Kintail Lodge Hotel, Kyle

On a recent visit the pub appeared very much as I remembered, though perhaps a little smarter following a recent refurbishment. From talking with the server, it appears there has been a change of ownership earlier this year. The beer is still from Isle of Skye brewery, though the hand pump is unclipped and the lass was unable to name the beer for me. Whatever it was, it was a definite improvement on the previous Red Cuillin and was presented in very good condition.

The public bar is labelled Poachers Lounge and is on the car park side of the building, with its own entrance. The room is thematically divided, with slightly different styled seating rather than partitions denoting the areas, and there's a minimal change of height and a railing for the area by the window which has a bit of a view towards the loch. To the right, past the end of the long bar, is a dining room. Unusually for a Scottish hotel public bar, there doesn't appear to be a pool table. There are plenty of stools around the bar, though I had arrived at a quiet time of day and there were no drinkers occupying them. The bar features the usual Scottish fonts and just one hand pump. This was serving Skye Red Cuillin, a fairly undistinguished brew when well kept, but unfortunately this one was distinguished by being in not very good nick. I was last here three years ago, and the same beer was in the same condition then - not undrinkable, simply not the must-have-another experience that a well kept beer provides. The truly dreadful music on the sound system was just another downside.