Christmas Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jill - Verified booking

  The cottage is set amongst beautiful surroundings on the National Cycle Route.

  ..a narrow road with passing places. All rooms are nicely decorated and cleaning is thorough. The beds are wonderful! Unfortunately there are health and safety issues which were discussed with the owners. The hazards first became apparent when we had been in the property less than 90 minutes. In the ground floor bedroom there is a deep step found when opening the door to hang clothes on the rail..this step was not apparent as there were no warning notices to suggest that it could be an issue. As the room could be used by someone already having mobility issues a false floor would be a useful addition to bring the level of the flooring up. As one of my party fell and knocked her shoulder and arm on the shelving opposite the door we had to administer first aid. The cut on her arm was quite deep and this might have needed stitches...there were no emergency numbers evident in the cottage in fact no advice of any sort and no guest book. The owner suggested the Borders Hospital but we did not have any directions on how to get there. No sooner had we spoken to the owner concerning the deep step when we had to contact him again regarding the wood burning stove. This was a second hazard and became worse than the first when the carbon monoxide alarm was set off due to the increased amount of smoke that was seeping from the door on the stove. The outcome was we were unable to use the stove at all as a chimney sweep could not come until the day we were due to leave. The seal on the stove door was hardly visible and the cottage continue to smell of smoke until the day we left despite windows being left open as much as we could. Anyone suffering from asthma would have been unable to stay for the week due to the atmosphere and I feel as so many cottages now state that wood burning stoves are one of the features to be enjoyed there must be stricter controls and inspections to ensure their safety. Hopefully the woodburning stove can be used again when maintenance work has been carried out and the level of the cupboard floor raised so there are no further accidents.

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• Simon - Verified booking

  This property could be spectacular but there were far too many issues for us during our stay in September 2023.

  Positives - The view from the property is absolutely spectacular, all the rooms are very spacious, the kitchen is reasonably well equipped. Negatives - On arrival the windows were open the property was very cold, the boiler was in an error state and it took a while to work out how to solve this, we eventually worked out it was due to no pressure in the boiler. There is no information in the property and we had to text the host for the WiFi password, there is also no information on the recycling procedure, how the Nest system works or what should be done on check out in relation to bed sheets etc. The kitchen is extremely tired with paint wearing off the units, the tap is loose, and in addition the bid lid was very dirty and we found a dirty tray in the oven covered in grease and food detritus. All the windows in the property were filthy. There is a leak in the lounge ceiling during heavy rain. The radiator in the bathroom leaks which pools on the bathroom floor. The curtains in the lounge come off the runner if you shut them as there is a gap in the curtain rail. The lamp in the lounge had a two pin plug so was useless. The paint on the walls are very stained in places. The rug in the lounge is a trip hazard as it has a permanent ruck in it. The parking is very compromised - we struggled to turn cars (we came in two) around at the top of the drive as the person in the downstairs flat didn’t park considerately leaving extremely limited room - in addition the ground surrounding the parking area is unstable and one of our party nearly broke their ankle as the ground collapsed next to the log when they exited the car.

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• Neil - Verified booking

  A first rate stay in a beautiful cottage by the River Tweed.

  If anything it is undersold. The grounds of the Country Estate are wonderful and. Five minute walk through the grounds and you are on the river bank. The cottage has three en-suite showers/ baths and are of good double size proportions. An excellent kitchen which is well equipped, although the addition of a steamer would be useful. Very comfortable lounge and conservatory. The Lane by the house is of no bother. Very good parking for three cars behind the house and by closing the wooden gate makes it secure for dogs and children. Plenty of wild life in the juxtaposed woodlands. The owners offered us the use of two electric bikes. All the people we had contact with were friendly, smiley and genuinely nice folk. The owls at night added to the ambience. Lots of places to visit and we had a day in Edinburgh going by train from Tweedsdale. Lots of towns and villages to visit. The river Tweed was captivating and walks along its banks with the lambs and bird life was truly captivating. We holiday in Scotland at least three times a year. This was a superb experience and we all agreed, our party of five, that we will revisit again. The week was quite superb

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  We had an excellent 3 nights in the Tower, everyone loved the high quality of the furnishings and decor which were in period. The rooms were all spacious and comfortable and the beautifully decorated stairs and hallways/landings plus the use of the red drawing room made us feel as if we were staying in our own stately home. The kitchen was well equipped and modern although a microwave might have been useful. The estate team were very helpful and even provided us with a bbq to use in the magnificent front garden, what a stunning location to have a family meal! The only reason I've given a rating of 4 stars and not 5 is that when we booked Penninghame's website needed to be updated as the Tower rooms had been reconfigured, this caused a lot of confusion but issues were resolved promptly and I believe the website will be updated soon. Overall a fantastic stay, thank you.

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• Ken - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at East Lodge very much.

  The owners told us that the area is usually very much better but storm Arwen had caused lots of damage, but this was our first visit and it was still beautiful. The cottage itself is wonderful with plenty of room and everything you could need with the added bonus that you could call the very helpful owner for anything you might require. Being mid December it was very cold for the first couple of nights but the log burner took care of that ! The cottage is secluded but a short drive along a single track road will bring you to Walkerburn with another few minutes to Innerleithen with it's shops, cafe's and takeaways should you need them. At the cottage you are free to walk the grounds with just a short distance to the river Tweed, if you enjoy fishing, this is the place for you!! A lovely cottage in a lovely area, highly recommended :-)

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