The Tomich Hotel

We stayed three nights at the Tomich Hotel to be close to the hiking in Glenn Affric and it was the perfect location to base camp out of for our stay. The weather was quite variable in August so we liked being close to home when the weather would inevitably turn. Glenn Affric is very quiet, we saw very few people in the best way possible and likewise enjoyed the calm of The Tomich Hotel. We were thankful for the pack lunches the hotel chef prepared for us and for hot breakfast in the morning AND dinner in the evening. There is not a lot of other dining nearby so it was nice that everything could be taken care of food wise right at the Hotel. (The cafe next door has wonderful sandwiches and soups in the morning / early afternoon.) If you like peace and quiet and being on the doorstep of incredible scenery and hiking, this is the perfect place for you.

Despite being a Victorian lodge in a model conservation village located in a beautiful Highlands, the hotel is rather shabby, desperately needing refurbishing. Entrance and reception is crammed and not inviting. Windows haven’t been cleaned in ages, full of cobwebs. It is quite far from the main road, but that wouldn’t matter if it was cosy and not so overpriced. Parking available in front of the hotel. WiFi not working properly.

I always thought Scottish hospitality was a thing, but not here. Wouldn’t even sell a cup of tea to someone who had cycled more than 400 miles with another hundred left to go. Watch out if you’re cycling or hiking as there isn’t a warm welcome to non residents.

Been coming here for many years but oh my how it’s changed. New owner clueless about hospitality service and obvious he doesn’t want to be there. Get out fella whilst the goings good, you are not cut out for this business. The hotel itself needs a good overhaul but just a good old fashioned clean would help. Service is shocking and made to feel like an irritation for simply asking for a beer. Speaking of which there is a shocking lack of draught. No lager, no real ales, no cider so the alternative is cans that are priced the same as pints. This place and the locals deserve so much better. If you do visit please remember to follow all the rules especially the one in the bar toilets telling you not to put teabags down the lavatory!!

We popped in on the way back from Plodda Falls, on the off chance of having dinner. We weren't disappointed and greeted warmly. The overall appearance is lovely and we had no qualms about the restaurant at all. We had a lovely meal and was made to feel welcome. I would recommend the haggis dinner it was beautiful and very well priced. Cooked fresh. I can't comment on the hotel itself as we were staying somewhere else. The village is beautiful and looks a lovely place to walk round, very quaint and is a step back in time. I would recommend.

I am posting this review in case anyone else makes the same mistake as me. I had originally tried to book this hotel on *********** but it didn't go through, and no payment was taken. Availability in the area was limited so I thought best to phone the hotel and speak to them direct. When I phoned, they said this was fine and I could pay over the phone. We discussed the room and availability and I booked a 'superior double room' which they confirmed was available on 5th August, they took my credit card details and confirmed the payment had gone through. On arrival at the hotel, the lady at reception advised she could not find my booking. She was friendly and tried to help. When I explained that I had booked over the phone she asked "did you speak to the man?", I confirmed and she went to find him. She offered tea and coffee twice while we waited and also gave the WiFi details so that I could go into my banking app and show the payment. This review is not a reflection of this pleasant lady. After a long wait the man came and advised there was no record of my booking or payment. His only explanation was "this is just a complete mystery" (it really wasn't - I phoned and made the booking and he took payment). Despite showing evidence of the payment and knowing he was the person I had spoken to on the phone, he denied that I had phoned him and booked and paid for the room. Despite the payment reference being "The Tomich Hotel, Beauly IV4" and his own T&Cs confirming that a payment constitutes a booking, he attempted to deflect the issue by saying this was a payment to ***********. This was incorrect since I booked and paid over the phone to the hotel, there never was a booking on ***********, and if the payment had been to them it would include *********** in the reference like it always does. He attempted further deflection by again insinuating I hadn't called, and said..."if you had phoned, I would have told you to contact ***********" (he didn’t. I did phone, I have the record of the phone call, and he didn't tell me to contact *********** or else I wouldn't have booked and paid with him direct on the same call). As we were left with nowhere to stay for the night, I advised I now had a very long drive home and asked to be refunded so I could get on the road. This was refused, as seemingly my payment was "missing". There wasn't even an attempt at any sort of customer service - this man gave no apology, had zero regard for our situation and that we had nowhere to stay, and had no inclination whatsoever to try to sort things out. I never got to see the room that I booked, however based on what I saw and experienced in my short time on the property, I would not recommend a stay at this hotel.