The Torrance Hotel

I was travelling for business booking 2 rooms for myself and a colleague. Arrival at the hotel after a few minutes I had to go find a staff member so we could check in, the receptionist was sat in the back so the bar staff came to find her. The room was nice and a decent size, bathroom very nice and a large shower with rain head, Water pressure was hit and miss and but the constant was the water temperature which was luke warm. Mini bar in the room with a drinks fridge that was not cold. Only 1 plug socket at the opposite side of the room to the bed. Comfy bed & firm pillows. Breakfast both mornings were poor service. No utensils for the continental choices so everybody was using their fingers. Coffee and Tea were offered by the member of staff, no milk on the table so had to go find some. Evening meal, slow service and many things out of stock on the dessert menu. Comfy surroundings but dirty utensils which the staff did change for my friend. I do visit the area for work on a monthly basis and just opened a new office near by hence why I tried a new hotel, I won't be recommending or returning.

Review of [Restaurant Name] Having spent 25 years in the hospitality industry, particularly in the restaurant and hotel business, I truly appreciate well-designed spaces. This hotel and its architecture are visually stunning—elegant and easy on the eyes. Although I didn’t stay at the hotel this time, I plan to return to experience the rooms and service firsthand. As for the restaurant, the ambiance and design are impressive, and the bar area is equally well put together, as seen in the photos. However, the food quality was disappointing. The soup arrived cold and was completely tasteless. When the waiter (who was also the barman) came to collect it, he simply asked if I was finished without inquiring why I hadn’t eaten it. This lack of attentiveness was a major service flaw. The fish portion was reasonable for the price, but there was no tartar sauce provided, and the mushy peas portion was disappointingly small. I had to request garlic sauce separately. As for the steak (a 10 oz cut), it was also a fair price, but despite requesting it well-done, part of it was medium while the rest was well-done, which was another letdown. Overall, while the restaurant’s aesthetics are impressive, the food quality does not match the expectations set by the surroundings. I strongly encourage management to focus on staff training and improving food standards to enhance the overall dining experience.

We stayed at The Torrance for one night as guests to a wedding being held there. The hotel itself is decent but the staff could use some training. To be clear - the staff at the upstairs wedding venue catering for the wedding were all absolutely brilliant. Every single one of them! What follows is a review of the staff at the ground level bar and restaurant. After ordering an Old Fashioned, I was given a Whisky Sour. I'm a whisky enthusiast, as are my friends who also sampled it and concluded, without a doubt, it was a Whisky Sour. I pointed that out to the bartender in the friendliest manner possible. As someone who has owned a restaurant and a bar, I know mistakes happen and that's okay - the bartender also admitted she was new and not very good at making cocktails. I didn't make any fuss and paid for my drink. Later, I returned with another guest and ordered another Old Fashioned which was made correctly, however, only after some rude and snarky comments towards me from the bartender claiming she had made no mistakes and the drink is identical to the previous one. We still had the previous one upstairs - the two drinks were nothing alike. No apology was offered at any point and the attitude was very unprofessional, unapologetic, rude, and uncaring. We also ordered an alcohol-free Gin & Tonic for my pregnant partner. The bartender proceeded to make the drink and, as she was about to pour the gin, my partner noticed the 41.3% alcohol label on it. Lucky she spotted it! This is not only incompetence but borderline criminal gross negligence! This was again laughed off by the bartender and no apology was offered. Additionally, Negroni and Old Fashioned should never be made with crushed ice - only large blocks, otherwise the drinks become overdiluted very quickly. If you offer three menu pages worth of cocktails, maybe invest in training your staff how to make them. There's more to a cocktail than throwing the ingredients together over some ice. The issues didn't end there though. The next morning we ordered a full Scottish breakfast. Bacon is centrepiece to a full Scottish. Bacon was missing from our plates. We had a single tiny mushroom sliced in half. Some guests had similar plates to ours, while others had two rashes of bacon and a generous portion of mushrooms. Again, no apology was offered at any point. I can understand a shortage of bacon, but if that was communicated upfront we would have gone for a different menu option. The haggis tasted spoiled on both plates and both of us had upset stomachs within an hour after finishing the meal. The hotel itself is beautiful and conveniently located but the staff's attitude and incompetence are inexcusable and unacceptable in the hospitality industry.