Dog Friendly Cottages in Aberdeenshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Rachael - Verified booking

  The pictures do not do justice to this property.

  It is better far in person, such a fabulous walk through the door! Bigger and airier than expected, the bedrooms are light and bright, and have amazing views that are not highlighted in the write up or pictures. The floor plan is slightly different to expectations in a great way for large groups. This allowed for areas of peace, and areas to chat and be together. The bedroom layout also provides a good level of privacy. The kitchen is well stocked with a great array of equipment and utensils, any chef would struggle to moan. Maybe a radio and coffee machine would be nice in here as an addition. A welcome pack would also be appreciated here, milk, bread, cheese, local breakfast pack and some coffee pods would be lovely, and probably an expectation in this accommodation. The living room was a nicely decorated, restful space and the fresh flowers were a lovely addition. The Tv could maybe do with a Netflix subscription. The log burner is a cosy feature, easy to light and plenty of wood supplied, just perfect. Noted, a lot of ornaments were candle holders with no candles present, a few T lights to set the ambiance would be a nice touch. General cleaning was spot on! A few areas of deep cleaning required, however, easily missed unless mentioned. The upstairs shower is not draining properly, gunge is present in tap fittings, only visible when you lift the tap. (If I had a spare toothbrush I would have cleaned this myself). Also the hot/cold water is plumbed in reverse. Other than this house was beautifully clean and this definitely outweighs my comments. Outside, there was disappointment at the 4 basic plastic chairs and small table, not enough for all guests to sit together and socialise. The garden is not fully enclosed for dogs or small children and some of the wooden stairs are rotting and a bit rickety. Improvements I would love to see if revisiting are; a BBQ and entertainment area. Comfortable seating and dining furniture for all the household occupants to enjoy together. Also some sort of shade, the garden is an amazing sun trap, which is a plus for some. However restricts others, especially children and people who burn quickly like me! The sun alongside the excess heat in the conservatory meant it divided our group.. some ceiling blinds and some shade in the garden would remedy this. The gardens good points, beautiful view, grass well maintained and nice flower pots dotted around the building. Plenty of space with huge potential for improvements. The only other issue, which I do think should definitely be addressed is the quality of the mattress/beds. The price and standard of this accommodation brings the expectation of a comfortable sleep as a minimum. Four of the beds fell substantially short of the quality and comfort expected. Bearing in mind each room only had 1 person sleeping in the bed, so no excess load or snoring to disturb us! One of the beds slats are not secure, and required refitting, another beds frame is rickety

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• Keith Hammersley - Verified booking

  I've just returned from spending a great week with friends at Drumrunie and would have no hesitation at all in recommending it as somewhere to stay in the area.

  We were a party of seven and were easily accommodated in the house, which is bigger than the photos might suggest, and which is very well laid-out - we didn't fully appreciate that until we'd been there for a short while, but it soon became apparent. Our trips to Scotland are an annual event, and we've stayed in some beautiful houses, but in many of them the kitchen has been separated from the lounge areas, sometimes by several other rooms; in Drumrunie the galley kitchen joins the main lounge (which comfortably seated all seven of us) to the conservatory, meaning that those involved in preparing and cooking meals were still part of the group, a big plus and there was a second, equally-comfortable, lounge where those looking for peace and quiet could read undisturbed. The kitchen was extremely well-stocked with utensils, crockery and cutlery, we could easily have eaten a number of meals without using the same items twice - although the two dishwashers meant that wasn't necessary and made it easy to keep up with the chores! The house was not only well-stocked but well-prepared, a good deal of effort had clearly gone into making sure we'd be happy as soon as we walked in the door and the owner, Patrick, even phoned us on our first morning to make sure we'd settled in OK and had everything we needed! Outside, the house is set in beautiful, well-maintained gardens and there are fantastic views in just about every direction. The house is a couple of minutes walk from the centre of Braemar, which boasts a variety of shops, a number of lunch venues and a bistro and a couple of hotels for evening meals (conveniently, a side road halfway down to the village led to an hotel which offered several excellent real ales, the only ones to be had in Braemar, we were told). There was a variety of good walks in the area, ranging from short, relatively flat, strolls to longer, more-demanding hikes. I particularly enjoyed the 'Cairns' walk, on the nearby Balmoral estate (see www.walkhighlands.co.uk) while my Monro-bagging friends had plenty to keep them happy. All in all, a great week in a great place, thanks to all concerned, I'd be very happy to return one day!

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• Keith - Verified booking

  What can I say about this property, apart from fantastic, the owner has thought of absolutely everything you might need on your break and the property is spotless!

  We loved it and will definitely be back, crudenbay is lovely, this property sets the bar in my opinion for holiday letting! Also i think there is a lot of non dog owners won’t rent a pet friendly property but I can assure you if you don’t have a dog don’t be put off this property it’s spotless and you won’t know a dog has been in there, couple of small points to make and they are small is we had a bit of a mix up with the recycling bins as we just copied the rubbish that was already in there which turned out to be wrong, think would be better to have labelled bins as all local councils have slightly different colours and some have there recycling goods mixed, just a small recommendation, also if you have a large vehicle ie 4x4 ect the street is tight due to a neighbour’s parking and the fact there wheelie bins are opposite his car making it tight, my daughter actually damaged the door of her car on the wheelie bin trying to avoid the neighbours car, but this is absolutely no fault of the owner but more inconsiderate from neighbours! Loads of room for cars at property when passed the tight section, like a said tiny negative point, book this property I promise you won’t be disappointed it’s a fantastic home, and can’t wait to come back, best regards Keith

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• Karen - Verified booking

  This was by far the best property we've ever stayed at through Sykes Cottages!

  I absolutely can not fault it, it was perfect. The house is situated in the most picturesque part of the whole bay with the most stunning views. The house itself, is very spacious, even more so than how it looks in the photos, beautifully decorated and very well equipped in all departments. They really have thought of everything. Every bed, sofa and chair were extremely comfortable. There is an excellent internet/wifi connection which in other properties this has been a problem. The huge conservatory and garden space were also a huge bonus. The property is perfectly situated to explore the surrounding area, most of it within walking . We enjoyed spending time on the beach, which is a stones throw away. Walked to Slains Castle, which you can see from the top of the garden. Visited the Ballers of Buchan, Newburgh Seal Beach. Also enjoyed a few meals and drinks at the Kilmarnock Arms which is at the end of the road. We were lucky to have beautiful weather, only one rainy day. We could easily have stayed another week and were so sad to leave, so much so that I have came straight home and booked my return visit. Can't wait to come back, would highly recommend this property to anyone.

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• Donna - Verified booking

  The house is in a beautiful setting but is also incredibly convenient for being able to walk in to the shops and cafes/restaurants on Braemar.

  You feel very welcome and the house is well equipped, with all the touches of a home from home. A great information pack was provided prior to our visit and we found everything we needed and more! It is close to many Munro walks and a Corbett walk direct from the house. The views over the mountains are stunning and it is a very short walk to the river path which eventually leads to Braemar. The garden is beautiful and very well-kept with a lot of garden furniture in different areas if you want to sit outside. The conservatory was a favourite place of the whole family to gather as we all returned from whatever activity we did in the day. We loved the fact that the garden was deer proof so had no worries about the dog escaping and he had the run of the whole garden. In particular we enjoyed watching the birds and red squirrels flock around the feeders, we even saw a Tree Creeper from the conservatory. The downstairs bedroom with easy access en-suite shower room was a real boon for my mother. Beds were comfortable and rooms spacious. Overall a very enjoyable extended family holiday. Thank you!

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