘mount Stuart’ is amazing
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Date of stay: August 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I had the dubious pleasure of staying here with 4 young children as part of a visit to see an old friend. Initially I phoned another location that is apparently owned by the same people but they couldn't fit the 5 of us in the one room, so they recommended the Bute. The room we were promised was unavailable as the lady in charge hadn't realised that it was already booked.....I should have braced myself for more....much more.....wifi throughout the building? No. You may think you have wifi throughout the building but you don't. Hopefully you realise that's the case now that we have pointed it out. The young man serving breakfast was very lovely, very polite and should really be working somewhere deserving of his skills and talents. The breakfast was laughable. A Kellogg's multipack of mini cereals and a bowl of prunes is hardly continental. Only in Scotland would prunes be considered continental.... My main problem really was the flat out lie that the room we were promised was booked out as stated by the Eva Braun tribute act when in actual fact the young man at breakfast let slip we were the only people staying in the hotel bar 3 workmen... Maybe she just couldn't be bothered moving a roll out bed into the room for us, maybe it was broken, maybe the room she promised only exists in her mind and she was so sure we wouldn't book she felt confident enough to promise us the room but stopped short of mentioning en-suite spa facilities or the fully pat tested 1983 trouser press guaranteed in every room...! Whatever the reason her lies found her out and it's safe to say we won't be back...!!
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Date of stay: June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Harry G, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 20 Oct 2014
Thank you for your review, we do appreciate your comments but may we now put our side, the lady first e-mailed 1 week prior to actually booking and said it was 3 small children, when the number of ages supplied were counted it turned out it was 4 children only 1 small child the other 3 were young adults, she telephoned on the morning the following week and asked if the 5 of them could be accommodated at The Bute House that day, on checking with the Manager the only room that could accommodate 5 persons was already booked out, so this was explained to her and she was offered TWO en-suite rooms in a private corridor at NO extra cost, she was quite happy with this, it was as it had been explained the previous week that there was NO cooked Breakfast at the Bute House and that it was a COMPLIMENTARY FREE COLD BREAKFAST, this is as advertised within the Hotel, you fail to mention the Fresh Fruit (bananas, plums, oranges, nectarines, apples, grapes), The Grapefruit, The Variety of Cereals, The Toast, Yoghurts, Juice etc..... . There is Free Wi-Fi throughout the building and this has been checked, maybe you did not put in the code as per the folders in your 2 rooms. There was NO flat lie told to you, the room does exist but was booked out, you have been asked to come and see for yourself the breakdown of the rooms so that you can see for yourself there was NO lie told, the only lies being told here are by yourself, you don't even know how many grand children you have !, we don't get the trouser press thing as there is no such thing in the Bute House and never has been anyone ready this lady's review please remember she only paid the rate for 1 x family room and out of the goodness of our hearts we gave her 2 x en-suite rooms at no extra cost, and it has been thrown back in our faces.
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Stayed at this hotel earlier this month for a family event. After reading many reviews I was expecting quite good service and decent hotel however the entire opposite occurred. I have listed the components of this hotel which made my stay the first and last ever.
- Rude owner: the owner made me and my other members of family very uncomfortable and angry at the attitude we received - Bed Linen dirty and torn. - No hot water in the shower despite leaving it on for a while to see if it would heat up - Heating in the hotel is not provided 24hrs, only 5.5 hours. Paying for a hotel you would expect heating to be provided but yet was freezing the entire stay. And even when heating is on, it was the lowest setting possible. - Owner is not present for arrivals and departures. You have to call the owner to let him know you have arrived and also to figure how you check out. I view that as unprofessional as business hours are technically 8am to 6pm (general view).
Overall, the hotel experience was horrendous. Never will stay here again. Checked out as soon as I could the next day!
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Date of stay: November 2018Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AndrewL3287, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 6 Dec 2018
Hilarious. First time in over 650 guests this season ive been called rude. You wont be able to come. Set fire alarm off for smoking, 5 mins into arrival. Illegal in Scotland. There to meet and greet everyone otherwise entering a locked safe and secure hotel is not possible. Really no need to see people off. There is a location for keys and i communicate with good guests via phone, text, WhatsApp or perhaps email before during and after stay. No more needs said frpm my side.
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We stayed here for one night in July, my husband ani, and 2 other couples who were family. We were attending a funeral. We wont be back. We were told we would be getting a full breakfast and then we were given what was described as a continental breakfast, which consisted of toast and jam, 2 choices of cereal and coffe or tea. Oh yes some bananas and tinned grapefruit. The shower in our relatives room leaked and they couldn't use it. It was explained the next morning at breakfast why it wasn't working. We were not offered any refund or apologies. We were put on the top floor and the whole hotel was vacant. Also it was very noisy with gulls. The only good thing was comfy beds but with no peace we didn't sleep well.
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Date of stay: July 2014
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Harry G, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 28 Aug 2014
Thank you for your review we do appreciate your comments but when you booked accommodation at our other place which does offer a cooked breakfast, and when the other 2 couples phoned to book the Bute House it was decided by them that it would be better if you were all together as you were attending a funeral, you were telephoned and asked if this was ok and it was explained to you that it was a complimentary free cold breakfast (as per the notice in the reception area) ,and you were fine with that so you were moved to the Bute House Hotel, your description of toast & jam, 2 cereals, tea or coffee, bananas & grapefruit is a bit far from the truth, can I ask please why you did not be truthfull about what is on offer with the free cold breakfast, such as 5 different cereal choices, prunes, grapefruit, bananas, plums, oranges, nectarines, grapes, youghurts, brown and white toast, orange juice, tomato juice, tea or coffee. The shower we were only told about in the morning we did apoligise as it was fixed straight away as it was only the hose that needed tightned, we can't fix things if nobody tells us at the time, you were put on the top floor to try and keep you away from the street/pub noise outside,and also to keep the family together in one area, it would have been better if you had mentioned to us at the time of checkout that you were unsatisfied instead of bottling it up till you got home, unfortunately we can't help the gulls being noisy in a sea-side location.
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I stayed here for work, when we got the the "hotel" we were met by a sign to call a number. After calling it 3 times to no answer a local asked if we were checking in, he said the receptionist was in the pub across the street, I went in and she was full of the bevie, showed us our rooms in a drunk manor. No breakfast was on offer or even offered. The room was dark and very dated. The hallway and entrance had a musky smell. The bathroom was ok but the shower was cold. On the plus side the bed was nice and soft but the sheets were not the best ( very used ) one of the most unprofessional hosts I have come across. If my company hadn't already paid for the room I would of slept in my car and kept the money. Won't be back in a hurry . Good points. It's right in the centre of town and the bizkits in the room were good. If you like bizkits this is the place for you.
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Date of stay: April 2019Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We recommend the Boat House Hotel as an ideal place to stay in Bute. It is simple, but very clean and comfortable with an excellent breakfast. We view from the rooms at the front of the hotel is marvellous. Free parking outside is a bonus and for those arriving on foot, the ferry is a short walk away.
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Date of stay: June 2014
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â We had a seaview room. It was large and comfortable and sitting in the bay window was a delight...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I enjoyed staying here as the owner was very friendly. The rooms are very clean and well presented. It is just a stones throw away from the ferry port. I will defiantly be staying here again :)
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Date of stay: August 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Harry G, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 28 Aug 2014
Thank you for your review, it was lovely to meet you
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There is no parking at hotel. Owner very nice and trys to be helpful The room we had was very small and nowhere to sit other than on bed. Bathroom had a maserator fitted and it was very noisy when in shower etc The room had no tv, we queried this and was told this room had no tv but we could move to another room if we paid the housekeeping fee, although we had only been in this room twenty minutes snd not used anything. Room was not made up in morning and tea and coffee not replenished.
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Date of stay: August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AndrewL3287, Owner at The Bute House Hotel
Responded 6 Dec 2018
Parking is all around hotel, a bizarre comment as it's the best parking hotel area on the island. You will find such plumbing all over island and all over UK in old Victorian buildings. You missed the charm and original features. You will also see online there are no tvs in rooms. This will be added next season. given our central location guests tend to be out a lot. Housekeeping knocked and were told to come back, sorry they did not. Call direct for your next stat to receive a complimentary meal during your stay at our new state of the art dining room, kitchen and bathroom facilities. All brand new.
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Poole, United Kingdom320 contributions196 helpful votes
"We had a seaview room. It was large and comfortable and sitting in the bay window was a delight with a beautiful view of the sea and the ferries and paddle steamers coming into Rothsay."
There are more places to choose from in the Rothesay area.
LOCATION
United KingdomScotlandArgyll and ButeIsle of ButeRothesay
NUMBER OF ROOMS
13
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