New Year Breaks In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Margaret - Verified booking

  Ciaran cottage was generally comfortable, clean, nicely decorated & fairly well equipped.

  The path is steep, as has been mentioned, & for a couple in our late 60's, could be a bit slippy & sore on the knees. Another couple of things which were mentioned in your reviews:- there was a problem with the shower drain - we had to clean it out as it was really gunged up and the sofa & chair don't offer good support for older backs like ours but I'm sure they'll be fine for younger folks. The dyson vacuum was also packed full and looked like someone might have used it to clean out the shower drain - it had definately been used to suck up something wet and it was difficult to get the contents cleaned out. There were only instructions for using the heaters & nothing for how to use the oven, hob or dishwasher but when I phoned the owner, he was very helpful and told me how to work the dishwasher and said that he was working on instructions to leave in the cottage for guests. The listing says it's an induction hob but it's not - it's a ceramic hob and it takes a while to heat up. The water pressure (another thing previously mentioned) is really bad, so fill some jugs with cold water if you want to have cups of tea during the day without waiting ages to fill the kettle. There was no sieve or potato masher - which would have been useful. I don't like to give negative feedback but hopefully this is helpful and on the whole we liked the cottage (the bed was comfy) and the views are great. I'm sure a younger couple would be happy there. The area is lovely and it's well worth a visit to the Crannog Centre and to book a boat trip on the loch. The co-op in Aberfeldy is really good and the village shop in Kenmore is handy for topping up with things.

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• Glen - Verified booking

  Lovely quiet location away from the other cabins.

  Great for wildlife. Good access to Strathpeffer and to local walks. Alison the house keeper was very good at responding to queries / concerns and generally very helpful. We had to contact her about a cracked glass and difficulty closing the bathroom window on arrival and she responded to this, providing a box of glasses. We had a water cut on the first day and were kept informed about the repairs (the whole village was affected). We were also given bottled water by Scottish Water. Some minor concerns: - the shower sometimes only ran cold and we had to turn the shower on and off to restore functionality. - the kitchen equipment (pans and utensils) were of poor quality and not best suited to self catering. - cleaning products were not ecologically certified and this kind of accommodation could make an effort to provide eco-certified products as part of their effort to care for the environment. Some suggestions for improvement: - a better range of pots/pans/kitchen utensils could be provided. - it was somewhat unclear how waste was to be sorted and where it should be left. Whilst glass can be taken to the Old Station in Strathpeffer for recycling, there was only one small blue bin there for all other recyclables. Could this be made clearer / improved somehow? - several bird feeders were evident on site. Could information on who refills these and where to find supplies be provided?

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• Richard - Verified booking

  We had a very helpful email from the owners the day before we arrived which was very informative and welcome.

  Although we had an enjoyable week at the Doocot and its proximity to to the beach is fantastic - there are some things that need to be addressed for the comfort of future visitors. With a weekly rental of £1k we would have expected a little more and doesn’t stand comparison with the more expensive property we stayed in the week before in the Cairngorms. More wine glasses required - there were 2 - one huge, 1 small. No tea pot. More small tables required in lounge - nowhere to put a mug/glass if using sofa in front of tv apart from on the floor. The TV needs to be properly connected so you can if you wish, watch mainstream tv easily - eg the Scotland v England game last week was inaccessible No visitor book. Presumably it is intended to plaster the wall around the fireplace? The fridge is too small, it will be difficult/impossible for many to access without getting on their hands and knees. It didn’t seem to us to keep things v cold - eg a bottle of wine had to go into the freezer. The property description needs to make it clear that there is no parking immediately by the property- this would be a significant problem for some; as would the very steep stairs. Both would be beyond some people

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• David - Verified booking

  My wife has walking difficulties and I struggle carrying items any distance.

  Otter lodge was a long way down a fairly steep gravel path from the parking area.It is not possible to get near to the lodge for loading and unloading luggage.Upon arrival we contacted the housekeeper who kindly asked the people who were renting Eagle lodge if they would swap with us because of our problems. They kindly agreed to do so,if they had not we would have had to find alternative accomodation or drive the 420 miles home which we had done to get there.The only mention in the information is that it is not suitable for wheelchair users ( the front steps we presumed).No where does it mention the extreme problems of using the lodge if you have any walking or carrying problems.Eagle lodge was somewhat more usable for us, but still it is a long way from the parking area to bring any luggage into the lodge.All in all if it was not for the kindness of other people our holiday would have been a disaster by not being given correct information about where we were to stay.Please ensure full information is given to potential renters in future.As you can tell we are not impressed by Sykes cottages.

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• Marianne - Verified booking

  We enjoyed a fabulous time in Otter Lodge, it was clean and comfortable and in a brilliant location for birdwatching and the woodland wildlife Strathpeffer is a pretty Victorian Spa Village with a lot to offer.

  It has a local grocery store where you can buy most things however Dingwall, a short drive away has a large Tesco. There is a great Deli in the village which is open for breakfasts, lunches and evening meals (you need to book meals), it also sells lovely filled rolls ideal for picnics. There are some great walks in the local area but also this is a great base to go further afield. Places we went that I would recommend :- The Touchstone Maze..accessed close to Lodge. The Eagle Stone..directions from village. Knockfarrel Neolithic Hillfort. Museum of Highland Childhood & Victorian Railway Station which does coffee etc and a craft shop. Rogie Falls...just 10mins away. Castle Leod...in the village. Further afield we visited, Loch Glass, Ben Wyvis Nature Reserve, Black Rock Gorge. Finding the Lodge! Use Google Map to find Blackmuir Wood. The turning is between two white houses. Follow the track all the way down past the visitor car park. The last turning on the right has parking for Lodges. We will definitely be back.

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