The Machrie Hotel and Golf Links

Beautiful hotel on a beautiful island. Rooms are great and the staff are so welcoming. We loved our stay here! You don’t need to be a golfer to enjoy this place. The views are stunning and it’s a great place to relax and enjoy the Islay lifestyle

We spent 5 nights here and it was genuinely one of the best and most memorable stays anywhere that I have been. The staff is wonderful through and through - helpful, friendly, and attentive. I cannot possibly speak highly enough about all of them, just so nice. Food was good, whisky list is extensive, and the golf course is fantastic (very challenging and well kept). Weather can obviously be unpredictable on the Scottish coast but prepare for it and you will be fine. The hotel has a big lounge room on the second floor which overlooks the 18th green and the stunning ocean landscape behind. The hotel is relaxed and quiet, small enough that the staff will get to know you and your preferences after a couple of days but big enough that if you want to socialize a little there are other people around most of the time. The hotel has a relaxed vibe, don't expect them to coordinate things for you outside of the property but they will take great care of you on site. Spa was closed when we were there (didn't affect us) but may want to verify that if you're expecting that to be a part of your stay. I brought a rental car from the mainland which I would not do if I visit again as the ferry canceled a reservation due to an issue and since we couldn't just hop on the next one as a foot passenger we got stuck. Oops. Was nice having a car for the further away distilleries but that was a mistake. If you have flights to make don't count on making it off the island that day - give yourself a little breathing room. Be relaxed and take what you get or it will sour your experience. Nearby the Machrie there is Port Ellen and Bowmore which are both about a 10 minute drive in each direction. Each have a couple of restaurants so if you're here for a few days you can try a few different things. Make reservations for everything. If you're from a big city in the states you may not expect that to be necessary, but people tend to take their time and there is limited seating. The "3 distillery walking tour" is nearby (Laguvulin/Ardbeg/Laphroaig) which is an absolute must do if you like peated whisky (and if you don't, what are you doing here?). Try Cathy for a taxi, the transport to/from the hotel is not really set up or coordinated, but they were super helpful to find us a cab a couple of times (no real shuttle service at the time we were there). Cabs on the island can be hit or miss and some groups will book them for the day and you'll have trouble. Anyway fantastic stay. Will be back and cannot recommend this place and their wonderful staff highly enough.

It is difficult to fault The Machrie. We had a wonderful stay - 2 nights in a Comfy Luxe room. The superking-size bed was amazingly comfortable. The bath was deep, the shower was powerful - and the views over the golf course towards the coast were dramatic. The food was superb, the atmosphere refined but relaxed, the staff professional but friendly. Of course, it’s not cheap - but for isolated, full service bliss, I can’t think of a better venue.

Enjoyed an overnight stay in relaxed, luxurious surroundings. Excellent food, both for evening meal and breakfast, served in an area with incredible views. A side note would be, not every dish needs to include whisky. Not everyone visits Islay for whisky. Professional, attentive staff, especially the friendly Ileach receptionist who guided us to our room on arrival. Only downside was a mix up with being presented with the wrong bill at checkout.

Horrible customer service and will not help on when they can this is something they could have easily fxee and chose not to. Now they are putting me in a financial burden and will not ho me out. They need to work on their customer service!!!!!!!!

Out for a spot of lunch and then a walk at the beach. Jo-Ann took great care of me and I had a lovely lunch thanks to the chefs. Had hunter chicken and Asian slaw side. Treated myself to chips. Well worth a visit especially with the wonderful views.

My wife and I went for our 13th Anniversary and we choose the Islay Sweet. This is now called The Wedding Suite. On check in as part of our Anniversary Tradition we tried to book Massages and Treatments ( A main reason we choose The Machrie) only to be told that they had no Therapist and The Spa was closed. No mention on web site or social media. Disappointed. We went immediately for dinner and the restaurant staff were amazing who seemingly are leaving this month as well. We returned to our room to find it very cold. We turned up heating to max and went is search for a heater. Rang the front desk and then proceeded to go to the desk when no answer. Needed staff help to track down the gentlemen on the desk that took a good 20 minutes. No apology for the waiting time just how can I help you. We got the heater and things improved over the next 2 days. We managed to play the Wee Course as it brighten up for a spell and that was great. The food was really of a good quality and the service in the restaurant was good as well. We are lucky to be able to afford such weekends - would we go back probably however if you do not have a main service inform your guests prior too. Offer them something in return as like us they may be coming for a special occasion and you start them of on the wrong foot by informing them on arrival.

We arrived on 24 December and departed on 27 December - the hotels Christmas package. This is an exceptional hotel with very comfortable rooms and a fantastic and attentive staff. The food was very good and the menus inventive. The wine list was extensive. And reasonable. Also, the Guinness was the best I have tasted outside Ireland! The hotel has a ‘screening room’ i.e. a cinema room, where you could book a film of your choice at a time that suits. The hotel also offers a small fitness studio and massages etc. The weather was horrendous apart from Boxing Day which was sandwiched between the poor weather. We had a round of golf on that day which was memorable. The Strand (beach) is a short walk away across the golf course and is seven miles long, enough to lose yourself. On the afternoon of the 24th, which was very windy but thankfully dry, we walked about a mile with no one else on the beach. The cobwebs were truly blown, ready for Christmas. All in all, a fantastic break in a fantastic hotel in a fantastic setting.