AJK                        Our holiday in Oban at the Hotel Columba                    22 Nov 2008

I chose our usual pickup point at Collin Street in the centre of Nottingham.  The coach arrived on time just before 0820 hrs and, as arranged, took us to Woolley Edge Services on the M1.  We went into the building  for my usual wee wee (I am almost 83 and have the usual old man's problem.  It's a good job that Skills' Coaches have a loo on board)

As is common with coach companies, they pick up people from all over and deliver them to a common point for the main journey.  On the new coach we set off for Oban.  IT'S A LONG WAY.  I can't remember what the place names were were we stopped, except Gretna and Moffat.  On and on it went and it got dark; VERY DARK.  On we went along the narrow Highland country roads.  The driver must have a lot of patience.  But all Skills' drivers seem to be good.  This one was no exception.  We arrived eventually.  Hotel Columba is in the town and on the seafront. I was told that it was built as a hotel in 1840.  Many old Scottish hotels were once large private houses, but not this one. 

We had our arrival drink and dinner was soon after. The chef is GOOD.  The meal was lovely.  I don't have a big appetite these days, but I ate all that was offered.  Two days later I had a sirloin steak.  To say it was half a cow would be an exaggeration; but it was huge and beautifully cooked; medium to my taste.  St Columba would be proud to have this hotel named after him.  I believe that the Roman Catholic cathedral in the town also bears his name.

We only stopped four nights, and it was a pleasure.  Skills laid on two outings that Beryl and her daughter went on.  I stayed in and read my magazine.  I am afflicted with idle-itis as well as two gammy feet.

Our room was 210 and I imagine it was one of the best in the hotel.  An enormous king-sized bed made of two large singles bolted together.  I expected the very thin duvet to be cold, but it was just nice.  A blanket in the wardrobe could be added if required.  There was a large TV flat screen on the wall that must have been expensive.  The step-=daughter's room 209 next door was comfortable, but ours put it in the shade.  Her room was small and her TV was old-fashioned by comparison with ours.

One strange feature that I have never seen before despite working in the electrical industry all my life. The door key was a card-key; nothing special these days!  But the card had to be used to activate the lights in the room.  Just inside the door was a slim card-reader, and it had to have a card in it to get the lights to work in the room.  Initially I thought that there was problem as I could just not get the lights to switch on.  Clever, if you think about it.  If you leave the room and want to return, you have to take the card with you.  And you simply cannot leave the lights on if you take the card.  But like all clever ideas, it can be thwarted.  Any old bank card will operate the card-switch, whereas the door key is coded for the numbered room.

One minor niggle.  There was no gym at the hotel.  However, it didn't need one as the lift gates gave one all the exercise one needed.  I would date the lift at about 1935.  It had none of the modern gadgets that stop the lift from being called by someone else when you were in the cage during busy periods.  It also stopped and started like all old lifts do,  One doesn't realise the sophistication of modern lifts until you use an old one.  But one soon got used to bending one's knees just before the floor level to save jarring one's spine. But the floor levelling was good; better than some modern lifts I have ridden in.  But that's down to the servicing mechanic and how much trouble he takes setting up the levelling.  I saw no indication of how many persons should ride at one go.  Perhaps this was because if more than three got into the cage at one go, there would bound to be a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment.  It was cosy, just like phone box.

Breakfast was self-service, but the food available was good.  There was one short woman who was part of the staff who reminded me of one of the seven dwarfs.   She didn't walk, she always scurried, without ever running.

The journey home was tedious as well.  Nothing that could be complained of, but it was a LONG WAY.    It seemed worse than the way out as we made a number of stops to drop off passengers.   Bed called that night.