Places to Stay With a Bar in Oban

What's actually on offer

There are 11 places to stay with a bar published on BritStays in the Oban area, and they split more evenly than you might expect: 5 are camping, 4 are hotels and 2 are caravanning. That matters, because "has a bar" means something quite different depending on which you choose. At a hotel it usually means a room you can sit in all evening; at a campsite or holiday park it often means a social hub attached to a site office or a seasonal building, which may keep shorter hours than you'd like. If a late drink by the fire is the point of the trip, a hotel is the safer bet.

Across the 11, the facilities that come up most often are a bar (all of them, naturally), WiFi at 8, a restaurant at 6, pet friendly at 6, toilets and a gift shop at 5 each, parking at 5, and sea views at 3. So roughly half have somewhere to eat on site as well as somewhere to drink — worth checking before you book, because that's the difference between a relaxed evening and a drive out to find dinner.

Oban or Connel?

Ten of the eleven are listed under Oban, with one — the Falls of Lora Hotel — in Connel. If you want the pick of the options, you'll be looking at Oban. Connel gives you a single, clear choice, and the Falls of Lora Hotel is pet friendly with a bar and restaurant, which covers most bases for a couple travelling with a dog.

Hotels for couples and off-season trips

The four hotels are the most dependable choice outside high summer, when campsite facilities are more likely to be closed. Loch Melfort Hotel has a bar, restaurant and takes pets. Knipoch House Hotel and The Lancaster Hotel both list a bar and WiFi, which suits anyone who needs to stay connected or is travelling at a quieter time of year. Port nan Gael is listed with a bar, restaurant and cafe — handy if you'd rather not commit to a formal dinner every night.

Camping and caravanning with a social side

Five camping sites and two caravanning options here have a bar, which is unusual and genuinely useful on a wet west coast evening. A few stand out for different reasons:

• Fidden Farm — bar, toilets and a swimming pool, the only pool in this set.
• Jura Hotel campsite — bar, restaurant and evening entertainment, so there's something to do when the weather turns.
• Shieling Holidays — bar, toilets and a gift shop.
• Catchean Pods & Caravans — bar, restaurant and toilets, with pods as an option if you'd rather not pitch a tent.
• Sunart Camping — bar, cafe and toilets.
• Castle Sween Holiday Park — bar, restaurant and pet friendly.

Travelling with a dog

Six of the eleven are pet friendly, including Loch Melfort Hotel, the Falls of Lora Hotel and Castle Sween Holiday Park. That's a decent proportion, but it still means nearly half aren't, so filter early rather than falling for a place first. Always ask whether dogs are allowed in the bar itself — a pet-friendly bedroom policy doesn't automatically extend to the public rooms, and on a rainy evening that's exactly where you'll want to be.

Sea views and what to do by day

Only 3 of the 11 list sea views, so if that's your priority, say so at the booking stage rather than hoping. Parking is listed at 5, which is worth noting if you're arriving by car with camping kit.

For days out, this corner of Argyll is heavy on castles and small, well-kept museums. Gylen Castle, Castle Stalker, Duntrune Castle, Duart Castle, Torosay Castle and Kinlochaline Castle are all castle and heritage sites, while Colonsay House and Inverailort House are stately homes. For rainy days, Kilmartin House Museum, Auchindrain, Bonawe Iron Furnace, The Egg Shed, Strachur Smiddy, Moidart History House and the Oban War & Peace Museum are all museums and galleries. Argyll Adventure is the one theme-park style attraction in the list, which makes it the obvious card to play with restless children.

When to book

With only 11 bar-equipped stays in the region, and only one of them in Connel, availability is tighter than the headline number suggests. Book the four hotels well ahead for summer weekends and school holidays, and earlier still if you need a pet-friendly room, since that narrows you to six properties overall. For camping and caravanning, check season dates before anything else — confirm in writing that the bar, restaurant or cafe will actually be open for the nights you're staying, not just the site itself. If you're flexible on dates, midweek stays outside the school holidays give you the widest choice, and you'll find it easier to get one of the three stays with sea views.