Name: Craigdarroch Arms Hotel
Address: High St, Moniaive, Thornhill DG3 4HN, UK, Thornhill, Thornhill, Thornhill, DG3 4HN, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Ticket assistance

Garden

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Non-smoking rooms

Indoor Fireplace

Rooms

Ironing accessories (by request)

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Parking

Conference Hall

Business

Playroom

Kids

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Craigdarroch Arms Hotel

Tim and family run this wonderful hotel/pub in the beautiful village of Moniaive.
It is in the centre of the village and central to activities in the community.
Expect a warm welcome and expect music - either in the bar or in the Coachhouse at the back of the courtyard.
Food available every day and always a good selection of beers.

As a result of Covid, only outside seating is available, mainly in the pub garden at the rear of the pub. The staff are very friendly and a strict Covid protocol is in place. There is a very relaxed atmosphere in the pub, with sporting events being shown on a large projector outside. A wide range of drinks, both alcoholic and non alcoholic are available. The food menu is surprisingly varied, with everything from pub grub to Chinese take away style food available. Well worth a visit on a hot summer day.

The Craigdirect, as we call it, has ended up being just about the only place in mid-Nithsdale where you can get a pint and a meal in unpretentious surroundings and without paying through the nose. Tim the landlord has succeeded with it where those before him failed, and at least part of that has to be that he really tries to give customers what they want. We were in Yorkshire recently: a lot of places were unfriendly, and nobody would give us a meal before 6. You have to wonder, do they want to make a living or what? There's none of that nonsense here: they're open all hours, do food from 12 till 8, and if an offer is not supposed to start till 6 they're willing to be flexible. It caters for everybody without losing the feel of a genuine pub; Tim is good with all kinds of people and the nice atmos is largely his creation.

The food has improved since he first started, but I still wouldn't give them any awards for it (yes they did get a runner up in the Observer Food awards lately but, bizarrely, that was as a place to drink). The fish and chips and steak pie are good bets; the curries are, well, pub curries; the burger came with masses of jar mayonnaise and overdressed salad; portions are on the small side for a growing family. The interior is old and tired; I don't so much mind that, but I have to agree with the reviewers who say its cleanliness these days isn't what it should be.

But we like it, we've always liked it, and we'll hope to be back soon. We've never stayed over, but be aware there are a lot of music events going on in the evenings.

Thornhill

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6 bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

park access

Relaxed pub, selling good selection of drinks and food

nice place, great host, food okay

Friendly, lively pub and hotel. Expect music!

This was my only disappointing accommodation on my whole 2 week trip in Scotland.  I slept in a different bed every night.  The door was broken into before and repaired, but it looked bad.  The bed was repaired with planks.  the duvet cover wasn't pulled up completely and underneath the one could see the duvet was stained with yellow marks.

Dirty

On the day that we visited there were some musicians "jamming" while they waited for their transport and this was a pleasant greeting to this venue.   The interior fittings of the Hotel bar area are in need of some work to bring them up to modern standards, however I suppose, that as it stands a certain nostalgic atmosphere is generated?

The food was homely, hot and very tasty and I would return for that alone.  The Manager / owner was very affable and I think that this is a place to visit when it is full and bouncing with musical acts.

Interesting Music Venue

Our hosts could not be better and deserve 6 out of 5 but unfortunately they are not in charge of their cleaning staff who I watch on several occasions slopping bleach around the floors but never once did I see them clean any other surface. Testament to this was the sticky banister and greasy smelling breakfast room. 
On top of this the shower was poorly cleaned and not only were the sheets very worn and suspect in terms of cleanliness but this is the first place I’ve ever seen cobwebs inside a wardrobe!
I would like to go back to revisit the people and enjoy the friendly atmosphere but ........


Great people but filthy

It seems to me that the buzz and excitement of being the main hub of festival entertainment in Moniaive has superceded the basics of providing decent customer service. Staged events and musical gigs in the Craigdarroch is the order of the day and to hell with courtesy and politeness towards paying customers. The young female waitress, Grace is particularly guilty. Rude and obnoxious. We won’t be back.

Ungracious Grace

Just returned from a visit to the craigdarroch arms, without question it's managed by the rudest publican known to man. On arrival your confronted by an overwhelming amount of signs confusing any new guests visiting the restaurant...however I can remember the sign don't be a Molly be a Peter? (Wow) ... The signeage is that confusing I ended up in Tim's living room after waiting outside for 10 minutes, obviously he didn't find it amusing, however it was my fault? Tim decided to escort me outside where my 10 year-old grandson was waiting with my border collie, Tim decided it was time to start swearing infront of my grandson and approached him aggressively causing my dog to bark at him.

I explained he had no rights swearing Infront of a minor and he decided to refuse serving myself, my wife, daughter and grandson. 

2 locals were passing whilst leaving the building and explained this happens on a regular basis 

Please avoid this place .....

The guy has serious issues!!!

Rude, Rude, Rude

This hotel is in the centre of the village and the centre of the "action" for the many music festivals held here. This, and the friendly owner are the only positive things about the place.
The rooms are very poor, dirty and noisy. The sheet was soiled at the side and had not been washed properly after the previous occupant. 
The bathroom was filthy. I went to the shop over the road and bought bleach and cloths and scrubbed the floor and the shower before I was prepared to use it. The carpet was burned and had seen better days. 
It is assumed that you are there only for the entertainment of the festival and won't spend much time in the room. The TV doesn't exist, the ariel cable has been cut from the outside in the last redecoration. There is very weak, intermittent internet when the owner remembers to switch it on. It is not strong enough to upload or download images. I did manage to open my e mail  on two occasions, for ten minutes before it went down, during the three day stay. 
The double glazing did not mask the very loud music that went on until the early hours.
The sockets were loose, there were loose wires cut and covered with tape in the bathroom. The skirting boards etc were unfinished and broken. There were dirty cup stains on the windowsills.
I wanted to leave, but we were there for the music and there wasn't any alternative accommodation nearby.

Not much choice in the village

The host was lovely but the rooms were very dirty and strong smell of smoke ,Breakfast not up to much no fruit juice cheap quality poorly cooked ,white of egg still runny and toast still bread with rock hard butter you coud not spread,no marmalade or jam

Craigdarroch Arms Hotel

Popular amenities

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

Services and amenities

Popular

General

Rooms

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Tourist services

Parking

Business

Kids

Conditions of accommodation

Conditions of accommodation

Additional information

Payment

Payment

For corporate clients