Bike & Spa at Loch Lomond, Scotland (August 9)

Saturday, August 9, 2025

Start: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland 
End: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland
Highlights: Cameron Spa, Bike Ride to Luss, La Vista Restaurant

After waking up around 08:30, I showered, shaved, and dressed. When Inna was ready, we walked downstairs, into the long corridor leading to our breakfast buffet.

At around 09:15, we joined the queue for the Cameron House breakfast buffet. The dining area was already quite packed, with most tables taken. I could hear screaming kids and see the high activity of the waters and guests.

Cameron House's Scottish breakfast buffet had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, haggis, black pudding, tattie scones (potato), grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans.

I selected scrambled eggs, a tattie scone, a croissant, a grilled tomato, mushrooms, and yogurt with nuts. It was not bad, but not outstanding either. A waiter came by and brought us fresh coffee. It seemed that there were too many people at the buffet, and the noise level was quite high. From the breakfast items, I liked the yogurt best (though I still prefer Icelandic Skyr!)

After breakfast, Inna and I decided to try biking to Luss (after talking about possible activities). Kayaking or canoeing was also possible, but the weather looked unfavorable (likely to rain).

We rented two bikes: a mountain bike for me, and an electric-assisted bike for Inna. We started biking north to Luss. We were hoping for epic views of Loch Lomond and a quiet, enjoyable ride. However, we did not anticipate the following problems:

• The road to Luss was close to the main road (A82) and was very noisy
• The weather changed rapidly from sun to rain to drizzle and back
• There were occasional scenic viewpoints along the way, but nothing to make the ride memorable (or enjoyable)
• Inna's bike seat was very uncomfortable (or she was not used to bikes in general)

We almost reached the Loch Lomond Faerie Trail, but turned around when the rain got heavy. I found the ride satisfying, but Inna really disliked it.

After returning our rented bikes, we walked back to Cameron House and stopped by the Tavern for lunch. The Tavern had pool tables, dart boards, TVs (showing sports), and many families dining. We ordered the following items:

• Drinks: Lost Orchard Cider with Scottish Redberries & lime
• Appetizer: Haggis Bonbons
• Boris: Chicken Pancakes
• Inna: Bagel with Salmon

My Chicken Pancakes were small but tasted above average. We did not like the traditional Scottish Haggis Bonbons (fried meatballs). The waiting staff were reasonably attentive, and we also enjoyed observing other tourists, who were mostly English or Scottish.

After lunch, we walked to the shore, admiring the beautiful Loch Lomond. There were a few people fishing, and a white swan. As expected, we encountered the characteristic Scottish weather: drizzle interspersed with clouds and sunshine.

On returning to Cameron House, we noticed a large party of men & women dressed for an Indian wedding (women wearing colorful saris and men in suits).

As we walked through the hotel, we noticed Annabelle & Brandon's Afternoon Tea party was also ongoing. It was loud and exciting. We thought about crashing in and sampling some cake. We decided to be respectful tourists and behave.

When we reached our room, we learned that it was being cleaned, so we returned to Cameron House's large library. I skimmed through Scotland's Landscapes book, which had beautiful photographs of the Scottish Highlands.

We had booked two hours at the popular Cameron Spa and prepared our bags for a short drive there. (The Cameron Spa is a few miles away by car. There is a hotel shuttle, but it needs to be pre-booked (and we did not want to be dependent on the hotel). It took a while for the valet to locate my Vauxhall Mokka, but she eventually located it and we got inside. There was some light traffic on the road, but nothing serious.

We had spa reservations for 16:45 and arrived a few minutes late. The two-hour spa access costs

(GBP 20/person) and includes the following:

• 3rd floor: Rooftop pool - more like a large puddle
• 2nd floor: sauna, hamam, aroma, dry sauna, hydrotherapy pool with jets, shower, resting heated lounges
• 1st floor: cold pool, jacuzzi

We really enjoyed Cameron Spa (though I skipped the 3rd floor as the pool was too small). The saunas were very hot, and the hydrotherapy pools were excellent. Inna and I relaxed at the spa and felt much better afterwards.

We returned to Cameron House hotel and rested before dinner at La Vista Restaurant (an Italian restaurant), where I had made dinner reservations for 20:00.

On arrival there, we learned that our table was not ready, so we waited, and waited. Eventually, I inquired about our table (what was the point of making dinner reservations anyway?)

About 20 minutes later, we were finally seated at a nice table overlooking the boat marina.
20:00 La Vista Restaurant (Italian) dinner. We looked at the menu (it looked like a normal Scottish restaurant with only a couple of truly Italian dishes. Fish & Chips are generally not on an Italian Restaurant's menu. We ordered the following items:

• Drinks: Pellegrino Sparkling Water
• Appetizer: Burrata
• Inna: Chicken Milanese
• Boris: Fish & Chips(Haddock)

The Chicken Milanese was tasteless (and mostly mediocre). The Fish and Chips were not bad (the fish portion was huge). I ordered the Fish & Chips as the safest option and turned out to be right.

We also ordered hot tea and a look at the dessert menu, but the waitress forgot to bring the tea and the dessert menu. Eventually, we got tired of waiting and just asked for the check, paid, and left.  La Vista restaurant's service was extremely uneven - sometimes speedy, and other times, unbearably slow. Overall, it was a bit disappointing for a restaurant in a 5-star hotel.

After dinner, we walked back, enjoying a late evening stroll to our room.

Day Report (August 9)

Highlights

• Enjoying the Cameron Spa

Lowlights

• Uneven service at La Vista restaurant
• Bike ride to Luss (very noisy road)
• Drizzly weather