Friendly staff

Really enjoyed our business trip here.

The hotel is half way up a steep hill only 2-3 minutes from the town centre and there's plenty of parking. Rooms are large, comfortable, adequately equipped with hairdryer, toiletries etc. Staff are young, friendly and willing to help.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food; meals were included in our deal so I'm not sure of prices but the food we had was terrific. Dinner included choices of feta salad/ soup/ salmon/ lamb/ chicken with haggis.

Drinks in the bar are extortionate, a bottle of house wine is probably best value at £16. I'd recommend a 2 minute walk down the hill to sample some of Stirling's many bars rather than play overinflated bar prices.

Poor

I was here last week on business. I did not stay over although my colleague did. I did eat in the hotel every lunch time (as our company was paying for this). This review is based on my observations, my experiences and that of my colleagues.

I was immediately struck by access to the hotel. The street is one way and winding. It is next to a school, and parents stop on that steep hill to drop off/pick up their children, and it's more than a tad scary to have to wait on a steep hill in your car.

Also, there are A MILLION stairs in this hotel. I do not recommend if you have mobility difficulties. I have no idea if there is a lift, I didn't see one or indeed any signs.

In our conference room, the temperature was constantly fluctuating. One minute we were BOILING the next we were frozen cold. The windows were very high up and closed and we couldn't open any. There was an extreme lack of oxygen in the rooms. Heaters were on full volume.

The interior is very dated, some may find this appealing. I didn't. We returned to our conference room on the second day of our conference to find the previous day's dirty cups, and rubbish still around the place.

We walked past several guests at reception arguing with a male member of staff but do not know what this was for.

My colleague who stayed over said her room was 'comfortable' and 'large'. However, she experienced shocking customer service in the resturant.

For her evening meal, she ordered steak. It was tough and very small. She asked the waitress to take it back. The chef came out and proceeded to SHOUT at her very loudly that there was nothing wrong with it and he certainly wouldn't take it back. My colleague was extremely embarrassed by this and had to argue with him several times before he very reluctantly took it back. For the next morning's breakfast, she ordered a 'hot' breakfast which was frozen.

For lunches, the whole team had lunch. There were complaints at the lack of vegetarian choice - simply a small selection of vegetables (tomatoes, lettuce, mushrooms and cucumber). Food was extremely fancy - the hotel needs to realise that the vast majority of guests are not the type who eat regulary at the ivy or similar. For 'posh' food, it wasn't even cooked properly.

Toilets were clean but very basic.

Staff don't know what a smile is.

Supposed to be a 4*, it is not.

Hogmanay in Stirling highly recommended

Stayed here for Hogmany weekend and had a brilliant time. We had read some poor reviews after booking up earlier in the year and rang the hotel with our concerns. The Manager was most helpful and ensured us that the hotel had been recently refurbished and that we would get one of the most recently refurbished rooms. We were not disappointed. The room was perfect and the hotel has great character. The food was good, both dinner and breakfast. And also the staff were extremely friendly and helpful (particularly with some whisky tasting).

Stirling provided an excellent Hogmanay evening too, Hermanns restaurant was a gem and we would like to try it some other time (choice on that evening was slightly limited though meals were very good). The fireworks display was not a disappointment at all after experiencing a fantastic display at Edinburgh last year. It seemed to go on for such a long time. Oh, and any other visitors must visit the Old Town Jail - what a brilliant experience that was!

Location, Character and Friendly Staff

We stayed at this charming hotel recently and loved every minute of it. The location is fantastic, half an hour from Edingburgh and Glasgow and the City of Stirling itself is beautiful, plenty of attractions an amenities right on the doorstep.

The rooms are pretty average size, but hey, who wants to spend all day cooped up in a hotel room when there's so much to see and do in the area. That's something I've never understood, people who complain about the size of the rooms, personally I say get a grip, there's more to life!

The hotel itself is full of character but could be doing with a bit of updating in the bar and resaraunt area, I wouldn't say it spoiled the overall stay though. Meals were delicious, pat on the back to the chef.

All the staff were plesant and friendly, a smile goes a long way and this lot go the extra mile.

Well worth a visit!

Lovely.

The Stirling hotel had been converted from a school and has kept much of the old charm. The rooms are a nice size and have modern facilites such as internet access. On the down side, I can only describe breakfast at the Stirling Highland Hotel as disorganized chaos. It was just so badly run. None of the tables were being reset, the staff were all over the place and nothing was being refilled. I would recommend this hotel for the hotel itself but would suggest eating elsewhere at least for breakfast.

Great hotel

had a great stay here, the staff were very helpful and efficient, we did book 2 double rooms and got 2 twin rooms though, this seems to have happened to people who wrote other reviews. The breakfast was second to none and the location is ideal for sightseeing and shopping. overall I highly reccommend a stay here.

Deteriorated beyond belief.

Having stayed in this hotel a few years ago, at the time I found it fine, and on my way back from Edinburgh today decided to drop in for food.

The building itself is in very poor condition, and is cluttered with large volumes of superflous ageing furniture, the hotel generally is in decline, with all areas showing significant signs of age. The food was terrible, a deep fried black pudding, and a half soft half hard yolk fried egg on bread, was described to me as their 'breakfast'.

Auful. A shame for a hotel which was once reasonable.

(Also exceptionally expensive at £160 for a double.)

Cant understand why this is a four star hotel

We booked a double room, upon arriving it was a twin but we were prepared to let that go. However what was not acceptable was that the bathroom had not been cleaned properly prior to our arrival. Other peoples body hairs on the toilet and on the floor. A black ring of scum on the edge of the sink which had obvously been there for a long time. Manager did offer to change our room, but as we were exhausted from travelling we declined, he got someone in to clean our room that night but it was extremely disheartening especially as we were booked for 5 nights.

Restaurant meal expensive, food was very cold and vegetables were burnt, ate out every night after that.

Very quirky hotel with obvious character,however could have been updated in places. No air conditioning, thus the room was very hot and stifling. The insulation under the carpets in the corridors adjacent to the room must have been non existent, as the noise from people walking up and down at all hours was unbelievable.

Service from staff was questionable in parts, it was obvious that a lot were students and their lack of training was evident.

We have stayed in a lot of hotels all over the world and have paid less money in the past for better places to stay with better service.

A telescope on the roof?

This hotel is in the building that used to be Stirling high school & has an observatory on the roof. The street is very steep & the bedrooms are in a new extension on one side of a courtyard. As a result of this when you leave the dining room on the first floor of the old school building, you walk around the corner & you are on the third floor of the new extension. This is not a complaint but it is very quirky. The bedrooms are a decent size & have two nice little armchairs & tabe in a sitting area. The bathroom is quite large for a hotel, with a shower over the bath. The public rooms are very nice, carrying on the theme of the old high school. The decor includes lots of tapestries & a bit of a Rennie-Macintosh theme.

Great location but average lodging.

An average hotel with average staff. The twin room was comfortable and a nice size. We were told that most of the staff are students at the local university, which is great for summer jobs, but you should still give them some training. It was a very warm week and no fans were available. We spent 6 nights there and the bathroom floor was swept and mopped perhaps half of that time. I ran out of kleenex and none was ever replaced. The hairdryer was anchored inside a dresser drawer and could not be pulled out to be very useful. When the front desk was asked for ice, they had to ask wheher they were allowed to give any to the guests!