Undiscovered Scotland

 

The Four Seasons Hotel stands near the western end of the pretty village of St Fillans and enjoys magnificent views of the full six and a half mile length of Loch Earn and the surrounding mountains. Most of the comfortable and welcoming public rooms make the best of the views, which are also enjoyed by many of the guest rooms. This is a hotel with a highly individual and likeable character. You can read our dining review for The Four Seasons Hotel here.

The hotel is attractively finished in white with blue shutters and trimmings, and started life in the early 1800s as a home for the manager of the limekilns that once operated in the area. It later spent time as a schoolhouse before being extended and converted in the 1900s into the comfortable hotel you find today, offering a number of individual sitting rooms, twelve bedrooms, six chalets and a holiday apartment. There is ample car parking in front of the hotel or next to the individual chalets on the hillside behind. In October 1964 The Beatles stayed at The Four Seasons for two nights following a concert in Dundee, and today it is possible to stay in the same chalet that John and Paul stayed in six decades ago.

The public areas of the hotel make the most of the views and as a result largely line up along the ground floor on the side facing out along the loch. The heart of the hotel is the reception area. Nearby are doorways leading into a guests' bar, complete with wood panels, and a guests' lounge. Beyond the reception area you come to Seasons View Restaurant. Here you are likely to find a warm fire on cold days.

The restaurant occupies a significant part of the frontage of the hotel and forms an attractive space in which to enjoy the outstanding food on offer, if you can tear your attention away from the magnificent views through the large windows. You can read our dining review for The Four Seasons Hotel here. The last public room is a real gem: half way up the stairs to the guest accommodation is a well stocked little library.

There are twelve en suite guest bedrooms on the first floor of the hotel itself. All are attractively and comfortably furnished. The rooms on the front of the hotel are larger and enjoy views along Loch Earn. Two of the rooms in the original building are "Highland Rooms" furnished with imposing king size four poster beds. On the wooded hillside that rises above and behind the hotel are six chalets. Each has a double or twin beds, plus a single bedroom that can be converted to accommodate a second, over-bed bunk: and a bathroom. They enjoy a variety of views over the loch and each has its own adjacent parking space. The hotel also offers a self catering apartment, Vivaldi's, with a sitting room that enjoys spectacular views along Loch Earn.

Disabled access is limited. There is a ramp to the main entrance, and most of the public areas are on a level from there. There are, however, no specially adapted facilities and, being on the first floor, the guest accommodation in the hotel itself is not easily accessible. The chalets each have their own adjacent individual parking space, which eases access, but none are specially adapted.

We had stayed at The Four Seasons some years previously, and were very much looking forward to our visit. We were not disappointed. Welcoming fires, a great team, a choice of lounge areas, a comfortable and spacious bedroom and immaculate housekeeping throughout. Plus, of course, those magnificent views from almost every part of the hotel. Some 3 Star hotels simply punch well above their weight: and The Four Seasons Hotel is most certainly one of them.