Dog Friendly Apartments in Montrose

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alexander - Verified booking

  We spent a happy week in North Stables between 9 and 16 September.

  The flat was clean and well-presented. The sitting room and bedrooms were well-decorated and comfortable. The NTS staff were exceedingly friendly and helpful. We had an excellent tour of The House of Dun given by Colin who was a terrific guide. The surrounding area is beautiful and there is much to see and do. However, while most of the flat was highly acceptable, the kitchen left a great deal to be desired and needs to be re-designed. The flat accommodates four people but there was an inadequate amount of cutlery. Serving a starter and a main dish involved washing knives and forks between courses. It seems, judging by the irregular number of glasses, that breakages are not replaced. There were only two eggcups. One of the frying pans has buckled and did not work well on the rings of the antiquated cooker. The fridge/freezer was far too small and inadequate for two, never mind four, people. It was also poorly positioned especially for older and infirm people. The kitchen was full of cupboards, most of which were empty. A proper re-design, removing most of these unnecessary cupboards, could result in the dining table being accommodated, more suitably, in the kitchen rather than the sitting room. Surely some more cleaning materials could be left. On arrival, we found two dishwasher tablets and two tea towels, one rubbish bag and no cleaning cloths. In the bathroom there was one roll of toilet paper. There was a time when a welcome tray would have been left but all I could see was a bowl with sachets of instant coffee and tea bags. NTS holiday properties are not inexpensive. My recent experiences suggest that they no longer present particularly good value and compare unfavourably with other properties in the “heritage” area of holiday lettings. We enjoyed our trip but certain aspects of the presentation and equipping of the property left us feeling disappointed and gave us the impression that not enough attention is being paid by the NTS to important, smaller details which make so much of a difference.

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• Tracy - Verified booking

  We had a most enjoyable week at South Stables.

  The House of Dun is in a spectacular setting and the NTS staff were really friendly and welcoming. There is a huge estate with extensive walks which we enjoyed with our dog, and the NTS land extends to the Montrose Basis nature reserve where there are several wildlife hides for birdwatching. The area has lots to see and do and we particularly enjoyed visits to Dunotter Castle at Stonehaven, and the fascinating and vibrant city of Dundee where we would highly recommend the Discovery and the Verdant Works Jute Museum. The cottage itself was warm and cosy and beautifully decorated having been freshly renovated. Slightly too beautiful - it was carpeted throughout with a pale beige carpet which was not ideal for a dog-friendly property on a muddy estate! The staff we spoke to were aware of this and said they had received similar feedback from other guests, so I imagine that the carpet in the entrance hall at least will be changed to something a bit more practical (which no doubt the housekeeper will be very thankful for!). There was also a problem with the shower which had been newly fitted and did not seem to have been set up properly so was not very warm, which was not a big issue to us but a hot shower would have been nice given the cold weather. We reported this and the staff were very apologetic and said they would get it fixed for future guests. Finally the kitchen could have done with some more cooking dishes for the microwave and oven, and some basic supplies such as salt & pepper, clingfilm & foil etc that are often provided in holiday properties. These were only tiny issues which did not impact our enjoyment of the holiday at all and we would thoroughly recommend South Stables as a lovely place to stay and an ideal base for exploring the area.

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• Chris - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at North Stables very much.

  The flat was comfortable, clean and to a high standard. Very quiet and peaceful when the house closes. The staff that we had contact with during our stay were very helpful and friendly. The complimentary House of Dun guided tour is a must and the grounds/gardens are good to walk around. A few things that could be improved: 1. The washing machine is not working and appears, from previous reviews, to have not been working correctly since February. This should have been fixed by now. 2. The Wi Fi signal is very bad and keeps cutting out. 3. The boiler intermittently cuts out mainly when having a shower resulting in a cold wake up! It has to be reset by pressing the button on the boiler. 4. Several doors are difficult to open/close due to them catching on the carpet. 5. Two of the duvets appear to have a plastic covering under the cover and these can be very hot to sleep under. 6. Front door handle nearly off and needs refixing. 7. It would be nice to have had a starter supply of washing up liquid and hand soap. The above in no way spoiled our enjoyment of the property though and we would have no hesitation in returning.

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• Susan - Verified booking

  We had a lovely stay here.

  We were given a very friendly welcome by the housekeeper. The flat is just as described. Light and airy. People have mentioned the cooker is old. It is, but it works perfectly well it’s just very slow to heat up. The beds were very comfortable and bedding and towels were clean and new. 10.5 tog quilts in May were too warm for us, but at least we weren’t cold. I couldn’t open the beautiful old sash windows on my own, but together we managed. N.B. If you leave the windows open you’ll be visited by house martins. They like to leave little parcels behind them! The gardens and surrounding woodland are open to guests and it was wonderful having the freedom to wander around. All the staff were lovely, friendly and helpful. It’s a few miles straight into Montrose to the nearest supermarket, there are beaches, nature reserves, castles, gardens and grand houses nearby . A lovely place to visit if you can manage 18 old stone steps up to your front door!

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• David - Verified booking

  This was the seventh time we have stayed in this flat.

  Set within the House of Dun it is fabulous especially at this time of year with autumn colours and 1000s of geese flying to and from Montrose Basin. The gardens are lovely - never managed to grow nerines like them - a line of vibrant pink. The stunning beaches of St Cyrus and Lunan Bay are close by and there is a huge amount to discover whether you are interested in castles, museums, Pictish stones, or whiskey. The tour around Fettercairn was the best we’d been on. And the displays at the House of Dun are excellent and the house tour led by’William’ brilliant. Only once caught in storms in the autumn in 2023. Booked for next year! Always good to but plants to take back and add to our garden as a reminder! The flat is comfortable and it is good to have a washing machine after any muddy walks! The only extra we would like are extra bedside lamps and an extra light in the lounge. Not a fan of flat trays but that’s just being picky!

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