Macdonald Houstoun House

We have just returned from a one night stay for the wedding of our friends where my husband was best man. I will start with the wedding details. It was outside in the beautiful gardens. Everything was perfect apart from the precarious walk myself and the other guests had to make to get to where the chairs were set out. We had to go over loose pebbles, uneven paving and then sloping grass. It is an accident waiting to happen for people like myself in very high heels (a must at a wedding) or the elderly. A proper walkway would be fabulous and a red carpet for the bride. The actual wedding ran like clockwork and the reception day and night was fabulous. Wonderful, friendly staff who were very efficient, pleasant and well organised. Well staffed too I’m pleased to say after reading earlier reviews. The food was lovely. I had chicken salad, lovely chicken chargrilled but the actual salad part could have been much better, more variety. The sticky toffee pudding was outstanding. Lovely hot rolls later in the evening, perfect. Our room - number 72. Large room not dated but very clean so no issue to us. Fabulous bed either quality bedding. Elemis toiletries in the bathroom, you don’t see that in many hotels. Lovely breakfast in the morning. Thank goodness it was included in our room cost as £24 a head is steep! Fruit juice not great quality but again good service and hot food. On checking out the lovely girl on reception asked had we enjoyed our stay etc which was appreciated. We would definitely stay again if attending another wedding here.

The staff were lovely but the spa day itself was disappointing. The changing rooms were small. Only two showers and one I used the soap dispenser didn’t work. The toilets didn’t have Elemis products but the hotel itself did. The sauna and steam rooms were fine and there was iced water available. There was no jacuzzi. The spa where we had our treatments was lovely. We had the couture touch which involved 25 minutes of back and shoulders and either face or feet treatment with Elemis. I had asked for a firm massage as I am used to deep tissue massage and told Afton this. I would have preferred a full body deep tissue massage. However the massage was certainly relaxing as was the foot treatment though my muscles remained sore and tight afterwards. My friend had Kirsty and she said she was excellent applying the right pressure and leaving her refreshed and relaxed. Kirsty spoke to us afterwards. She is certainly an experienced masseuse and would recommend her if you want anything more than a relaxing gentle massage. If the latter is your preference then Ashton is the one. We then had afternoon tea in the hotel. Liz took our order and looked after us very well. The latte was excellent. I found the afternoon tea itself okay but not g special compared to some I’ve enjoyed. They catered for my friend as she only wanted tuna. The scones and cakes were nice. Surroundings lovely and relaxed. But overall probably no more than a 3/4.

I went for a massage with Trudy at the Spa and it was absolutely wonderful. The atmosphere created from the moment I stepped into the spa was so relaxing. Trudy is a fantastic therapist, not just because the massage itself was second to none but because she pampered me from the get go, made me feel special (who doesn’t want to be treated like a princess?) and ensured the world melted away for the duration of the treatment. Afterward she encouraged me to relax on the comfy chairs with my book. I don’t often get treatments at a spa but this experience has ensured I will return.

Beautiful accommodation with nicely manicured gardens. The room is spacious enough for us. We are travelling with a tour group so the breakfast is a simple spread. If you're looking for a cosy hotel with pretty gardens, you won't go wrong with this.

Booked in for a morning at the spa. Craig at reception was super helpful when showing me around. The pool & sauna was clean and spacious. Kirsty did my facial and again was super helpful and knowledgeable, tailoring the products to my sensitive skin (resulting in some purchases at the end!) I’ve dropped 2 stars because of the F&B service. My lunch was included in my spa deal where I felt the staff could do with a little more training. Wasn’t offered any drinks with lunch, nor was I checked back on throughout my visit. When I did ask if I could see a drinks menu they “didn’t have one” and “it’s water only”., (bit odd) My main was then bought out when I was still having my starter… once finished, staff were nowhere to be seen so I sat awkwardly then left. Went to the lounge afterwards to have a drink & chillout but staff again were nowhere to be seen. Had to go find someone. Asked for a G&T and was given non alcoholic gin at £12 before they disappeared again.. rather disappointing (and pricey)… Overall, I enjoyed my spa experience and would return for this only.

Our daughter held her wedding at the hotel. We could not fault a thing. Everything ran like clockwork. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, everyone was very friendly. The rooms were clean and spacious, buffet & cooked breakfast very good. The wedding meal itself was delicious. There is a pool which some members of the wedding took advantage of which helped keep 2 small pageboys occupied before the actual wedding. Would definitely recommend for a wedding.

We initially came here due to our CIE TOUR which made a two night stop for Edinburgh. We stayed on an extra night for the convenience. The rooms are quaint and the Inn was like a step back in time. The food from restaurant was great and consistent . We were a little disappointed as our room did not have as espresso or a safe; however others in our party did have those amenities. Ryan in the lounge was a delight! He provided recommendations on where we might go or beverages we may enjoy. Always a smile and a laugh from him!!

Shocking service from this place... family of 5 booked in for Christmas day. After numerous times calling and not getting a call back we decided to go into reception to book. Where we were told it was £75 per person. In the tower restaurant and showed us the menu online. I paid £50 to secure the 5 of us. A week or 2 later I received a email saying its 105 per person and what we thought was dinner was now at 2pm. I have just been back to reception and been told it's £75 for the buffet in the family dining room for what is basically a Carvery. So I asked for my deposit back and was told no. So not only have they told us the wrong information and ballsed up the whole thing, we are now £50 down and everywhere is fully booked for Christmas safe to say I will never use them again as a hotel or place to eat. As it would appear the staff don't have a clue what they are talking about. Don't waste your time going there. Plenty better well run places to eat and stay in west lothian

While this hotel was recommended by friends who live nearby, they told us that they had never stayed here. They were as surprised as we were to discover a very mediocre hotel passing itself off as a First Rate hotel (and charging rates one might expect of such a hotel). Lest you think we’re being overly critical, this was our fifth hotel on our recent trip. Starting in NYC, then London, and other cities as we made our way to Edinburgh, we have fresh comparisons against which to judge the Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel. (We had no issues at any of the other hotels, which were a mixture of large corporate hotels and those owned by small businesses.) A short list of problems: -No internet access in our room; -The bed needed replacing—years ago; -The Safe was locked and couldn’t be unlocked until after the weekend when we checked in. (It was never unlocked); -The room was very cold but the heaters only work when the card-key is in the slot that controls the power. Using another card could work if housekeeping didn’t remove it, so the room was always cold when we returned; -On our only night eating in the hotel the other tables at the bar were covered in plates and glassware (we were told that it had been a busy evening) and our table was dirty. Despite promising several times to clean the table our food arrived before that was done and we had to stop the server from putting our plates down and request that the liquid on the table be cleaned before the our food was served. (The served cleaned the table but didn’t wash her hands after doing so.) We declined to eat at the hotel for the rest of our stay; -The music from the wedding being celebrated on the evening we checked in was very loud and could easily be heard and felt in our room as we tried to go to bed. That there is NO internet in our room may sound like no big deal but when trying to communicate with friends, booking dinner reservations, making train reservations and confirming our next hotel, having no service is a huge issue. (We have one phone with cellular service but it also had no service in our room.) That meant we spent a lot of time running to or sitting in the hotel lobby. For anyone planning on staying at the Houstoun House the rooms have no USB charging ports and while we planned for that possibility all four of the other hotels had USB A, USB C or a mixture of both ports. There is no refrigerator, and the updated bathroom (with which we had no complaints) only has a shower. The wallpaper, the carpets and some of the painted walls throughout the hotel need “freshening” and if those were the only issues, we wouldn’t have commented about them. The Houstoun House looks to have once been a wonderful hotel. It sits on a lovely property, the "bones" of the hotel are great and it could be a wonderful destination. I suspect it will once again be a lovely hotel after someone puts in the millions it will take to bring the property up to modern standards.