The Ken Bridge Hotel

Based on reviews when we booked, this appeared to be a great place for an overnight stay as part of a cycling trip. How disappointing it turned out to be. Arriving cold & wet after a 50 mile cycle ride, we were met with general indifference & then mild irritation by the owner when we wanted to put our bikes under cover & dry our kit. Total ignorance & further irritation about removing the sparkler from the tap for a pint of real ale (a very simple task that members of CAMRA would understand & not expect to be challenged) gave more cause for concern. Meals were uninspiring & clearly from a mass-produced source. We were overcharged for 2 whiskeys that we didn't have. We had arranged for a taxi company to transport our luggage onto our next venue. On arrival there, we discovered that one item had been left at Ken Bridge. On phoning Ken Bridge to try & locate the item, we were told "yeah, we saw it after she'd gone" and yet no attempt had been made to contact us, or the taxi company to mitigate the situation. This venue has clearly seen better days and better customer service. It has the potential to be an absolute goldmine, in a beautiful part of the country which attracts outdoor enthusiasts. Given that we had spent about £750, we were very disappointed with our experience.

The hotel is in a pretty setting by a river. Sitting outside having a drink in the summer would be lovely. The rooms were clean, a bit overcrowded with furniture and reasonably comfortable. The bed linen was old and poor quality. However this hotel will not survive if the attitude of the owners does not change. We arrived soaking wet after a 50 mile cycle. There was no warm welcome, we were nonchalantly informed very pleasantly there were no drying facilities. No recognition that this might be difficult for us and effort to help. . There was no radiator on in the room to dry anything either. There was a surly response about storing our bikes which were eventually put in a shed. The evening meal was very poor- a huge range of everything from curries to fish and chips. Our group had a variety and they were all clearly microwaved ready meal type dishes ( including the chips ). Breakfast was adequate, the porridge and eggs were good, the coffee and tea were standing in jugs on a heated stand stewing and were not good. We were having our bags transferred by taxi and one was accidentally left behind. No-one in the hotel bothered to contact either us or the taxi to alert us which we were very unhappy about.

We stopped for lunch, hoping to have a sandwich, service was strange, no sandwiches, but they did when asked for the third time, offer rolls, as we did not want the main menu. However they were awful, and the chips unedible, rock hard and tasted of cheap cooking oil. Other people left, we wish we had

The rudest, most unwelcoming staff I’ve ever come across. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. ‘Non residents Welcome’ says the sign out front…haha. They don’t even let you use the toilets, and we’re rude to my wife, my daughter and myself. We will never return.

Smashing wee last minute overnight at the campsite on Easter Sunday. Friendly and accommodating staff. Great bar food and a couple of pints before a riverside night beneath the stars. We literally phoned up a couple of hours before arriving!

Wonderful Georgian hotel with amazing views. I stayed in a kingsize en-suite room, the bed was very comfortable and the room had everything I needed. The food and drink were all of a food standard, the full Scottish breakfast is excellent! Hostess Tatiana is wonderful, she’s so friendly and efficient, it really comes across that she enjoys what she does! There is ample parking and perfectly located, 20 min by car from Castle Douglas and Dalry in the opposite direction.

A lovely place, great value, splendid location. Top tip: Unless you go at the height of summer, take a big coat and your warmest jammies. The heating is not over powerful. Apart from that, can't fault it. Breakfast was bot tasty and plentiful.

I can’t tell you how warmly we were looked after by Tatiana and Alistair. Nothing was too much trouble for them and we all hugely appreciated the great lengths they went to in order to accommodate our every request. The food was hearty and tasty and just right after a cold day outside, the bar warm and welcoming and the rooms clean, comfortable and with everything you needed. They’ve only just bought this nice little hotel, which is in a truly beautiful spot and you can see that it will be a great success.

Unfortunately, except in the Lounge, WIFI reception is effectively nil. Also, the fire alarm kept going off during the night.