Undiscovered Scotland

 

Knockderry House Hotel is a magnificent Victorian edifice set in its own grounds. The hotel stands a little back from and above the road that runs down the west side of the Rosneath Peninsula, the easily overlooked spur of land defined by Loch Long to its west and Gare Loch to its east. The views over Loch Long to the Cowal peninsula are simply superb and the sunsets can be spectacular. You can read our dining review for Knockderry House Hotel here.

Knockderry House was built for the Glasgow cotton merchant, David Anderson, and its appearance today owes much to the architect William Leiper. What you find is a Scots Baronial confection of projecting bay windows and turrets, built in stone with half-timbered panels. The end result is fascinating and extremely attractive. A modern extension to one side has been carried out extremely sympathetically, to the point it is a surprise to find it actually is a modern extension.

The hotel's public rooms are warm and welcoming, and full of fascinating architectural detail. They include a wood panelled dining room, with some spectacular stained glass windows on view; an ante room that provides a second dining area; and the main bar. This is a magnificent room, with beautifully detailed wooden panels and screens wherever you look. To the rear of the main bar is a small snug.

Knockderry House offers a total of 13 en suite guest bedrooms and a suite. Nine rooms and the suite are located in the main house, and four more are in the hotel's modern extension, called the Leiper Wing after the original architect. The master bedroom was originally the first floor morning room of the house. It offers a magnificent view over Loch Long and as an especially nice touch has its bathroom in one of the turrets. Superior rooms have views over Loch Long: those in the main house have roll top baths, while those in the new wing have king size beds. Standard rooms look out from the side of the hotel, while the single rooms are at the rear of the hotel. All the rooms in the main house have been individually decorated, and are furnished with antique furniture and paintings by local Scottish artists which reflect the character and the age of the building.

Knockderry is an ideal location for a range of functions, from meetings to weddings. There are four main function rooms available. The Old Billiard Room is on the first floor at the rear of the hotel and can accommodate from 10 to 22 people. The ante room on the ground floor can accommodate up to 12. The dining room can accommodate functions of up to 36 people, and the Gallery, the largest function room, can accommodate up to 60 depending on layout.

Corporate events can be combined with a range of outdoor activities, and the hotel has proved ideal for small bespoke weddings: it has a wedding licence. For larger functions, exclusive use is an option.

Disabled access is possible to the whole of the ground floor of the hotel, including the dining room and bar, and there is a disabled toilet in the ground floor of the new wing. Guest rooms can only be accessed by those able to tackle stairs.

Knockderry House is a superb hotel in a superb setting offering superb food in comfortable surroundings. The high standard of the overall package means that it is not easy to pick out particular aspects of note: but we were especially impressed by the high level of personal involvement of the hotel's owners, by the quality of the service and housekeeping, by the food, and by the magnificent bar. You can read our dining review for Knockderry House Hotel here.