Cally Palace Hotel in Dumfries & Galloway

Very impressive hotel in an excellent location, but it is the staff that make this hotel something special. Two that really stand out are David, every inch the genuine Scott and a lovely man, and Rob an amazing and very multi talented man with boundless energy and a fantastic sense of humour. It is these people that bring us back time and time again.

My wife and I have just spent 4 nights bed and breakfast at the hotel. We had a lovely time. The staff were excellent, especially those who looked after us in the bar for an evening meal and in the restaurant for breakfast each morning. Our room was on the top floor but overlooked the first tee and lake and surrounding countryside. Our room was huge (not the most expensive option) with a bedroom, longe and bathroom. Beds were comfortable. We would definitely stay there again. If we had any improvements to suggest it would be - a small fridge to keep milk, water etc. cool. A larger TV. Maybe a 2 seater sofa to go with the armchairs as the room could certainly accommodate it. Also from my point of view (arthritic knees) a higher bed would have been better. These are merely suggestions though as they certainly didn’t stop us enjoying our stay. Larry and Dorothy

An imposing building with interior decor inspired by Donald Trump. The staff are generally very friendly and helpful. Rooms huge and comfortable. There is also a pool. My main quibble was with the restaurant. Cullen skink at £9.60 a bowl and a steak pie with chips and boiled veg at nearly £25 (see photos) was far too expensive. The food was delicious and would have been fine at about 2/3 of the price. Wine also very good. Breakfast was excellent, with a full hot breakfast buffet. Overall good but too pricey for what is provided.

Stayed here on business and had a very good experience...friendly reception and bar staff...rooms clean and the hotel and grounds are very beautiful...would highly reccomend!!

2.48 am, i write this being kept awake in room 22 with heating pipes cracking and my mattress springs broken, pillows that the fabric inside is no longer responsive to making any support to your head. Looking at the near freshly decorated part old/new Furniture. Im asking myself, has anyone actually tested the above mentioned. Its not hard for a dedicated general manager to test the rooms, specially the ones freshly done up, finalise it by ensuring a good nights sleep for the guests. Quality pillows and a new mattress is not expensive my stay payment and 3 others should cover it. Now onto the booking i made for the dining experience earlier, Ran by Allan, the restaurant manager i was placed between two rooms, which comprised of views of nothing. When in fact i asked for a good table by a window to enjoy dining. To arrive for dinner on time to be welcomed by a person who lacked a level of personal grooming or wore clothes that looked like he picked them from old uniform lockers put back and did not attend the meeting regarding first impressions by management. When I complained to another member of staff who nearly got neat uniforms right, i was greeted with the most untrained reply, “other customers were happy with this table” which patronised me and upset me further while Allan the manager knew of this issue but hadn’t the courage or the experience needed to resolve this issue. I mean who has the fecklessness to not see a thick thick wall between two large rooms is not being in the room. With views of the comings and goings of people and staff on the thoroughfare between my table and the walkway They then attempted to put a table right beside the in out service doors of the kitchen in the main room. Adding insult to injury i went down to speak to reception to ask was my 3pm booking made and asked my request for a nice window table was accepted and acknowledged. To find it was misplaced and they attempted to put me to what refer as the tables beside the toilets. These two rooms i was placed between were huge with approximately 30 percent table occupancy and yet they had no room for to place me by the table i sought at early request. I decided therefore to vote with my feet to find an alternative location to eat for me and my two children so i went to the masonic inn down the road, to whom gave me a nice table by their window looking onto a garden. On the whole i had to note this hotel reminds me slight of the film the grand hotel Budapest with the most surreal environment. Location is fantastic and communal areas also, but sadly let down by a lack of good management of guests and thoroughness. Wont return and i certainly will not enter that restaurant for breakfast even though i paid for it in the price. I would rather head elsewhere for personal protest.

Cally Palace is a lovely hotel in beautiful surroundings. The room was comfortable and clean although some of the features are a little dated and shabby. You get a good breakfast with plenty of choice and the evening meal was excellent though a little pricey unless you go for the dinner B & B option. The waiting staff are brilliant but the reception staff need to up their game. Unfriendly unsmiling unhelpful for this I have knocked a star off. They could hardly be bothered to give us directions to our room, we found it ourselves. I was stood at the desk for ages before I was even acknowledged. It was the same at checkout, no manners at all.

A very pleasant stay. The staff are exceptional and the food is first class. The area has lots of history and good beaches nearby. The hotel has very good facilities and lots of interesting features. Easy to access, just off the A75

We were staying with an old friend for the Easter weekend at her nearby holiday house and so suggested that we might take her our for a really nice lunch on Easter Sunday. About two weeks prior to our visit she had had phoned the Cally Palace Hotel and booked a table for 3 in the restaurant at 1.00pm. The member of staff taking the call had not made any other comment than to confirm the date and time. As we arrived at this magnificent building on a sunny day, our expectations rose. Even the lukewarm welcome from the girl on Reception did not dampen our hopes. Imagine our surprise and utter disappointment when we were told at the bar that there were only a small range of sandwiches available, This hotel does not deserve any success if potential guests are treated in such an offhanmd manner.

Scruffy place. Waited 15 minutes on queue for drinks two servers, one of which spent the whole 15 minutes talking to a couple who bought 4 glasses of coke. Uncleared tables galore. Went back at 2215. Staff said the were closing at 2230 but did nothing to serve drinks. Mannager CE out said were shut "at my discretion mo staff. Manager surly no charm or people skills. Website says open until 2300 They cancelled breakfast booking at 12 hours notice despite advertising it online Avoid like the plague.

Great stay at this hotel, full of old world charm. Staff couldn't do enough to help. The ground were well kept with plenty of walks. The pool was a good size. The food both at breakfast and dinner was innovative and delicious. Would definitely stay again if in the area

Just spent 2 nights here. Staff were excellent. Rooms were spotless and covid measures were clearly in place. Dinner bed and breakfast. Food was delicious and everything was very fresh. Will definitely be back. Thank you

Had afternoon tea here on Tues 20th Aug with daughter, granddaughter (15) and grandson (5). Cant praise it enough. Nothing was too much trouble. The staff were super friendly and my 5 year old grandson even got his own sandwiches made to order. Excellent value for money. Cant wait to return.

As part of a three night dinner, b n b. The food was reasonable and varied, some good points, some not so. Each meal time you got some pre dinner nibbles, a couple of them for each person, out of the six I tried, perhaps one was not tasty. A starter, soup or sorbet, a main and a pudding. Standard stuff for the starters, the pigeon was okay, ham hock likewise. No soup as it was very warm, so we tried all the sorbets, pleasant they were, zesty n fresh. The mains I tried were a trout dish that was a bit, meh! Lacking flavour, so a bit bland. However the venison was super tasty, the meat was very nicely cooked and tender. Ditto for a lamb dish, the meat nicely cooked and again tender. There was plenty of accompaniments. If you are the hungry type there are extras at a small additional charge. The pudes were all very standard, nothing jumped out, but all were well noshed. Meringues and ice creams, cheese platters etc... The breakfasts were excellent. The full bifta was very nice. The usual sausage, bacon etc. All very nice. There was plenty of fish, porridge n cereals, fruit juices, fruit etc. Enough to set yer up for the day.

Visited here with my boyfriend for my birthday yesterday for afternoon tea. It was lovely, good value for money and the staff were lovely. Worth a visit :) The only thing I would personally like is more savoury food rather than sweet and the scones were a little dry.

We visited as part of a family birthday celebration in August. We have been a couple of times before when visiting the area for drinks. We had afternoon tea booked which was set out ready for our arrival. Plenty of space for us all and friendly staff. The afternoon tea itself was delicious with plenty of choice to choose from. We all took leftovers home which was great too. Great surroundings, wonderful food and friendly staff make the hotel a lovely place to visit for a special occasion.

Had a lovely meal at the Cally Palace Hotel this week. The ambiance was great with very helpful attentive staff. The food very tasty, and the pre and post dinner drinks in the lounge just added to the whole experience. If I had a criticism to make it would be the pianist. He was a master of the piano but I just found the tempo rather quick. Just a little slower would have been more relaxing.

We had heard this was a 4 star hotel and had booked it for two nights for a friends wedding in the area. The hotel is need of a refurbishment, it is dated and doesn’t feel like luxury. The rooms were insanely hot and uncomfortable, leading to very little sleep. The double bed was two singles pushed together that separated during the night. The breakfast again was very disappointing, absolutely not what you would expect from this star rating. Very very simple, zero frills. Finally the staff overall were not the friendliest, we felt like an inconvenience at breakfast. We turned up at 9.20 one morning when breakfast finishes at 9.30 and it was made very obvious that the staff were put out by our arrival. On a positive note, the grounds are beautiful and swimming pool was lovely. We like our nice hotels and had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately for us and our friends that stayed, it was incredibly disappointing.

We returned for a two night break and again we're not disappointed food is so lovely staff attentive rooms immaculate and it's so peaceful. We once again had a lovely weekend and thanks to team cally pally amazing good old fashioned hospitality thank you. John and rona cochrane x

Four of us have visited on five occasions now - simply for an afternoon drink and a lunch. It is very pleasant sitting on the patio area outside the conservatory, enjoying the sunshine and the view. Very peaceful and relaxing. Staff have been very friendly and attentive. Well worth a visit.

.Just back from most a most enjoyable visit with 2 other couples. Staff throughout the hotel were friendly, efficient and helpful. Rooms were large well appointed and 2 had wonderful views. Menu's were interesting and provided a wide choice, meals were well presented and tasted lovely. Portion sizes were ideal allowing us to enjoy all 4 courses. If it was this good why did I not give it 5 stars. I have walking problems and extreme difficulty with stairs which must be used to get to floor with dining Room etc. and wheelchair access is inadequate. I hope this can be sorted out as we would all look forward to going back.

Familia de 7 fuimos a cenar en una noche de sábado. Teníamos 2 vales de regalo y viajado 45 minutos para una reserva que hicimos hace más de 4 semanas. Sólo 1 / 3 de toda nuestra factura estaba cubierto por los bonos. La cena es un menú variado. Primera visita. Llegamos a tibia bienvenida del personal de recepción. Dijeron para ir a el conservatorio o podíamos ir a uno de los salones. Conservatorio tenía un bar, así que nos fuimos. Por otra recepción conocimos tibia en el bar y dijo un gran hombre no fue sonriente servicio de mesa. Camarera joven trajo el menú de la cena para nosotros mientras nos lo pasamos nuestras bebidas y canapés bastante decepcionante. Después de nuestros pedidos fueron tomadas dijeron para ir a cenas de rm como mesa estaba lista. Tabla de particiones al lado de piano en la primera parte de comedor, ligeramente separa el 2 mitades. Agua trajo a la mesa y los vasos estaban llenos. Porción entrante llegó y era pequeña, pero estaba bien. Próximo curso era una sopa tailandesa, que parecía extraño teniendo en cuenta el menú no tenía otra comida picante. Había mantequilla sobre la mesa, pero nada de propagación. Pensamos pan sin llegar, pero no lo hicieron. Nadie volvió a preguntar si estábamos bien para bebidas, así que tuvimos que levantarnos y preguntar. Plato principal venía así que no fue mucho el punto de pedir rollos en ese momento. 4 personas en nuestra mesa comimos cordero y 3 sin embargo la salsa tenía pollo en el pollo sabía como cordero. No espere a que alguien grande volver y tomar nuestro pedido de postre. Podíamos ver un montón de rollos de estar repartidos en el otro lado de la habitación. Tarta de limón y galletas y queso. Muy pequeña porción de bastante mala selección de quesos. La pastelería en la tarta de limón era muy poco hecha y ni una pizca de limón. Fours Café & petite sirve en cualquiera de los salones. Mesa muy pequeña para 7 personas en el salón. Petite Fours mejor que la tarta de limón. Pedimos 2 whisky de malta del mes y ambos llegaron con hielo en el cual no era lo que había pedido para uno fue enviado y el hielo pescaban de los otros. Los inodoros están casi en otra zona horaria. No se ofreció a colgar nuestros abrigos, pero vimos los ganchos. Teniendo en cuenta cuánto dinero pasamos la comida y el servicio eran mediocres. Mi familia más generoso a la izquierda una buena propina, lo cual me pareció realmente injustificados. Obviamente, el pianista pensó que era en un baile de té y pensionistas para ser justos hubo una considerable cantidad de ancianos en el lugar. El entorno de Matemática Palace es precioso y el edificio, desde fuera es impresionante. Sin embargo, el mobiliario interior y el sillas están cansados necesita una buena limpia y en el comedor rm re-resortes. Al parecer, la matemática es un hotel de cuatro estrellas, pero la comida, el servicio y algunos de los muebles no lo era. Enormemente decepcionado y no regresaría. Ampliamente sobrevalorado. 3 estrellas más exacta.

Teníamos el té de la tarde en la habitación de Louis. Era un Hermoso fuego de leña de madera cálida y un árbol de navidad en la esquina. Todo muy acogedor. Comenzamos con un té por la tarde un vaso de gaseosa. Había una gran selección de sandwiches, scones y tortas y un amplio suministro de té y café. El servicio fue excelente y sin duda alguna volveremos.

Visitamos este hotel al menos una vez al año. Nos encanta. El ambiente es maravilloso. El personal (muchos de los cuales han estado allí por muchos años) es acogedor, atento y amable. Ellas ayudan a hacer que la visita. McWhirter, el director Robert está llevando un gran equipo de personas.

Nos alojamos una noche como una decisión de último minuto y conseguimos una buena oferta en internet para cena y desayuno.

Fantastic place for relaxing, golfing, fine dining, walking. Massive comfortable room, super service. We have come here four times, and we will be back.

One night two day golfing break with dinner and breakfast. Excellent break with friends with great food. The hotel staff and accommodation was really good and we had 2 good days of golf on a good challenging course.

We booked and arrived, we ordered our main, had a drink and little snacks in the conservatory before moving to...

I took my Dad for Afternoon Tea at The Cally for Father's Day and it was lovely - we couldn't fault it. Sandwiches, cakes, wraps, tea - all fantastic and the staff could not do enough for us. All in all, it was a lovely day and I would definitely return.

Had intended to go to the hotel for afternoon tea. Arrived and were told couldn't get it because we had not pre booked. Very disappointed. There were only 3 of us, not exactly a bus load. Had lunch in the conservatory. It was ok. Ordinary bread had been flattened when sandwiches cut and drinks were given way before the food so we needed more.All in all it was ok but nothing special. Having seen others having the afternoon tea, it looked great.

Visiting this restaurant quite regularly and today's visit again proven that the service in keeping high standards. The hotel was full, the golf course was busy and still the staff managed to cope with crowd perfectly. We just stopped for a quick lunch and didn't wait at all. Well done! The food is as usual excellent and very very tasty.

Our cousins brought us to the Cally for the afternoon tea on a recent visit. It was lovely! We were seated in a large, beautiful old sitting room with large old portraits hung on the walls. We sat in gold brocade covered settees, and were served coffee from silver coffee pots and 2 large tiers of sandwiches, cakes and treats. They went out of their to provide one tier of sandwiches that were specifically vegetarian which I thought was very good of them. We had a lovely time chatting and nibbling the afternoon away!

Visited the restaurant on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ordered sandwiches from a very pleasant you man, but the pleasantness stopped there. Went into the bar to order drinks and was totally ignored by the barman. He made absolutely no eye contact and carried on collecting glasses and putting them in the dish washer. Surely that should have been something he could have done when there was no queue at the bar. By the time he had finished washing up etc, there was a queue forming behind me. Not good. Didn't end there. When we went in to pay, he again made no eye contact and carried on with his 'chores'. Really just felt like walking out without paying. Some one should have a word with him that customers should come before chores. No problems with the food or table service.

The staff are great and try so hard to make Christmas fun but the hotel is stuck with two entertainers who need to be put out to grass The hotel is at that difficult cross over of generation with 1/2 the client s with one foot in the greave the family and post 1950,s generation expecting a bit better than the care home entertainers!

We took a guest to the Cally Palace Conservatory for lunch and were very disappointed. Coffee luke warm and tasteless, choice limited and open sandwiches basic and unexciting. Bread tasteless - looked like shop bought - very simple salad garnish - smoked salmon served on iceberg lettuce with no mayo or soft cheese. Open ham and cheese - again very dry - loads of grated cheese topped with nice ham with two pickles on the side which looked good but didn't live up to expectations, Staff very friendly and efficient. Lots of great lunch places in this area (Designs, Streetlights - Castle Douglas and Galloway Lodge two miles away in Gatehouse). Decided not to stay for coffee and went on to Galloway Lodge - superb coffee and home baking and gorgeous looking paninis and lunch menu. Next time will head straight to coffee shop.

I suppose it all depends on your expectations and following previously enjoyable experiences we decided to book dinner at the cally palace when we had family over from America and we were not disappointed. the food was excellent , up to the high standard we are in the habit of receiving and despite it being a rather busy dinner service for a Thursday evening we weren`t kept waiting that long for our meal. We found the staff friendly and polite,the piano player just adds to the ambience.Whilst its nice on occasions to get all dressed up, the now smart casual dress code is I feel,more appropriate nowadays.We enjoyed ourselves so much that we were in again for dinner on the Saturday night with friends to celebrate our wedding anniversaries and once again the experience was most enjoyable. Given the old world charm ,the luxurious surroundings and the quality of the food you get , the prices are very reasonable and as far as I am concerned ,represent good value for money.If you haven't been , then I`d recommend you give it a try ,I don`t think you will be disappointed

Good food, reasonable amount of choice and friendly service. The room is well presented if a little faded.

I love to go to this Hotel at least a couple of times per year and I just love the local area with wonderful scenery and photographic opportunities. The Hotel has a lovely swimming pool and the food is excellent and the Staff are so very kind to the elderly such as myself

Dumfries and Galloway unfortunately has a dearth of good restaurants and having been told our first choice was fully booked we settled on the Cally Palace.Cally Palace is one of those places that time has passed by - partially at least but the pretensions of grander days linger a bit unhappily. The requirement for collar and tie has been replaced with "smart casual" but the lay-out of the elaborate dining room resembles more of a function room with large parties than fine dining and the gruff waiting staff don't match up to their formal black and white uniforms..And the strange unsettling vibration of the floor and table together with the pianist's repertoire which might have been loved by a coach-load of tourists added to the feeling that Lurch would appear carrying the next course.The restaurant only had a fixed price menu with limited choices and when a waiter was asked if we could see the a la carte menu he said he would ask and then returned to tell us there wasn't one. Fortunately there is a disconnect between the dining room and waiting staff and the kitchen. Despite what goes on upstairs the quality of the food coming out of the kitchens is much better than OK and this saved our evening. Everything was cooked well with good combinations of flavours presented well.So if anyone from Cally Palace reads this you have the basis for a good restaurant with some attention paid to getting the dining room experience right. More attentive and caring staff would help. Dumfries and Galloway deserves better.

great hotel meals to die for . plenty and delicious . golf also if you play . we have used calley palace for holidays the last twenty years . enjoyed it . its that good we now live here . gatehouse of fleet . hotel and area like paradise . forest walks and lots of beaches many thanks craig and trudy , two small dogs .

Service at dinner not on par with the prices. Food definitely not worth the 3 HOUR WAIT. Piano player so loud you could not even have a convo, plus the songs he played were for kids. Do not recommend.

Fabulous golf course. The twilight slot is just £20 a round. I only played 9 holes but that was fine. Our suite was great with a separate sitting room with complimentary sherry. Breakfast was a bit slow as the hotel was full and some things were finished and not replenished, such as local honey. Beautiful old building.

Loved everything about it. Golf course. Terrific. Grounds were the same. Food excellent and varied. Handy for Shopping in Castle Douglas or morning coffee in Gatehouse of Fleet. Lovely swimming pool

Having had a terrible meal and experience at the Murray Arms, we were delighted to be able to get booked in to this lovely restaurant. The surroundings are beautiful (house and gardens), the service was good and the meal was well priced and quite delicious.

Die Lage in seinem eigenen Park ist grossartig. Der Golfplatz exklusiv für die Hotelgäste, dadurch keine Hektik.Superbes Zimmer (Suite). Exzellenter Service, auch im Speisesaal. Lokales Personal, das auch einmal ein paar Worte mit den Gästen wechselt

Visited on the 29 May for lunch. First (and last) visit. Beautiful location and building. Entered and interrupted the reception staff having a snack at the front desk. Enquired about the possibility for a lunch. Was 'instructed' to go to the conservatory bar and given directions. We were not taken. There is no obvious signage in the hotel. Not even the entrance is obvious. Upon finding the bar, we looked around the conservatory and noted only only free table. Good! One staff member, behind the bar preparing drinks, failed to acknowledge our presence in any way. Two other staff passed through but again failed to make any attempt to 'notice' us. Stood for 5 min. (being ignored) opted to leave. On passing the reception desk the staff were careful not to see us.Deplorable in an establishment do this standard. By way of help the following should have occurred. The receptionist escorted us to the bar/restaurant. The bar staff should have acknowledged our presence and and advised they would attend to us as in a few minutes. The reception staff should have enquirer why we were leaving. Suggestions - rearrange the reception area to ensure the desk is more obvious. Lower the desk front to prevent 'hiding' behind it. Provide signage. I hope this helps. Hugh

We had lunch in the conservatory of this old fashioned looking hotel- the decor is rather overwhelming en route to the conservatory.The waitress was very pleasant and our food arrived promptly. I had a toasted sandwich which was ok but the accompanying salad had some very past it leaves in it, almost at the slimy stage. Perhaps the kitchen staff mistook my plate for the compost bin? The lunch menu consists of sandwiches and variations thereof. This is not somewhere to make a special trip to but it's a convenient fueling point if you are visiting the lovely Cally Gardens or walking in the adjacent woods.

Had a lovely afternoon tea, nice facilities for children but the conservatory was extremely hot making it fairly uncomfortable

Have always been a massive fan and great advocate of The Cally. This week we called in for lunch and did'nt get any !!!! We sat outside, waited and waited and eventually went inside and asked for menus. A guy in a grey suit came out and served the 2 folk at the next table and glanced at us. A waitress came out and gave them there food and said hello to us.And we WAITED. I went in to use the loo and in passing said to the man on the bar " Would you like us to order here?" No we will get to you as soon as we can. So I sat down again and we WAITED and WAITED and WAITED. A couple that came in after us had there order taken and were served........ So we left. OK we are just locals and not residents in the hotel, but we come often at all times of the year. Not what we are used to at The Cally. Oh yes I forgot to add. It wasn't even busy !!!!!!!

Cally HotelThe dinner was excellent.The service was exemplary.The hotel is set in a great setting, you drive through the woods to get to it and are likely to see the Red Squirrels which frequent this area. A quick plea do drive slowly so as not kill these protected creatures.A jacket and tie are expected.There is an added bonus, a pianist entertains in the dinning room, with a very balanced repertoire at just the right level

We visited this hotel last summer to try their Afternoon Tea, it was ok, but not brilliant. There was plenty to choose from the cake stands and savoury treats, but the cream in the small cakes did not look real double cream, it looked to me like the "squirty" stuff from the aerosol.......not what one would expect from such a hotel.Another fault with the waiting staff was that we could have been offered more tea or coffee than we were offered and we feel this let the hotel down given that we were at that time, the only people sitting in a large room having Afternoon Tea. The place was very quiet at the time of our visit and this didn't help the atmosphere, which was "lifeless" in our opinion.The decor of the hotel is rather "dated and tired" and some areas look in need of a "makeover".We would not go back again for Afternoon Tea as we felt it wasn't worth the money, however, the grounds of the hotel are set in beautiful surroundings.