New Year Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our week in Barscobe House. It has a lovely prospect looking over the countryside, set in a well kept estate, and a large secluded garden with a mowed lawn. There are walks starting from the house e.g. the Holy Linn waterfall, and up into the hills. It was reunion for three generations of a family, coming together from Edinburgh, Yorkshire, London and Maine USA. It was helpful having the caretaker and housekeeper staying on the estate to help with queries. We also used a local agent, who had good local knowledge. The kitchen is very well equipped: it is difficult to know what one is going to find in a holiday let, but this property has the sense of a much loved family house, well designed for catering. There were many baking trays, cake, bun and loaf tins, a blender, food processor, hand mixer, ice maker… A real old fashioned larder, 2 fridges (one with a freezer section) and a chest freezer. Ample cutlery and crockery etc. Good recycling arrangements (glass to the nearby village, or local supermarkets). Two washing machines, a tumble dryer, an old style wooden ceiling pulley for clothes (in a separate scullery). Two dishwashers. Some of the chairs and furnishing are wabi-sabi, but we found this made it comfy, and matches the house. Beds comfortable, nice cotton bedding, plumbing good, very toasty hot press to dry/air clothes. We already knew that Castle Douglas is a foodie town, and it didn’t disappoint: three butchers (we used Grierson’s, excellent), bakers, a greengrocer, and we ended the week ordering a very good fish supper from Moore’s (with a rigid insulated box and a foil-lined bag, they stayed hot enough on the 25 minute drive). The nearby village of Balmaclellan has a friendly community shop for messages like fresh milk. There are mobile fish van shops in the region too. We were lucky with the weather, but the house has a snooker table (pool too? Not my strong suit!) and lots of indoor space should the weather break - we did consider playing “Sardines”, but actually spent a lot of time exploring local attractions for outdoorsy types (some of my family has an affinity for cold water, and swam enthusiastically in Loch Ken), with the coast not too far away. We were sad (in a way) not to need the fires, that’d be cosy indeed. The “dark sky” area meant that on clear nights we could see the Perseid “falling stars”. The wifi dropped out occasionally but this wasn’t a problem for us. The caretaker was on hand on the one occasion the router needed rebooting. We understand that infrastructure improvements are coming soon. It is an interesting old building (early 20th century) that must be challenging to keep from disrepair. The windows alone are a daunting task. The hefty security deposit is unusual in these days, but I see why it is imposed, and it was repaid within the week. The entry time of 5 pm is the latest we’ve ever been offered (due to cleaning schedule, I think), but we built that into our arrival time. We had one electric car in our party: the provision at the house is currently via a standard indoor socket using one’s own trickle feed cable: rather slow, and the surcharge seemed arbitrary (not metered, rather high) - but we did opt to use it as the fast chargers in Castle Douglas were in use/out of order: the infrastructure will presumably eventually catch up (and I don’t just mean at this property). Highly recommended.

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• Linda - Verified booking

  The service from Sykes was excellent and East Firwood Lodge was a stunning house in a fabulous location.

  The beds and bedding were extremely comfortable and the shower room and bathroom were high spec. as was the kitchen. There were, however, a few minor improvements which would have enhanced our stay, some of which had been mentioned by previous visitors: * there was only one set of knives and forks for 8 people ( we bought spares at a local charity shop) * the double ovens were excellent but we missed having a microwave for general defrosting and quick reheating * only 4 toilet rolls were provided for 7 of us * we had a few glitches with the central heating going off and it wasn’t straightforward to work it * the views from this beautiful lodge are magnificent and the woodland garden was gorgeous and very well maintained with quick access from the rear to woodland walks into town are further along the island. Many of the original features in the Lodge made it a very special place to stay * the house is very dog friendly and “lived-in” enough for us not to worry about our dog being there * access for a disabled member of our party was good and the downstairs of the house was easy for to negotiate * we would be happy to book this place again and will recommend it to friends- great for a large group of people to get together but also have their own space. Thankyou for a lovely break.

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• Arjen - Verified booking

  We immediately fell in love with the beautiful Victorian house, which was even more beautiful than the photos had showed us.

  It had lots of space was so cozy and comfortable, with lovely sofas in the living room, where we could enjoy the fantastic view over the water and the mountains that disappeared in mystic grey or appeared in beautiful pastel shades depending on the weather. The wonderful beds with crisp bedding, the comfortable down duvets and the generous pile of towels gave us a luxurious hotel feeling. We made extensive use of the very well-equipped kitchen and on rainy days we lit the wood stove there, wood was for sale in the Coop. In the kitchen we were only missing extra dishcloths and tea towels and some matching glasses. The wine glasses did not fit well in the dishwasher, they were better washed by hand, we noticed when one glass came out broken. The garden must be lovely when the weather is nice, and through the gate at the back you walk via a beautiful forest path to the village. The island is so lovely, and there are beautiful walks to take. The house is a 15 minute walk from the ferry and shops in Rothesay. A car is not really necessary. We highly recommend this house for an unforgettable holiday.

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• Jodie - Verified booking

  An Torr is in a fantastic location.

  The Glen hotel is easily walkable for a night cap and though the shop is further away it's a flat walk and very pleasant. Loads to do in the local area. We were 2 families with 2, 6 and 7 year old children and they had a ball. Feeding the reindeer was magical and Loch Morlich was so beautiful. On rainy days there are a couple of soft plays within easy driving distance but we were lucky so were outside most of the time. The Balavil hotel has a small indoor swimming pool which was great fun but it does get really busy so go early evening to avoid the hoards! The Highland Folk museum is huge and we went twice, and the Highland Wildlife park was a lovely jaunt too. The Landmark Centre in Carrbrige was a huge hit. Pricey to get in but it really is a whole day affair so that makes it worth the money. The house itself was tremendously well equipped; warm, cosy and really relaxing after a day out. The only downside was the downstairs twin bedroom was noisy if people moving about or having a shower upstairs.

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• Terry - Verified booking

  Fabbo views from the front of the house and garden, though the latter would benefit from some better furniture.

  Garden very shaded even on sunny days and the monkey puzzle tree will scrape your roof box as you come up the drive. The double bed in the master bedroom was broken, with at least half the slats on the left hand side dislocated at the centre. If I had a stronger back and were I not supposed to be on holiday, I would have fixed this (the mattress is heavy). As it was, only one could sleep on this bed on its right hand side. This is a major failing, since two previous lots of guests reported the same problem during previous months in the house log book, to no avail. Additionally, the blind pulleys constantly break and have to be reconnected - another issue for virtually all previous guests which has gone unattended to. The other major gripe is the get out by 10 with all the beds stripped condition - providing for a stressful start to a day with a 450 mile drive home ahead of us. Surely 11 wouldn't be asking too much?

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