Oban ranked second in holiday cost online survey

OBAN has been named as the second most expensive holiday destination in the UK.

Coming behind the south coast town of St Ives, cheaprooms.com named Oban as having the second highest costs for visitor accommodation.

Cheap rooms used its database to compare lodging rates across 30 popular coastal areas.

A spokesman for cheap rooms said: ‘To produce the results, the average prices for the most affordable available double room in a hotel or guest house during August were considered.

‘Only residences that are within easy reach of a beach and have at least three stars were taken into account.’

Top of the rankings is St Ives, with an average rate of £164 per night. Second is Oban (£132), while Poole (£128) on the south coast of England, comes third.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Blackpool lays claim to being the cheapest UK resort, with average rates of just £ 42 per night.

Readers of The Oban Times Facebook page were not surprised at the results, but felt they painted an unfair picture of the town.

Guest house owner Ishbell Strachan said: ‘I think this is very harsh on bed and breakfasts who charge a very reasonable rate for their rooms.

‘I personally at Sgeirmhaol charge £65 for a double room with en-suite and free internet. We are room only and can’t keep up with the demand.’

Reader John Kerr said: ‘I have always said that Oban house and rental prices were far, far too expensive compared to the rest of the country and was told I was wrong.

‘The stupid thing is that I can afford to live and work in and around London but not at home in Oban.’

Obanite Willie Reid said: ‘The thing I’ve noticed is the increasing number of camper vans parking at Atlantis Leisure and Lochavuilin campsites, taking their own food and and sundries with them. Maybe this report explains why.’

Campbeltown man Robert Semple said: ‘ I travel the west coast and islands regularly and find Oban good value.

‘I would use the bed and breakfasts at the top of the town.

‘I don’t think this guide is reflective of what you can get. A few years ago you could get a hotel in Glasgow for £ 50 a night but since the Commonwealth Games, double it.’

Willie MacDonald from Oban said: ‘The new hotel being built might force the hoteliers to start charging realistic prices, just like Wetherspoons did for the pubs.’

And visitor Christine Houghton said: ‘We come up [to Oban] in early May and then in November as we can’t afford the summer prices.’

Do you think holiday accommodation in Oban is too expensive?

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