Duck Bay - Argyll Bute
Menu
A comprehensive menu of Duck Bay from Argyll Bute featuring all 6 meals and drinks can be found here on the list.
Nestled by the serene waters of Loch Lomond, Duck Bay Marina presents breathtaking views but has garnered mixed reviews from patrons. While some visitors praised the cleanliness, quality food, and the courteous staff, others highlighted significant issues like poor service, menu limitations for large groups, and uncomfortable bedding arrangements. The atmosphere seems more focused on dining than providing a welcoming hotel experience, lacking communal spaces to unwind. Though the scenic location offers great potential, many feel the hotel requires substantial improvements in service and amenities to match its idyllic setting. Guests leave with a desire for a more hospitable environment.
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Was flemink at Duck Bay a mag?
I stayed at the hotel for 2 days in September despite reading some negative reviews. I am so glad I did because my experience was fantastic. The room was amazing, the staff were all polite and helpful, and both the hotel and restaurant were very clean. The food was delicious, especially the breakfast served in a beautiful room with a view of the loch. The bed was also very comfortable. Overall, I had a great time and... View all feedback.
What Crystal C dislikes about Duck Bay:
I recently went for lunch at this restaurant. I ordered the pork belly, but the mashed potatoes were extremely salty, so I returned it. I was surprised to see that it was still on my bill, and when I disputed it, the waitstaff refused to remove it, saying they didn't have the authority to do so. They told me to pay in full and email my complaint to head office. It took over a week for them to respond to my complaint,... View all feedback.
I recently went for lunch at this restaurant. I ordered the pork belly, but the mashed potatoes were extremely salty, so I returned it. I was surprised to see that it was still on my bill, and when I disputed it, the waitstaff refused to remove it, saying they didn't have the authority to do so. They told me to pay in full and email my complaint to head office. It took over a week for them to respond to my complaint, even after I followed up with them. Their response basically said tough luck. I was very disappointed and will not be returning. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area that I would rather visit.
Having been invited to my Dad’s partners 90th birthday celebration we were so looking forward to going to Duck Bay for an early dinner. On arrival the table was set lovely looking out over the Loch. We were given menus and the meal my husband wanted was not on the menu neither was the fish and chips. The menu was fine but not what we wanted. My Dad is 92 and loves his fish and chips and so does his partner. We were told because we had too many people at the table they couldn’t do fish and chips or the steak and sausage pie. We jokingly asked if we separated the tables or sat elsewhere could we have the said items from the menu. The server went and asked then moved a table we were sitting on to the left of the main group and we could then get what we wanted from the other menu. We were now two separate bookings. THIS WAS LUDICROUS! It was like a scene from faulty towers. Our small table of four had our dinner and the larger group had their starters ,their plates sat for over 20 minutes before the were removed with my sister having to ask for them to be taken away. The birthday girl was by this time really hungry as was my dad as they didn’t have a starter. The larger group then received their main courses and it wasn’t at all satisfactory. My sisters scampi had to be returned as the scampi was so overcooked and hard and the fries for the mains were like the shakings of an old bag of straw. We ordered a baileys and returned that as it had curdled,my husband asked 3 times for a pint to be told on the third attempt that there was a problem with the certain pint he had asked for,so no one bothered to offer him something else. We definitely won’t be back and it’s such a shame as we only live in Balloch so it’s right on our doorstep. Apparently they run some sort of training academy and all I can say to that is they should all go back to school! The icing on the cake is when my sister after paying in the region of £400 was told that after a similar complaint to mine was “ You can’t please everyone and we should dine elsewhere “ ABSOLUTELY APPALLING. Yes we will take your advice and dine elsewhere. Lots of nicer places to dine with friendlier staff.
I had booked a table for 12 people to celebrate my mum's 90th Birthday, but encountered a number of issues at the restaurant. Despite haddock and chips being on the menu I had seen earlier that day, we were told it wasn't available for larger parties. Their solution was to split our table into two groups of 8 and 4 so that we could order from the regular menu, leaving some of our party feeling excluded. The service was very poor, with us waiting for our finished starters to be cleared for 20 minutes. One member of our group had to return their scampi due to it being too tough, and another had to send back a curdled Baileys. For the amount we spent, almost £400, the whole experience was extremely disappointing.
Having finally made my 1st trip to Scotland, we were really looking forward to an impressive stat at Duck Bay Marina sadly, we were left un impressed. The location is fantastic as it is right on the lake side, with fantastic views. We arrived at the hotel, however went into the restaurant area initially as thought this is where we checked in, and needed the loo we were advised we were not customers and this was for customer use only I explained we had just arrived and were checking in. We also arrived early than 3 and were told if we wanted to check in earlier it would cost £40. There isn 't really anywhere to walk there as not far from the main road, so ended up driving to the nearest town, which was about 5 mins drive away. We finally checked into our room and first impression, was it was really small and the bed too looked very small. We had lakeside views, as this is what I paid for, unfortunately those views were hampered by a large wall and part of the building in front of us we enquired about a room, however was told there was nothing available later to be told, we could have an 'upgrade ' for an additional £120 or a different room for £80. we went to the restaurant to ask if we could just have a drink, to be told we needed to use the little tea room/cafe next door, which isn 't really what we had in mind and there was no other room for guests to be able to enjoy to just have a drink, so we ended up buying wine from the local shops and drank it in our room. The bed was far too small it definitely wasn 't a double, more like a large single. The breakfast was OK perfectly adequate, but not the best we have had. We asked again about a move to another room, and at this point didn 't care about the view, we just wanted a bigger bed to sleep in, but were told it would cost us another £70 for 1 night, so we decided against it. Great views, but distinct lack of a hotel feel and staff were OK. Overall, it felt very corporate and not a cosy little hotel that I had in mind
Arrived a little early for our booking and were seated straight away. Waiter was friendly although we were served by 5 people in the time we were there which is a bit strange, typically you’d be served by the same person. We ordered our food, starters arrived and they were nice. Our mains then arrived and we had ordered the creamy cajun pasta, this wasn’t at all what was expected from the description on the menu, it wasn’t at all creamy and was quite a watery tomato sauce. The waiter was understanding of this and allowed me to swap this out for macaroni instead which was appreciated. The food we did have was nice but nothing to rave about. We also ordered cocktails, which again were very average at best. Overall very average experience.
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