Ferry to Dunoon & Royal Marine Hotel Review – Shock Ending!

Ferry to Dunoon & Royal Marine Hotel Review – Shock Ending!

This magnificent Tudor style building behind
me is the Royal Marine Hotel in Dunoon in the west of Scotland, Argyll
and Bute to be precise. It was originally built in 1856, it was gutted
by fire in 1888 and reopened fully refurbished in 1890. It commands amazing
views over the Firth of Clyde and it commands fabulous reviews on all of the rating
websites and this is where we are going to be staying tonight. So I do hope
you’ll join me here at the Royal Marine Hotel. We’ll do a full room tour, we’ll
have a wander round Dunoon itself, we’ll have some wine in the bar later on
and tomorrow morning we’ll savour the Royal Marine Hotel breakfast. But before
all that let me tell you about how we got here from Edinburgh. We started our journey today in Edinburgh,
hopped on the train to Gourock which is where we are now. Had to
change in Glasgow so we arrived from Edinburgh into Queen Street, walked to
Glasgow Central and it was another 35 minutes on the train to Gourock and it’s
just a short walk now to the ferry terminal. If you’re a foot passenger you
can get a CalMac ferry from just outside Gourock train station across to Dunoon
but today we’re going to walk a little further on the coast and get a
Western ferry. There’s the Firth of Clyde and we’re going to walk along the
promenade to the other ferry terminal, the Western ferry terminal. The Western ferry
service also takes cars as well as foot passengers but the advantage for me
today of the Western ferry is that it docks directly opposite the Royal Marine
Hotel which is where we’re staying of course. Starting to cloud over
I was hoping for a nice clear blue sky and blue sea as we crossed over to Dunoon
this afternoon. Last week of course I had that little ferry fiasco where I missed
the ferry to Arran but today we can take our time, we can admire the
views because there’s one of those Western ferries across to Dunoon every 20
minutes so we’re absolutely fine today. Actually there goes the CalMac ferry
over to Dunoon, that’s the one with passengers only. It’s about 1.6 miles from
the railway station to the Western Ferry’s ferry port. We’ve got a little way
to go just yet so I don’t think we’ll get that ferry ahead of us but we’ll definitely
get the one after. Looking at those really black clouds ahead of us I
think it might be raining as we do the crossing this afternoon. There it goes
I’m getting used to seeing ferries sailing off without me but the good news
is you can just see the next one over there it’ll be here in 10 minutes. Still looks nice over there where we’ve come
from but here at the dock and over there towards Dunoon it looks as if it’s
torrential rain but here is the next ferry. Well, we’re only on here for
15-20 minutes tops. Well, it is starting to rain but let’s
come up and stand on the outside. There’s much more to see from the top. Let’s hope that this rain is short-lived. And five minutes later, it
stopped raining. We’re on our way to Dunoon and it’s
already brightening up again. You never know, the sun might be out and baking by the time we get
across the water. And this is how close the ferry
port is to the hotel. There it is, just across the road,
the Royal Marine Hotel. Well, it does look fantastic on
the outside, doesn’t it? Let’s see what it’s like on the inside. Just in time, it’s starting
to rain again. Let’s go inside. Well made to feel really welcome at reception
here in the Royal Marine Hotel. And I’ve just had a great surprise. They’ve got a fabulous grand staircase. Now, this is not a former British Transport Hotel or a Railway
Hotel, but just have a look at this fabulous staircase. Okay, let’s head upstairs. Oh, this is gorgeous, isn’t it? Just look at that. I’m impressed already. This really is taking you back
into history, isn’t it? Loving all the nautical memorabilia
as we head up these stairs. Not all the rooms in the hotel actually
have room numbers. Some of them have names. And today we are in the Gigha Room. Here’s our room, Gigha, as I said. And look, we get matching key with
the room name on it. Fantastic. Love an old school key. Welcome to our double room here at the
Royal Marine Hotel in Dunoon. This is really impressive. Wait till you see the bed. I’ll tell you how much this room cost
after we’ve had a look around. Tartan style carpet now. Just look at this. It’s a four poster bed. Carrying on the Tudor style, I guess. Oh yes. I am impressed with this. I like this navy throw on the bed. We’ve got our bath towels laid out, rolled
up and a piece of soap for later. Nice clean crisp white sheets. Little scatter cushion and behind that. Oh, quite thin pillows. But we’ve got four so shouldn’t
be a problem. Most importantly, does the bed bounce? Now I’ve got to be careful, I can’t jump too high while I knock myself
out on the top part of the bed. Ah, actually that is quite springy. That is quite springy. Not bad at all. A little bit like a bouncy trampoline. I think we’ll be absolutely fine
on this bed for tonight. By the side of the bed we’ve got a little nest of tables and that looks
like a portable air conditioning unit. It’s not actually too hot in here though. By the bed, I love that table. Look at that. Wood with glass on top of it
and an old school lamp. Really loving that. And of course the wooden four
poster bed headboard. Same thing on the other side of the bed. Another table and the first
of two comfy chairs. We’ve got another wooden glass coffee
table and a second comfy chair. And in between that, the window. Let’s have a look at the view. Directly out of the window we can see the ferry terminal we arrived
at a few moments ago and then out across the
Firth of Clyde. Isn’t it a shame it’s such
a dull evening. That would be fabulous if the sun was
out and the sky was blue. Seems like we’ve got quite a
bit of wardrobe space. Couple of shelve units in that one
and a double next door. We’ve got quite a few hangers. Oh I wasn’t expecting that. Dressing gowns or robes. Across from the bed there’s this big
unit with a giant mirror. Fairly sizeable TV. And just look at that. Cupboards and drawers. I don’t think there’s anything in these
cupboards and drawers but that’s fine. We’ve also got a kettle. Couple of mugs. See a milk, coffee and tea
making equipment. Well I’m impressed so far. Let’s check out the bathroom next. Oh do you know what’s caught
my eye straight away. Well we’ve got the toilet
obviously but you know how most hotels fold
the loo roll into a V shape. Well look at this that’s made my day. They folded the toilet paper into
the shape of a boat. Carrying on the nautical theme we’re
seeing throughout this hotel. More loo roll. There’s a decent sized basin. What have we got here. Glass or plastic. It’s plastic but I’m not complaining. We’ve got a little bottle of smelly stuff
and another little bar of soap. We’ve got a towel rail but of course our
towels are back in the bedroom. Fairly decent sized bathtub. And behind the glass shower partition
we have the shower head itself. Boat shaped toilet paper. What else do you need. Well tell me in the comments what do you think of this double room
here at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dunoon? I paid £106.25 to stay here tonight. Now that doesn’t include
breakfast but I’m going to have breakfast
in the morning and I’m expecting it’s going to be between
£10 and £20 on top of that. I am really really impressed
with this room. I wasn’t expecting a four poster bed. It’s comfortable, it’s clean and the
view across the Firth of Clyde. If the clouds would disappear it’s
absolutely stunning. Alright here’s the plan for
the rest of our stay. We’ll have a little walk into Dunoon maybe
try and find something to eat. Come back to the hotel later. Try out the bar maybe a glass of red wine as
usual and in the morning we’ll try out that breakfast. So shall we hit the streets or
the promenades of Dunoon. Look at this just outside the hotel. The Salty Bean. A diddy little cafe. Ooo I bet that gets busy with ferry
passengers in the mornings. The Western Ferries Terminal is called Hunter’s Quay and the other ferry
terminal in Dunoon town centre itself is just along here. That’s where the CalMac ferries go. Watch my earlier video for more information
on the CalMac ferries. I’ll put a link up in the top
of the screen right now. There are some lovely properties along
the front here on the promenade. Ooo look down there there’s a rock
painted to look like a puffin. That reminds me of the Crocodile Rock
we saw over on Cumbrae last year. Talking of the Crocodile Rock there we go this information board tells
all apparently there are quite a lot of painted rocks
on the Clyde coastline. If you don’t have actual beach huts
just paint some on the walls. I absolutely love that that’s great. CalMac ferry again over there
on the water. Do you know this route between Gourock
and Dunoon is really busy. Backwards and forwards all day. Not sure what these are they’re like iron ornamental
canopies for pots and flowers. Very pretty. Getting hungry. Now there is a chip shop I’m hoping
it’s going to be open. Fingers crossed. Well Apple Maps says it’s 13 minutes
walk and yes it is open. Good because I’m famished. It’s called Queen Street Chippy. Well I got myself sausage chips and gravy from Queen Street Chippy
and I thought we’d come down here back onto the
promenade to eat them. Let’s have a look. Oh goodness me. Now then just look at that. I’m quite literally salivating. Let’s put a chip into that gravy. That is sensational. That gravy is absolutely spot on. What about the sausages? That’s going to have to go
in the gravy as well. That is a big one isn’t it? Mmm. Mmm. That batter is crunchy. The sausage is meaty and delicious and that gravy, oh that gravy
is just to die for. I’m going in again. Quite simply that was amongst the best sausage and chips supper I’ve
had in any chip shop anywhere. Queen Street Chippy, in Dunoon, absolutely mmmm tip top. Well there’s the CalMac Ferry port and there’s the CalMac Ferry heading
back to Gourock. Probably about half a mile
to the centre of Dunoon from here but it’s
getting very very overcast and very very cold. Alright there is a glass of red wine
waiting for us back at the hotel. I’ll see you there. Well I’m back at the Royal Marine
Hotel in the bar. I’ve walked a long way today
so I’ve decided to forego the red wine and
once again go for a pint of beer, heavy, as it turns out. Caledonia Best. Look at that frothy top. I’m really ready for this. Cheers to you. Mmm. Oh that is absolutely fabulous. £4.50, no service charge as we like it. Ok I’m going to finish this. I’m going to relax. I’m going to listen to the 1980s rock tracks
that are playing in the background. I’ll see you in the morning
and we’ll avail ourselves of the Royal Marine
Hotel breakfast. Good night to you. There is absolutely nobody here and I
don’t know why I’m whispering. Maybe they’re not doing breakfast today. Maybe there’s not enough people
in the hotel for it. Can’t find anybody. Well I’m really sorry but
I can’t tell you what the breakfast was like
at the Royal Marine Hotel. There was just nobody about this morning. Now there were other guests
definitely but maybe like me they just
booked a room only basis and the staff just didn’t think
there was anybody wanting breakfast. But the fact there was nobody about
was just a little bit strange. In my mind tell me what you thought of the
Royal Marine Hotel down in the comments. I really like the room. That four poster bed was fantastic. It did have that sort of
Tudor royalty feel about it and the views out
the window over the ferry terminal and the Firth of Clyde beyond were magnificent apart
from the clouds of course. Hopefully, the sun will come out
for the rest of today. For £106 I thought it was really
good value for money. And this place is a fabulous base for
exploring Argyll and Bute. Just bring your car, come over on that little ferry journey, only 20
minutes and then you can explore the fabulous countryside
and sights of Argyll and Bute. I’m going to head back to Edinburgh
on the ferry and the train. Thank you so much for watching this video and
I’ll see you on the next one for some more travel adventures and a
little drop of history. [Music playing]

We’re going on a scenic journey from Edinburgh to Dunoon in the west of Scotland. We take the train to Gourock, walk to McInroy’s Point, and catch the Western Ferry across the Firth of Clyde to Hunter’s Quay and the town of Dunoon.

Our destination is the historic Royal Marine Hotel – a beautiful Tudor-style building dating back to 1856, complete with grand staircases and four-poster beds.

We’ll do a full room tour, explore Dunoon, grab fish and chips at Queen Street Chippy and enjoy drinks in the cosy hotel bar.

But the next morning… something unexpected happened.

Watch to see exactly how this unusual stay unfolded!

00:00 Welcome to the Royal Marine Hotel Dunoon
01:00 From Edinburgh to Gourock to Western Ferries McIinroy Point Ferry Terminal
03:39 Western Ferries Gourock to Dunoon Hunter’s Quay
06:00 Royal Marine Hotel Dunoon Full Room Tour
13:06 Dunoon Walkabout and AMAZING food from Queen Street Chippy
16:43 Royal Marine Hotel Bar and Beer
17:48 What on Earth happened to breakfast at The Royal Marine Hotel?

#FerryToDunoon #RoyalMarineHotel #ScotlandTravel #FerryTrip #TravelVlog #HistoricHotel #FirthOfClyde #ScottishHotels #Gourock #VisitScotland #ArgyllAndBute #TravelTips

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