Good things come in threes. In true Internet style: What? Where? Why?
Written: Mar 27 '05 (Updated Mar 27 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An extremely friendly venue from which to view grass-roots Scottish football.
Cons: Though perfectly adequate, don't go expecting the Hilton!
The Bottom Line: Get away from the big chains and see some real hospitality - and some real grass-roots soccer!
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| andymcf's Full Review: The Plough Hotel |
Unless - and I am guessing that you are almost certainly not - you are a fan of the somewhat risible offerings of Third Division Scottish football or British humour, you may very well never have heard of Stenhousemuir, so let me briefly be your guide.
Stenhousemuir is a small, yet somewhat infamous, Scottish town, almost equidistant from Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is famously home to a much-derided football club. Hence its infamy; as a kid, I used to watch the ticker-tapes roll across the bottom of the television screen on Saturday afternoons bearing the afternoon's football scores. Many years later, as a thirty-something, born-again Stenhousemuir fan, I fully understand why the club is affectionately known as Stenhousemuirnil. I, and six friends, decided that the team needed our more than enthusiastic support. We were originally to be the "MacNificent Seven". A tooth abscess reduced us to six stalwarts. Not quite the same cache, I know, but this is a hotel review and if you're going to push the boat out and support the Warriors, as Stenhousemuir are known, then there really is no better place to stay than The Plough Hotel.
Arriving in the early morning by taxi, we were delivered to the Plough efficiently and cheerfully by "Stenhouse Taxis" after a most amusing journey from Edinburgh Airport. One of our number is pushing 70 years of age, yet the taxi driver still seemed to think that we might be the opposing team. On reflection, the confusion was possibly not that surprising. We might have done better than the 1-1 draw that Albion Rovers managed to achieve in front of a 391 strong crowd! Even if Ron Brown, our leader, has two artificial hips!
The Plough Hotel, anyway, is situated centrally in Stenhousemuir and forms something of an island in the town's road architecture. At heart, it's a pub. It's also a restaurant. And it's also a hotel. It has three distinct entrances, each of which leads to each of the distinct pre-mentioned features of the establishment.
One entrance will take you into the public bar. We enjoyed this and spent a lot of time yet surprisingly little money here. The second entrance takes you into a slightly more formal bar which doubles as the restaurant. The food is hale and hearty and very much comfort food, and at very decent prices. It's also where hotel guests take breakfast. And a very good breakfast, the following day, it was too!
We, however, entered by the main hotel entrance. It's not exactly the marble splendour of the Savoy. Nor, either, does it pretend to be, but there's a reception desk on the right in front of the office. A corridor marked "Staff Only" on the left leads to the excellent public bar. It was to become something of a well-worn route.
A fairly loud cough summoned our very friendly host, Maggie, whom I'd e-mailed somewhat relentlessly during the booking process and we were quickly taken up two flights of stairs to our rooms. They have six - all non-smoking (although the windows open wide enough for desperados such as myself) - including various combinations of singles, twins, doubles, ensuites and walk-down-the-corridor-in-a-pink-towel-to-the-bathroom-rooms. Between us, we tried and occupied them all.
Whilst some of my party shared twin rooms or had a single room, I ended up in the non-ensuite double. It was not unique in being immaculately clean. The room was decorated in clean, white paint and the maroon carpet had that newly-laid, springy-underlay feeling. The furniture was new and suited its purpose. Hardly luxurious, but entirely functional, nonetheless. This was a smallish box with a wardrobe, comfortable bed (with duvet), chest of drawers, small remote-controlled TV and tea-and-coffee making facilities. Nothing to write home about, so I didn't, but at £29 per night, including a deliciously hearty Scottish breakfast, something certainly worth writing on the Internet about. It served its purpose perfectly and was a bargain.
All in all, this was a truly superb weekend and the total friendliness of the management and locals made this a place to recommend.
If you're visiting Scotland as a tourist, you're probably unlikely to pop in when there are such gems as Gleneagles, the Caledonian Hilton, the Scotsman or, my personal favourite, the Glasgow Hilton waiting for you and your bulging wallet, unless you're visiting with the specific purpose of supporting real ground-roots football at Stenhousemuir.
That said, if you're up to subjecting yourself to watching a game at Stenhousemuir, this is most definitely the place to stay, and I recommend it. The staff are extremely friendly and will bend over backwards (unless you want a Pink Gin in the bar (not surprisingly) or porridge for breakfast (more surprisingly)) to ensure that your stay is enjoyable; ours most certainly was. The locals are very welcoming and laugh (with you) at the fact that you have flown 500 miles to support their local team.
Give it a try - if you're up for the real flavour of Scotland at grass roots. We'll definitely be returning next year; we know when we had a good time!
Andrew
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andymcf
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Member: Andrew McFall
Location: Canterbury, Kent, England
Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 132 members
About Me:
Maths teacher. Father of young Josh. See below!
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