Port Elphinstone Vacations from $1,268

Convenient, economical, bedroom and bathroom clean. decor tired, communal areas grubby and walls very thin so all conversation and movement can be heard from surrounding rooms.

Our family spent three nights in two suites at the outstanding Station Hotel. Excellence in four categories: Location: Rothes is a quiet town, very close to many distilleries, the Cairngorms mountains, and to Elgin and Aberlour. Facilities: The suites were luxurious, the bistro very comfortable for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the whisky bar a very special place. Service/staff: The staff provide outstanding service. As with any hotel, small mistakes happen. The great hotels cover for those mistakes with grace and charm. That is true of the staff at the Station Hotel. Really outstanding, world-class staff: Carys Aspinall made our visit memorable before we even arrived. Contacted prior to our visit because I was having difficulty finding distilleries with openings for tours and tastings, she took the initiative to locate three places, sent me the information on their open time slots, and gave life to our ultimately very successful search. Those places she identified became the backbone of our touring (encouraged by the thoughtful notes she wrote about each one in a follow-up email). Once we arrived, Carys continued to provide the kind of service one dreams about: professional and efficient while also warm and welcoming. At reception, in the bistro, and in the whisky bar, we were helped by her repeatedly and in each case, felt a little bit like we had a very knowledgeable, local friend looking out for us.

Average at best. Not particularly hospitable. I was locked out of my room twice. I met a lovely elderly lady in her zimmer staed on my corridor,who was also having difficulty accessing her room. I offered to help. When that wasn't feasible I then went down to the reception. I rang the buzzer 3 times. Just no staff. Bags of rubbish left in the corridor. Fruit flies in my room suggest it may well be needing a look in to regards to hygiene. I did extend my stay, mainly due to mobility issues, but I doubt very much that I'll be back. A shame as it's a decent area. More effort is needed.

Yes there were shops nearby

The bed was rock hard, so if you need to sleep on something VERY firm, you’ll like that. Also, the hot water button for my shower kept popping back up, resulting in spurts of cold water while showering, which was just annoying. Great water pressure though. Staff were warm and helpful. The location is very central to a lot of the sights.