My girlfriend and I visited the Isle of Mull last summer to view the wonderful wildlife that lives on the island. We'd previously seen the BBC's "Springwatch" programme that followed the fortunes of a pair of White-tailed Sea Eagles and wanted to see these magnificent birds at close range.

We chose the Glenforsa Hotel based on a search on the internet. Mull, being an island, appears more expensive to stay at than the mainland, and the Glenforsa Hotel seemed to offer reasonable value for money at £80.00 per room, per night (other, apparently equivalent accommodation on Mull was more expensive than this).

The website also made it seem very attractive. The hotel consists of "Norwegian Style" cabins made of wood. This made the hotel seem quite rustic and attractive. The hotel is located on the shore of the island so the sea views sounded really nice!

Initial appearances were very positive. The hotel is set well back from the main road in a lovely wooded area, accessible via a narrow drive. There's plenty of parking outside the hotel and the reception area is beautifully decorated with an old style flying theme (the hotel has a grass landing strip for light aircraft!).

The first misgivings arrived at check-in, however. The hotel reception was quiet. So quiet, that it took several minutes for anyone to acknowledge our arrival! The staff were friendly enough, but the second problem arose in getting to our room. The hotel is, indeed, made of wood, without many windows. Some lights being out in the corridors made the journey to our room slow and careful. The receptionist did not even comment on this.

The room was nicely laid out and quite comfortable, with a very small bathroom. One 'feature' for the environmentally conscious was the water supply. This comes straight from the burn outside so does not pass any water quality tests and was not recommended for drinking straight from the tap (no chlorine, however!).

We tried the bar the first night (of course). It looks out over the Sound of Mull, with a garden that goes down to the water's edge, lovely. It was really nice having a drink here, watching the sun go down. The restaurant's food was excellent, with a really good menu. The lackadaisical attitude of the reception staff was carried on into the restaurant, however, we waited ages to be taken to our table and had to almost shout for attention. The view was some compensation.

The worst part of the hotel was revealed in the evening. The log construction meant that gaps were evident in all exterior walls. The soundproofing was...well, there wasn't any! Luckily there was only one room next to ours and the family settled down quite early otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get any sleep at all. You could hear everything in the next room, and I mean everything.

We stayed two nights in the Glenforsa and overall, the experience was quite pleasant. We were lucky, however, that we did not have noisy neighbours as that would have spoilt things completely. The atmosphere was nice (if dark!), the food was excellent, and Mull was everything we'd been hoping for.

Checking out, we noticed in the visitor's book, that Kate Humble (from Springwatch) had stayed at the hotel whilst filming the White-tailed Sea Eagle feature! I suspect she got better service than we did!

When we stay on Mull again (we're definitely going back), we will not be staying at the Glenforsa Hotel, even if we have to pay more, we will.