Good morning. It's a couple of weeks since we've been on here, but it looks as if everyone has been taking a break because I can't see any new Posts. Never mind we hope that you're well and will post this anyway in the hope that it will be helpful to Lodge Owners who consider dining out during their Lodge stay.
Some friends stayed at the Dunalastair over the Easter break and will not be staying there again! When they arrived there were hairs in the shower and on the bathroom walls, one bedside table was broken and had been turned to the wall so the drawer couldn't be used, but the worst was still to come! Long waits for service and food to arrive, cold food served which should have been hot, food which had to be sent back because it was not cooked and meat still raw (on 3 separate occasions), a mouldy bread bun served at breakfast, missing items from food ordered which then arrived after the main dish had been eaten, and hot breakfast orders which had been missed, so our friends had to wait until everyone else had got their breakfasts! As one of them said "I've only needed to send food back once in my whole life, but this weekend we've had to complain and send back 3 times!" It's hard to believe that Dunalastair's adverts dare to use the word 'excellent'! Apparently the staff were friendly and tried to put things right, but our friends have complained to the General Manager and are still waiting for a response.
Thank goodness that we have the Rannoch Hotel facilities to use, because the Dunalastair obviously has problems. Anyway we hope that you enjoy your Lodge holidays whenever they may be. Best wishes to all.
Where is everybody? Some words of caution.
Thank you for posting this salutary warning about the Dunalastair. I do recall prior to Covid, possibly 2018 having Dinner there one Saturday evening and suddenly hearing a lot of raised voices that grew louder and LOUDER, it was an argument between the Chef and the Manager, ending with the Chef resigning on the spot! The Manager eventually came around apologising to guests for the noise from the 'disagreement'. Personally I thought a glass of wine 'on the house' would have been the least that could have been offered as some of the language was most certainly not what you expect to hear when Dining at the Dunalastair! As you say, thank goodness for the Rannoch Hotel, fingers crossed they get their staffing problems sorted out to enable Club guests and not just Hotel guests to use the restaurants this summer.
I Agree the Owners' Forum has been very quiet for some considerable time which makes me think some owners are just not learning from the Club's last horrendous experiences! owners should be checking to ensure we don't have another group of hopelessly out of their depth Committee Members running the Club into the ground and costing owners hard earned cash to create a financial buffer zone or see the club close.
Fortunately, we the present Committee are very dedicated, but without owners support and encouragement, how long will they want to remain in post. That my friends, is the biggest worry, or at least should be, as who will step up to the plate to take over their posts?
Ronnie Robertson
I Agree the Owners' Forum has been very quiet for some considerable time which makes me think some owners are just not learning from the Club's last horrendous experiences! owners should be checking to ensure we don't have another group of hopelessly out of their depth Committee Members running the Club into the ground and costing owners hard earned cash to create a financial buffer zone or see the club close.
Fortunately, we the present Committee are very dedicated, but without owners support and encouragement, how long will they want to remain in post. That my friends, is the biggest worry, or at least should be, as who will step up to the plate to take over their posts?
Ronnie Robertson
At least there are 2 of us on here! I'm told that there is more lively and frequent debate on the Unofficial site, particularly about the lack of Lodge Sale information and Sales Strategy, as well as other matters. We hope that Richard Deak and the Committee monitor that site too? A friend tells us that there are some good ideas about stimulating Lodge sales, so maybe it's worth looking at by LRHC?
I've just been looking on this Home Page and found that the interactive Sales page is now active, but a bit creaky. What does it mean if a Lodge flashes at you when you click on it? Do we assume if nothing happens that there are no weeks available? It's also tucked away, with Rentals still given priority, so we'd like to see an easy link on the main page please Webmaster and Richard. But hurray, we now have a live and interactive Sales page, if you can find it! Well done to all involved, but it needs some fine tuning or people will give up and Sales could be lost.
I've just been looking on this Home Page and found that the interactive Sales page is now active, but a bit creaky. What does it mean if a Lodge flashes at you when you click on it? Do we assume if nothing happens that there are no weeks available? It's also tucked away, with Rentals still given priority, so we'd like to see an easy link on the main page please Webmaster and Richard. But hurray, we now have a live and interactive Sales page, if you can find it! Well done to all involved, but it needs some fine tuning or people will give up and Sales could be lost.