Review of Cameron House (De Vere Hotel), Loch Lomond

Cameron House (De Vere Hotel), Loch Lomond - 4 bubbles

Cameron House is a comfortable hotel on the shores of Loch Lomond. Its spa is a little journey away at the Carrick estate, but offers a complete spa and thermal experience for hotel guests and day-spa visitors alike. It's a spa with a view, and a green, soothing view, no less.

First impressions?

How did they welcome you?

What happens next?

Which treatments did you have?

What were the treatments like?

How did you feel afterwards?

What happens afterwards?

Was it worth it?

What else could you have?

What do you wish you'd known before you went?

Any special features?

Who do you think would like it?

Why did you give the spa this rating?

Would you go again?

First impressions?

The Cameron House Hotel has a grand baronial exterior, with steps up to the large doors, and a heavenly view across the loch. Some newer, modern extensions try to blend in with the background, but the main hotel is very traditional. Think wood panelling, open fires, and deer heads on the wall.

How did they welcome you?

With impeccable valet parking. The front-desk staff were also very welcoming and helpful, and showed us smartly to our large, light and warm room. There was plaid wallpaper, tartan everywhere, a stag's head, and a shiny, white bathroom with L'Occitane en Provence products (which I love).

The room had a large, wooden (and comfortable bed), real milk for making tea in the refrigerator, and its very own mini-putting gadget. Just in case you weren't sure you were going to get enough golf.

I couldn't help but want to sit and gaze at the views over the loch, but had an appointment at the spa.

What happens next?

This was the second time The Good Spa Guide had been invited to visit, so I knew that the spa at Cameron House is in a separate building, known as The Carrick, two-and-a-half miles away at the hotel's golf course. The Carrick is home to a golf shop and the club-house bar as well as the spa. There's a complimentary 4x4 service to take you from the hotel to the spa. The journey takes around 3-4 minutes. It's a busy road -- don't try to walk. My driver, Brian, showed me to the spa door, and I went up a curved staircase to the spa itself.

At this spa reception area, there is some seating with low, backless sofas to perch on. This area is light and airy, with large windows. You can look out onto the golf course, as, I found, you can in quite a few places in the spa.

The spa staff welcomed me with a smile, and showed me through to the changing rooms, past the soothing water wall, where a towelling robe and spa slippers waited in my locker.

The changing rooms: These are not huge but they were never crowded and always clean and tidy. There are banks of wooden lockers, and two small cubicles should you wish to change in private. In a separate area are four loos and sinks, and in another area there are four showers. The showers had more of a health-club than a spa feel, with metal brackets containing body and hair wash.

You need to key in a four-digit code to lock and unlock your locker. Swimsuit on and locker locked, I was ready to relax and unwind before my treatments.

I first visited the main, 20-metre swimming pool downstairs. The pool was a bit busy but I had a quick swim and tested out the Jacuzzi (bubbly).

Back upstairs, the thermal experiences (behind a door that announces "Thermal Experiences") offer a variety of heat and ice activities. The infrared sauna uses infrared lighting to create hot air and open up the skin's pores, and there's also a traditional sauna. The caldarium has stone walls and floors, and curved stone seating. There's a gentle heat, and the room is light and airy. Soft music played whilst colour-therapy lighting changed.

I loved the scent of the essential oils in the aroma room, and enjoyed the warming steam. I also enjoyed the hydro pool; both the air and the water were warm, and the bubbles and swan pipes relaxing. There are a few loungers around the hydro pool, and people were sitting and chatting, surrounded by countryside views.

The tepidarium is light and airy, with large windows and contoured thermal couches, which are very gently heated. You can lounge, toast, and enjoy views of the surrounding mountains and hills as well as the golf course. The tepidarium is a good place to cool down after your heat adventures, as are the experience showers. There was also a welcome jug of iced water in the tepidarium.

The spa at Cameron House has a spectacular rooftop infinity pool. It's not huge, but very special if you manage to get it all to yourself!

Which treatments did you have?

I had the Pure Lochside Hot Rainshower massage (80 minutes £110/130) and the Radiance Organic facial (90 minutes, £110/130).

What were the treatments like?

My therapist, Lindsay, took me through to the quiet treatment room and explained what the treatments would involve. She gave me a glamorous pair of disposable knickers and asked me to get ready by wearing these and lying down on the treatment bed.

The rainshower massage was more soothing than I had anticipated. The treatment began with an exfoliation using an organic sugar body scrub, which was very gentle and smelled deliciously of mandarin. There was also a wrap, using three kinds of clay, which smelled earthily like it was doing me good.

Lindsay washed everything off using the Vichy shower, with warm jets of water directed across my body while I lay on the treatment bed. I felt very hydrated and wondered just how wet a person could get!

The massage, using detoxifying body treatment balm with essential oils was both relaxing and refreshing, with scents of grapefruit and juniperberry. The shea butter of the balm melted into my skin, leaving it soft and enriched.

The facial started in the best way possible -- with a foot massage! In fact, the whole treatment involved lots of facial massage, too, with oil, which was divine. Lindsay treated my skin to cleansing and polishing, using the Pure Lochside organic orange products, as well as the massage, then a mask. While the mask was working its magic, Lindsay wrote out which products she had used -- but I was already a convert to this range, often using the orange facial oil at home.

The two treatments together offered so much massage and relaxation, that every bit of me felt unwound.

How did you feel afterwards?

The combination of the body treatment and massage left me very smooth, very calm and very thirsty. (In her notes on the treatment, Lindsay sternly admonished me to drink more water to stay hydrated.)

What happens afterwards?

Lyndsay took me to the large, darkened, wooden-floored relaxation room. There are ten single beds, which offer private space for snuggling. There are also two balconies, so you can relax outside in finer weather. Top marks to the spa for creating a relaxation room separate from the space where you are called for your treatments; makes a perfect peaceful atmosphere.

Resting on a silky duvet with a fluffy cushion, I ate a red apple, sipped some water and relaxed. There are no magazines to browse through. The spa believes in resting the mind and body post-treatment, and feel that magazines provide too much of a stimulus!

I got lost on my way back to the changing rooms, but a helpful member of staff guided me past the swooshy water wall in the right direction. Before I got dressed, I managed to relax a little more in the sauna within the female changing rooms. Again, relaxing heat with great green views!

Brian drove me back efficiently to the hotel, where I got changed for dinner. We ate in the Cameron Grill, which has an open-plan kitchen and specialises in steaks and grills. The food was fresh, seasonal and local. My lamb was lovely, cooked as I asked, and my partner's slow cooked Ayrshire pork belly, with Stornoway black pudding and pear disappeared in an instant. All of it. The leather benches were comfortable and the staff attentive, but we weren't too sure about the mural.

In the morning, the breakfast was equally delicious, with fresh juices, toast and kippers. I'd come to Cameron House for the food alone!

Was it worth it?

The spa at the Carrick offers great value, and the Cameron House spa days and breaks offer even better value. Prices are lower Monday to Thursday than they are Friday to Sunday (which is why you get two options for the prices of the treatments in this review).

What else could you have?

The spa has 17 dry and wet treatment rooms including a couple's suite. You can choose from Pure Lochside, [comfort zone] and Carita facial and body treatments (including the legendary Carita pro-lift facial). You can choose from a range of massages, including hot stones, slather mud in the rasul, or just enjoy the thermal experiences with friends.

The spa has a dedicated beauty treatment room, which includes pedicure chairs. They offer make-up application, along with manicures and pedicures, and you can also visit the "beauty bar" at Cameron House.

There are treatments for men and for mums-to-be, and a range of spa days where you can choose to detox or indulge yourself.

In the spa dining area, you can try a variety of sandwiches, including roast beef and roast ham, soup of the day, salads, and fruit and honey as well as chocolate muffins. I also saw a rather tempting tray of two glasses of champagne being carried by... So, plenty to keep you happy in a spa day, whether you're detoxing or not!

What do you wish you'd known before you went?

If you're staying at Cameron House, you do need to take account of the fact that the spa is more than two miles away from the hotel. The complimentary taxi is no hardship, but it means you have to plan your swim and spa, rather than drift somewhere spontaneously in a robe. There is a swimming pool in the main hotel, but this caters more for families and leisure than single spa-goers looking for solitude.

Any special features?

The rooftop infinity pool is quite spectacular and not something that every spa can offer.

Who do you think would like it?

Cameron House is a great venue for a weekend treat, and the Carrick is very self-contained for a spa day. So people from far and near can make the most of the extensive facilities. However, for hotel visitors, the split between hotel and spa is not ideal. You can't relax in your room after your treatment without a car journey.

Why did you give the spa this rating?

We gave Cameron House Spa 4 bubbles. The spa is spacious, with curved walls and great facilities. With an indoor pool and infinity pool, thermal experience suite, and imaginative spa treatments on offer, you can enjoy a full day in the spa and not get bored.

There were one or two minor improvements that could be made: I had to go searching for the water in the thermal suite, and disturbed people relaxing in there when I squelched past. One of the showers was missing a bracket of either body or hair wash, and the changing rooms definitely feel more health club than spa. You're asked to limit yourself to one towel, there's no conditioner (I spent ages brushing my tangles out), and I'd have liked a little more smattering of moisturiser and beauty stuff, rather than wondering what that unnamed dispenser was on the wall.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed my treatments and just wished I'd managed to sample some of the spa food as well.

See more on how we rate the spas.

Would you go again?

I certainly would. Next time, I'd schedule in even more time so I could go walking round the loch as well as drifting round the spa. This visit, I didn't even get to the gym, which I will need to next time, after more of that delicious food.

We visited Cameron House in May 2010

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