The Mansion House Hotel

“Elgin does Fawlty Towers but could be Downton Abbey.”

Where do we start with this one. The booking for our Xmas stay over was a hard one to make but loving Scotland that was our destination of choice. Coming across the Mansion House and it's favorable pricing we opted for a weeks stay to Celebrate Xmas in The Highlands at what looked an ideal setting.… Mehr

Where do we start with this one. The booking for our Xmas stay over was a hard one to make but loving Scotland that was our destination of choice. Coming across the Mansion House and it's favorable pricing we opted for a weeks stay to Celebrate Xmas in The Highlands at what looked an ideal setting. Sadly we learned that the restaurant wasn't open so we booked into a local establishment which did offer a Christmas Day menu so it was not a problem as the Hotel looked like a dream place to stay anyway. On arrival we were greeted with a picture postcard setting and having parked up in it's own spacious and very grand carpark took our bags into the hotel. Once again, the interior wowed us with high end traditional Victorian style decoration and furniture. The illusion was dimmed slighty as the "manager" appeared out of an otherwise empty and what seemed a staffless hotel. His attire, a pair of jeans and padded fleece type body warmer. It was 4pm. We got our key card and went to our room (22) which was through a snooker room and lounge, the temperature slightly warm. Key Carded our room open to a lovely setting of twin four poster beds, swish curtains and swags with blackout lining, wardrobe and vanity table. Carpeted but stained with a white tiled bathroom, bath / shower and heated towel rail but after unpacking and settling down, we notice how tired the room was with broken items, bodged repairs, no luggage rack, a bathroom sink that had a broken plug and wouldn't retain water, it became a "It is what it is" Going down to the small bar that opened at 6 and closed at 9 sported the same "Manager" who now double as barman but only had one beer on draft and anything else was bottles. No "room tab" and pay as you order. Example. 1 pint of Tenants, 1 glass of wine £14:50. and maybe about right for a Hotel of this alleged standard. At this point I will mention that the room cleaning service each morning was superb. Every bit as clean as the morning before with fresh clean white linen. A walk into Elgin the same night as checking became a joy as the people were so friendly, architecture incredible, history of the town (Duke of Gordon) was very interesting and the pubs and restaurants very good indeed and lovely location to say. Breakfasts between about 7:30 and 9:30am were excellent: Billy the Chef an Ex Army catering corps chef produced lovely ingredients piping hot on warmed plates from a Full Scottish Fry Up to Smoked Salmon and Eggs (Although one bowl of cold porridge had to be replaced with a hot one, one morning) all delivered with a walking cheery smile by the name of Lindsay the Breakfast Room server and set up every day with a full stomach from the wide choice of hot breakfasts or a colder continental style. It was at one of these Breakfasts we were told that the Restaurant was now back open for evening meals. We had already paid for our Xmas meal but said we would be dining that night. We turned up to a closed Dining Room and not a soul in sight. The Chef soon came up and apologised, opened the cold dining room, opened the kitchen and told us what wasn't on the menu. We ended up by compromising and we asked him to serve us a medley of what was available and turned out to be a plate of deep fried stuff. Although the Calamari was good, it wasn't the 3 course meal we would have expec ted from an ex country club. The days after that was hit and miss with the ever missing manager, the bar either opened late or closed early or didn't bother at all so we realised soon into our stay it was a DIY free for all. Once again and because Billy the chef Mentioned the Restaurant was fully functional and open for business proper we decided to give it another go. I wish we hadn't. It started with the same routine as before. Complaints that the evening waitress hadn't turned up and the dining room was (other than 2 of us and what turned out to be a very disenchanted couple) guestless, cold and less than inviting but we were assured everything was fine and the Chef would serve the food. The visions of Basil running around the hotel in a blind panic manifested. He came to take our order and got chatting about our differences in cuisine from our origins and his and said he would produce his version of what he thought ours was. A Potato Pattie. It was lovely. NOT on the menu but served up 2 delicious starters. Potato, onion and mince, deep fried with a side salad. The main I ordered was a huge fail. Sea Bass with a parsley sauce and seasonal veg. I expected perfectly cooked sea bass, Crispy skin, creamy parsley sauce and fresh veg. What I for was a plate of dishwater with parsley in it, the Sea Bass, swimming soggy skinside down and overcooked at that and what looked like a spoonful of a tin of mixed veg. Awful. And at top price too. As for dessert. Now this was straight out of a comedy sketch. We ordered Chocolate Torte...Sorry we don't have any. Ok then, Vanilla Ice Cream...Sorry we don't have any. We finally got to order something they did have . Sticky toffee pudding for me and "Chefs cheesecake of the day" And so they turned up. My "Sticky Toffee Pudding was straight out of a tin. The so called "Chefs cheesecake of the day" was delivered as a supermarket plastic pot of a black current desert with chocolate ice cream we never wanted and my wife hates that had been as close to a chef as I have to the moon. To be fair, the chef looked totally embarrassed. As their was no one about to settle the bill as the Invisible manager with his jeans and padded waste coat had scuttled off back to his grace and favor room in the hotel and avoided any flack coming his way. The place has so much potential It boasts a function room, swimming pool, spa, beauty rooms but not a single one of them open. Worse still, shut down and the areas where the public hotel toilets are are down an unoccupied, cold, ghostly part of the hotel where blocked our windows, turned off heating and lights and locked doors prevail. Almost the bowels of a hotel. After a hearty breakfast and safe journey home by Billy and Lindsay we left through an empty hotel, not a "Thank you for your stay" by the "Manager" . In short, this place is soulless bar the Breakfast Room, ineptly run and maintained by a lazy on site manager and would question the owners capability at running such a fine historic building as a hotel. All style. No substance. My advice to the head of room service, The Kitchen and Breakfast Room staff is...Go and find yourself a proper hotel to work in where you will be far better appreciated. Would I return? Yes, but only under credible management and ownership. Pics. Style over substance. What a crying shame.

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