The Ceilidh Place
West Argyle Street, Ullapool, Wester Ross · Hotel
View on Google MapsPhoto: Ceilidh Place Ullapool
A long-established Ullapool hotel, bar, bookshop and music venue with 13 bedrooms, a bunkhouse and a year-round arts programme.
Photos
Photos via Google
About The Ceilidh Place
The Ceilidh Place has been part of Ullapool since 1970, when it started life as a cafe in a boat shed. It has grown into a hotel, restaurant, bar, bookshop, gallery and live music venue occupying a row of whitewashed buildings on West Argyle Street, a couple of minutes uphill from the harbour. It is independent, slightly ramshackle in the best sense, and unlike anything else on the north-west coast.
There are 13 bedrooms in the main building, most of them en suite, furnished simply with books rather than televisions, and a few sharing bathrooms at a lower rate. Across the road the Clubhouse offers bunkhouse accommodation for walkers, cyclists and groups on a tight budget. Nobody would call the rooms luxurious, but they are warm, comfortable and characterful, and the upstairs parlour, stocked with books and an honesty bar, is where guests tend to end up in the evening.
Food is served all day, from coffee and cake to full dinners, with local seafood, vegetarian dishes and Scottish cheeses well represented. The bar carries real ale and a long whisky list. The bookshop is properly curated rather than a token shelf, concentrating on Scottish writing, poetry and music. Concerts, ceilidhs, readings and exhibitions run throughout the year and the venue is a fixture of the Ullapool arts calendar.
Ullapool itself is a working fishing port and the ferry terminal for Stornoway on Lewis. The village sits on Loch Broom with hills on every side. Stac Pollaidh, Suilven and the Inverpolly wilderness lie to the north, the Corrieshalloch Gorge is a short drive inland, and the North Coast 500 passes straight through. The hotel suits independent travellers, walkers, musicians and anyone who likes their accommodation to have opinions of its own.
What guests say
Not really a satisfactory dining experience. Service great, wine list good, atmosphere nice. I had quite tasty grilled goats cheese with salad and beetroot. Followed this by corn ribs and salsa. Salsa was utterly disgusting riot of flavours leaving me with corn with corn and more corn. My wife had gorgeous cauliflower cutlets with a tasty sauce, then a pea risotto which was immense and had risotto with some peas in it. And that was it. A minty, pea flavoured mush that went on and on with no variation in taste or texture. Simply adding a handful of rocket and/or some chopped tomatoes would have been easy and added interest, but as it was it was really downhill from the first mouthful to the point where you gave up. Its a shame their good dishes were let down so much by the bad. Anyway, am writing this review after making myself some cheese and toast after getting back to compensate for being unable to eat the main course. Place has potential but needs a rethink, and menus replanting.
2 months ago · via Google
A bit of a mixed bag for our dinner experience. Food was tasty but I'd say a bit over priced for what you get, for example £15 for 3 scallops- they tasted great but I was left wishing for more. My husband had the hake, a small piece for £28. We ordered wine to go with the food, and normally you expect the drinks to arrive before the food. Staff was helpful when we alerted them to the fact that the drinks hadn't arrived and ensured the mistake was quickly resolved. Loved that they provided big bottles of water free of charge for the table. The atmosphere and interior of the restaurant was very nice.
a week ago · via Google
Visited a couple of times over 3 nights. Tonight we hat eaten in the fantastic pizza place then sat outside. As it got colder we went to come in to the bar.Now,I get I can’t take my left over pizza in. But for the waitress to tell us she had done us a favour by ignoring it and not telling us we couldn’t have a box outside and the way she did it; was pretty grim. ( kind of her to ignore us having a box at our feet as we spent collectively £60 on drink when it was DEAD) Being going since it was a bastion of Celtic culture, won’t be back.
a week ago · via Google
We ate here. I had the vegetarian option, my partner had burger and chips. The place is dog friendly which we appreciated. My ceildh bowl dish was delicious. My partner rated his burger and chips as average. The staff were polite professional and welcoming.
a month ago · via Google
People say this hotel offers delicious food, including hearty breakfasts and flavorful dishes with good vegetarian options, and features comfortable, cozy rooms. They also highlight the friendly, attentive staff, welcoming atmosphere, and dog-friendly policy.
Some reviews mention the food can be overpriced.
Summary via Google
At a glance
- Address
- 14 West Argyle Street, Ullapool, IV26 2TY Get directions
- Property type
- Hotel
- Location
- West Argyle Street, Ullapool, Wester Ross
- Star rating
- 3 star
- Guest score
- 8.6 / 10 (540 reviews)
- Prices from
- £110 per night
- Good for children
- Yes
- Destination
- Scottish Highlands