Christmas Apartments In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Robert - Verified booking

  North Wing Pitmedden House, comments on visit 17 to 24 June 23 Our party consisted of 4 adults and two youngsters.

  We found the property fine for what we wanted and the access to the Pitmedden Gardens was an added bonus, particularly in the evenings; we were lucky with the weather. The kitchen was in excellent condition and really well equipped with ample crockery, cutlery and pot and pans, again all in good condition. The clothes washing machine did the job but was modern and a little daunting to control; an instruction book would have been helpful to make sure users did not damage it. In fact there were no instruction books for any of the equipment. Dining room and lounge again well equipped with more than adequate furniture and facilities. Upstairs the bedrooms and bathroom facilities were excellent, the walk in shower afforded good access and performed particularly well. We did, however, find some issues with the property. The property description stated two floors the upper floor accessed by a winding stair case. I had assumed that being a domestic residence the stair case would be of relatively slow helix and have at least one handrail. The spiral was in fact more like a castle spiral stair with uneven stone steps and there was no handrail. Further the staircase was interrupted by another staircase joining at about three quarters of the way up. Neither of the steps on the ground and the first floors mentioned in your online description had a handrail. My wife has a mobility issue but can use stairs of a normal domestic type when equipped with a hand rail. We managed but she had to be assisted both up and down all the stairs though we decided not to attempt the steps on the first floor. You should either install suitable hand rails or make it clear in your property description that the property might not be suitable for people with a mobility issue. Waste disposal: There is no clear information on where bins are and which ones to use. We found bins at the rear of the garage near left end of the house. There was a skip, three industrial bins, one of which was recycle of all kinds, four normal bins, one marked recycle and another overflowing. The skip was open topped and therefore not suitable for kitchen waste other bins were full and the three industrial bins were locked, except for one day when we were able to use them. When we left I had to leave a plastic bag with an apology on the floor in the kitchen as I did not know what to do with it. There is no clear information on what is recycled. I would have expected the National Trust for Scotland to be a paragon on such a subject. An NTS information sheet in the lounge indicated that there were full recycling facilities at the medical centre in Pitmedden. This is not correct, there are bins for glass only. One of the industrial bins, which was locked for most of the week was for mixed recycling and appeared to cover all usual items, so this could be used by North Lodge visitors. You need to sort this simple issue out.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  We had an absolutely wonderful stay in The North Wing.

  Having the beautiful gardens to wander in whenever we felt like it was amazing - especially in the snow! The house is lovely, very grand and appropriately furnished with antiques and interesting pictures and books. We were very cosy and the wood-burning stove was a bonus. Although it didn't throw out much heat, this wasn't an issue as the house was very warm. (Almost too warm, even with snow outside. I am used to heating that is off overnight, and in the end turned off the storage heater in my room.) Maybe basic instructions on the operation of the drafts on the stove would be good. I finally worked out that they were the opposite to my stove at home. There are great walks right from the door, e.g. along the Fisher's Path to Tolquhon Castle and Tarves and, in the other direction, to Udny Green. These were both lovely. Less lovely is the village of Pitmedden itself, which is an excellent example of what can happen when the planning laws are too lax. Udny Green is much nicer. We spent a day at Haddo House and thoroughly recommend this. We would have gone back again had it not snowed! I have only three suggestions for improvements to The North Wing. First, maybe supply some cushions for the chairs in the sitting room as they are very deep front to back (loved the chairs, though, and their chintzy covers) - we brought some cushions down from a bedroom. We also brought table lamps from a bedroom as the lighting in the sitting room is very harsh and cold. I would suggest doing away with the centre light and having wall lights and table lamps. Finally, the walls throughout are white or pale magnolia, giving a rather cold, institutional feeling that doesn't do justice to the lovely rooms - reminiscent of the colour schemes in the student houses of our youth! Some more sympathetic period colours on the walls would be lovely. But these are minor quibbles. All in all, this was a very enjoyable week and we would love to come back again. Exceeded our expectations, which were already high!

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• John - Verified booking

  I grew up in this house when my father worked for the National Trust for Scotland so it was a pleasure to take my family (10 of us in all - we took the Beechgrove Cottage as well) back to see where I spent my youth.

  There haven't been many changes since I was a boy there in the 1950s, but the house has been well maintained and makes an interesting holiday let. The great boon is the access to the spectacular garden, and our party took full advantage of it in the evenings. My main criticism of the house is the lack of a stair rail. My wife, who has limited mobility, found the stairs very difficult without a handhold of some kind. A simple thick rope hanging down the newel post would provide a quick solution. Really nice new tweed-upholstered furniture was delivered for the sitting room during our stay. The old furniture, which was there when I lived there 65 years ago, had lasted well, but it was time for a change! The room that used to be my father's study is now the entrance hall. It is dingy and unattractive and not a welcoming space. Better lighting , brighter paint and a few choice bits of furniture replacing that gloomy dark dresser would greatly improve it. Outside, the line of overflowing bins by the new front door was very unattractive. You need to find a better place to house them, properly screened. Also make sure they aren't overflowing. Each of my negative comments could be easily addressed. On the other hand, we found the resident manager very helpful and the service which she provided was excellent. We all greatly enjoyed our stay.

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• Julian - Verified booking

  Best bit - having the top garden to yourself when the gate is closed.

  But for some unfathomable reason they lock the middle gates, to keep you out of the best bit. Its a big old rambling house. Very clean, nice and tidy. The chairs and beds were all comfy. Needs some cushions in the living room though. Bed linen and towels excellent. The kitchen is excellent. Dining room very good. Bath and shower rooms range from good to excellent. Some of the light bulbs are a bit dim, but OK. Heating took some fiddling with to get right, its mostly storage heaters that take time to warm up. We are used to these and had no problems getting it pleasant. Also has some oil filled radiators that we needed. Scotland is not warm in early May. Wi-fi works OK. We streamed music upstairs with no problem, but video only worked properly on ground floor, and didn't stretch to the dining room, kitchen or upstairs. Something like a TP-Link Booster Powerline Kit would solve that easily, but we had left ours at home. Had to log in to video call to deal with issue at work, and that worked fine in the living room. Easiest route is from A90 via Ellon. Where Brew-Dog have their brewery and an excellent bar. Supermarkets and fuel all close enough to not be a problem. Loads of restaurants and pubs. Good walks.

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• Vicky - Verified booking

  This place is awesome.

  Set in gorgeous grounds, it's a real dream come true. Lots of room, and an extra special surprise was that the double beds are more like superking beds. Positives: - Having access to the amazing gardens for example when eating breakfast is out of this world - If you end up bumping into them, the staff at Pitmedden are lovely - Ample private parking - Lovely walks - Cute town and very well stocked Co-op within walking distance - Loads of room - Very well equipped kitchen - Huge dining table, great for board games - We only used the master bedroom, but the bed was extremely comfortable - So quiet in the evenings & no light pollution whatsoever - We saw bunnies and deer outside on the lawn in the evening Slight negatives: - As someone else mentioned, the wi-fi signal doesn't penetrate much beyond the living room and master bedroom, so bear that in mind if that's an issue for you. Possibly not an issue for people who are on a better mobile network than us (three) - The chairs and sofa in the living room are old and pretty uncomfortable. If you have back issues etc you might want to consider bringing an extra cushion It's such an unusual place to stay - super memorable. We would stay here again in a heartbeat.

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