Dornoch Station

Our recent visit to the Dornoch Station bookended a year that brought us so much joy within its revived Edwardian splendour. Our wedding, beautifully curated by Stephen Hayes-MacLeod in April 2024, has called us back to this most comfortable of Highland retreats on a handful of memorable occasions since our family and friends gathered in its sumptuous spaces a year ago. Our anniversary stay was no less happy than all previous visits and we were made to feel equally welcome, looked after and at home. Every square foot of our room was supremely comfortable as ever: from spotless bathroom to the cloud like pillows and sleepiest of mattresses. The setting, just along from Dornoch town centre, and with beautiful views of Royal Dornoch golf course and the beach adjacent to the Dornoch Firth, is perfect. The hotel, with its cosy grandeur and echoes of slower and more considerate times, provides the stage for the Marine and Lawn team to work their relaxed magic. From the warm welcome at reception by Gabriel and Christina, to the jovial and engaging chat in Bar Ross from Cody, the Station eases you in to the most relaxed of days and convivial evenings. Stephen attends to all that goes on and has always ensured we have his team’s attention, adjusting a tiller here, trimming a sail there. Mornings see Bob set out a many-layered breakfast to start your day in true Highland style with his understated charm and positive manner. Evening at the Golden Gorse restaurant provided a five course tasting menu to pause over at each delicious plate and feast with eyes and taste buds alike, courtesy of Lee and Douglas in the kitchen and Liam and Stephen at the table. Leaving the Station is always a challenge, but as ever we packed another set of memories to enjoy in the months ahead. The new General Manager, Matt, is very fortunate to have the team he has inherited. As wonderful as the interiors undoubtedly are, it is the friendliness and warm welcome from all of the Station team that make our visits so rejuvenating and precious to us. We love it here. Thank you.

Booked a room at Dornoch Station back in July 2024 through booking agent for 2 nights arriving May 14, 2025 and booked their restaurant for dinner. Booking agent has just advised hotel has cancelled our booking. Reason…..OVERBOOKED!!!!! This booking reservation was confirmed by hotel some 9 months ago. . Very disappointed. Hotel may need to check their technology efficiencies or was it due to their prices having increased significantly since they advised their booking reservation confirmation to me in July 2024. Booking agent offered discount towards another booking so I thank them for this. Rethink your stay at Dornoch Station.

Stayed for a weekend. The reception and bar area is very stylish and welcoming. Bedroom was comfortable although quite dark, especially around wardrobe. Nice bathroom & shower, Service at breakfast was a huge disappointment. Waiter avoided coming to our table for some reason, and no one else available to order breakfast from. We were on the point of leaving when we tracked the waiter and asked to order, another very lengthy wait, by this time coffee and tea were stone cold. No idea what his problem was but he let the whole breakfast service down badly. No explanation given, we mentioned it at checkout but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Overall guest relations severely lacking and we won’t be returning.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic stay! Staff were so friendly, helpful and efficient got checked in promptly. Room was available so on first impressions room was spacious, warm and beautiful styled. Lots of extra amenities and luxury toiletries worthy of 5 star status for sure. (I’m a sucker for a good Nespresso Machine & monogrammed bath robes😊) We ate in the bar and again staff were fantastic and so attentive. The food was next level delicious every bite!! Cocktails were delish just too tempting we had to have a few. Breakfast was sooooo good we had Full Scottish you could tell all produce was high standard from the local butcher. Staff couldn’t do enough for us tea’s, coffee’s & toast arrived quickly. The continental section looked well stocked, 6 cereals, plant milks, orange & apple juice, yoghurts, mixed nuts, fruits, salmon, brie, cheddar, pastrami, salami. All in all the perfect nights stay for us so thank you, so good we have booked to come back in May, can’t wait.

Our experience at Dornoch Station was unfortunately more negative than positive. This accomodation has the potential to be an absolutely amazing hotel however there were many things that let the hotel down. Positives of our experience include the beautiful refurbishment of the hotel and it being overall stunning inside. The rooms were comfortable. The staff were very very friendly. And the location was superb. This is where the positives end. The service at Dornoch station is not at all a 5 star experience. If I was staying at a roadside inn I wouldn’t be complaining - but for the 5 star price you have a minimum standard you expect. The rooms were comfortable however not a full turn down service. There was no laundry service available due to it being over a Hogmanay which we were not informed of which was disappointing, despite having laundry bags and forms still in the rooms. Unfortunately despite it being Hogmanay (NYE) there was NO beer on tap, and no cold drinks stocked in the fridge. We were served a hot bottle of champagne, when we asked for a cold bottle we were told there wasn’t any… So we instead ordered bottles of beer which we thought we would be safe, however unfortunately no cold beer either… Could not believe there were no cold drinks on NYE! Out of all nights. On the first night I ordered a cocktail off the menu however it appeared the bar tender made a cocktail without majority of the listed ingredients. It appeared the staff were not trained in hospitality which is not their fault that they haven’t been provided the training, there was a lack of attention to detail - never clearing dirty dishes or glasses from tables, no removing first dishes from bedrooms ect The set dinner menu which was £100 per person was very very average, as the night went on it appeared the dishes began to change, my father ordered the pork for starter however as the night went on it began to be served with bread and then salad of which my father got none. Breakfast was a bit the same, continental breakfast on offer however no attention to detail - often no plates or bowels to use to serve, had to ask multiple times before they were brought out due to staff continuously forgetting. This was a common theme - often needing to ask an average of four times before anything gets brought to you, I.e asking for water for the table, finally came after 1 hour, in which they brought no water glasses to be able to drink it. Again I want to reiterate that we feel this was not the staff’s fault but they were let down by their lack in training and leadership. No apparent management team in sight. The communal toilets in the lobby had a leaking toilet that was leaking the entire stay onto the floor into the main bathroom so there was always a puddle. Dornoch station had one fireplace however was rarely lit, one night we lit the fire ourselves (it’s snowing outside) so a warm fire should be a priority. Despite it being Hogmanay Dornoch Station wasn’t very b

We had a lovely stay, with such a warm welcome to us and our two dogs. Making extra effort to make our stay great. Just in front of of an amazing beach for great walks. We had a lovely meal and were allowed do dine with our dogs which was great. Slept very well in a really large comfortable room. Would come back for sure.