The Taybank

Great place, could improve outdoor seating area with more comfortable seats

8.0

Again I love the Tau bank, food and drink are lovely, great environment and outdoor area, but again the only downside is the uncomfortable seats outside next to the river. Again I would have stayed all afternoon and had more to drink, but I found the seats far too uncomfortable again and had to move on. I wanted to relax not feeling uncomfortable on the outdoor area

Miserable & poor expensive wine

2.0

Sunny afternoon & popped in for a drink. Got a glass of rose blush, very sweet. Okay, my choice. Tried their most expensive wine, £7.40 per glass - clearly off so took back. Said the bottle had only open 2 or 3 days?? Replaced & fresher, but still poor. Round was £16.40, so pint of larger was expensive - challenged price, but just got a shrug of the shoulders. Lovely setting, miserable staff (dark haired tall girl), poor expensive wine & expensive but pushed to give a tip when paying. I gave a tip, which I regret.

Pleasant Short Break

8.0

A minimal shabby chic vibe. Cleanly, no frills decorated bedrooms. Country vibe within the bar. Lovely toiletries and tea/coffee tray. Breakfast continental offering, quirky hamper delivery to the rooms. For the room tariff the offering could be a little more and varied. Croissants delicious from local bakery, could change these with mini baguettes or sourdough rolls on occasion. Choice of meats and cheeses instead of 2 portions of the same. In saying this everything was enjoyable. The restaurant was really nice. Good menu choices, a little different from the norm. Portions on the smaller side but again we were satisfied. One evening was unexpectedly busy for midweek and service was much slower and staff had multiple rooms to manage therefore one of our dishes was cold however our experience with this was handled professionally and addressed appropriately. The bar had good selection of alcohol and ambience was good with there being entertainment both evenings. Their garden bar/eateries are a really good idea and offer a nice selection of drinks and food. We would recommend a visit and Dunkeld has a nice selection of shops and cafes.

It's Gorgeous but the Unfriendliest Scottish Hotel I Stayed At

6.0

Was really disappointed by my stay at the Taybank- which I stayed in October, but booked it back in March I was THAT excited to stay here. The hotel was very beautiful and definitely had great design, however, it also felt pretty grimy and a little dirty. There were about 5 spiders in my bathroom alone, one crawling across my pillow the next morning and another on the floor. While the rooms are very aesthetic, they've also gone for a no tv dynamic, which is fine- however, with wood floors, concrete bathrooms, and no tv to muffle noise, I could literally hear the people in the rooms around me whispering at night.. and other activity happening in the room above me if you know what I mean. They need to at minimum throw some rugs in the rooms to muffle some noise or something. I also booked my room far enough in advance to get the one smaller room that had a tub, and unfortunately due to a fire down the street, wasn't able to take a bath as the water started running brown. I understand this specifically isn't Taybank's fault, but it was disappointing and they only gave me water bottles after I said something about water running brown. They really should have let guests know, and dropped off water to each room so people weren't unknowingly drinking it. When I asked, they answered that they already knew and had been passing out water as people asked. I had dinner booked in the restaurant and I wasn't impressed. I had red wine that was lovely, a pumpkin soup that was blissful and then things went downhill. I ordered a pork dish that just had the most unpleasant "pork-y" smell. It didn't taste a bit salted and was the gamiest pork I've ever had, which I stopped eating because it was almost unsettling. I was hoping it was just a bad plate, but ordered the apple tarte tatin which was so bland, uninspired and poorly plated. It just tasted like nothing and the crust was mushy and eggy, the dish overall squelchy and bland. I realize maybe I'm being a bit harshly honest in this review- but it's a very expensive restaurant that's marketed so well, but it was simply not good past the soup. I will also say the service was very slow, but there were only two very young people running everything. The girl was so sweet, and it wasn't at all their fault, you could tell they were running ragged. For a restaurant this expensive and tutted as so exclusive, some professional wait staff and training on wine options should be part of the business plan. In the morning, I went to take a shower and since the Taybank was more boutique, I was interested in actually giving their shower products a try (I usually only use my own). Not only did the drain plug and start to flow over (I used all of my towels to clean it up), the conditioner and shower gel were missing their pumps inside the bottle and you could tell people had been squeezing the product out by the indents in the bottle. Also, the conditioner was unsettlingly chunky, so I had to get out and get my own things halfway through. The breakfast hamper was lovely. When I checked out, there was a man running about. I couldn't tell if he worked there and when I asked, he kind of laughed. I'm guessing he was maybe an owner and silly me for not knowing. I let him know about the shower drain and also the shower products and his response was "Well housekeeping would know about that." It felt like he was implying that maybe I did it and felt a bit rude. I honestly wouldn't stay again. It's a very "for the gram" kind of hotel, but needs some finetuning and bit of a shift in customer care. It felt like one of those hipster places where they think they're too cool and artistic for you- which was so much more noticeable in Scotland, were people are so famously nice.

Characterful building. Handy stopover.

7.0

Good location by the river Tay. Handy car park. Good evening meal. Not far off the A9.

− Long climb upstairs to our room.

Guest review

8.0

Very comfortable bed Good food in restaurant for dinner Excellent breakfast Very pleasant, helpful waitress in the restaurant Art on walls fabulous Decor pleasing Great location by river

− The absence of any staff to greet us on arrival felt disconcerting and a bit worrying. Response to our ringing bell was very slow. A pre-arrival email said to 'go on through and find someone' if noone there but through where? The bar door was locked and very loud music was playing inside the bar; the kitchen didn't look suitable for guests to venture into so we were stuck. Not a good start. Finally someone came but wasn't very friendly so our hearts sank further. Luckily things then improved and we had a good time. Just get a member of staff for reception!