New Year Breaks In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Saskia - Verified booking

  Dookers Hoose is a characterful and charming seaside retreat and was the perfect location for our family holiday.

  The house feels very welcoming and has a creative ambiance with artwork by the owner and family decorating the walls, a mix of vintage and modern furniture, books, games and window ledges decorated with seashore finds. This feels more of a home than just a holiday let, situated in Cullen Sea Town with its soft colourful walls, pantiles and tiny gardens at every turn. We loved being able to hear the sea from the house. We enjoyed cooking in the stylish and well-appointed kitchen and were very pleased to find so much space for storing supplies as well as an efficient washing machine. The layout of the ground floor makes it a very sociable space and on cooler evenings, we enjoyed the electric ‘wood burning’ stove which created a cosy atmosphere. We brought some solar powered fairy lights with us for added twinkle. The internet was consistently reliable and we did not for one moment miss having a TV. The little table in the front room was a perfect spot for drawing, painting and writing. We brought bikes, body boards and wetsuits and were delighted to have access to the garage for storage as well as clothes lines which made drying wet kit easy. In front of the garage and opposite the front of the house across a narrow, quiet side road is the small outdoor garden space with a picnic table. This was a lovely sunny spot to sit with morning coffee and a book watching the world go by. Just across the shore road lies the sea wall with steps down to a lovely stretch of sandy beach which is perfect for safe swimming and provides access to long walks along the shore. The steps on the sea side of the wall are a great place to sit with a drink and enjoy the huge skies and stunning sunsets. On your return from a swim, you can enter the little back yard through a gate and access the conveniently placed bathroom with shower. There are lovely coastal walks (or runs) from the house and we saw dolphins on several occasions from paths scented with bracken and wild thyme. The surrounding countryside is beautiful by bike and car, and there are many interesting places to visit. Supplies can be found in Cullen itself where there is a reasonably stocked Co-op and we noticed a deli opening soon. There is an amazing fresh fish shop in nearby Buckie and you may catch your own sea trout from the pier if the seals don’t get there first! If you prefer not to cook your own, the fish and chips in Cullen are consistently good. Any queries during our stay were answered quickly and the visitor’s book is brimming with information on local eateries and places of interest logged by the owners and visitors over the years. A lovely stay and we were sad to leave.

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• Eileen - Verified booking

  We spent 3 weeks here in June and enjoyed the holiday.

  The House was lovely, clean and comfortable, it supplied everything we needed – the walk in shower was excellent and the kitchen had everything anyone could need. It was truly a home from home. Caroline came to welcome us and offer advice of great places to eat and other than that the owners were not intrusive at all and the duck eggs were great!! If we had one [very] small complaint about the house itself, it was that the living room was a bit over-furnished, as another settee has been added since the photographs on the website which covered the full height window and meant opening that window was difficult due to having to lean over the settee to reach it, which considering the really high temperatures we had the first week was needed! However, our main problem was the enclosed field. We have a very enthusiastic German Shepherd and are conscious that he is not a nuisance to anyone, therefore the main thing we look for when renting a property is an enclosed garden, so the field was the main reason we rented this property. However, the grass was uncut and very high, which meant during the next 2 weeks when we had quite a lot of rain, when we took him out there, we ended up soaked to our knees. Also the steps up to it were uneven and difficult to negotiate as they are set into the back and curved in an arc with a steep soil gap at one side. The bracken on the bank was overhanging at least 2 steps and unavoidable when wet, so we couldn’t really take advantage of that field. A small amount of maintenance, such as cutting the bracken back and mowing a path around the field would have made all the difference. As the outside of the house is a thoroughfare to the farm, so not enclosed and there were free range chickens wandering about, we couldn’t allow him outside at all without supervision. It’s a very small point and shouldn’t put anyone off as people have commented that their dogs enjoyed this field, but they were there when grass would never reach that height. So it did spoil it a little for us – and him. We’re very happy to recommend the house to everyone, just want them to be warned if they go in the height of summer, the field might be a problem.

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  Absolutely fabulous house! The kitchen was very well stocked for preparing a Christmas Dinner. Lots of large pots and pans. We had taken some of our own as we have stayed in other large properties who don't always provide enough kitchen pots and trays but we didn't use ours! The weather was wet but there were games in the house that we could use (including air hockey) as well as table tennis in the garage, although the view itself from the sun room kept us entertained and we used this room a lot. Very warm house even in cold temperatures and the wood burner wasn't needed every night as it was well insulated. In fact on a couple of occasions we had to open some of the windows to let air in, even with the heating off as it got too warm for us. Great sociable space for 3 generations. My parents are in their 80's and whilst the house is set over 4 floors, the stairs weren't a full staircase height with 8 or 9 steps each from memory, very wide and had bannisters so all manageable for my parents. It's very spacious but having the different floors with different bedrooms / games rooms / kitchen enabled the family to split out into our own spaces rather than being in the same space all the time. The village itself is very small but the local pub (The Anchor) was very welcoming and we ate there a few times. Location is right on the Solway Coast with the coastal path accessible from the bottom of the garden. Would definitely recommend!

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• Thomas - Verified booking

  We were upgraded to Lodge 17 from Lodge 6 due to a wedding taking place I can only assume this was to keep wedding guests together Stay was pleasant enough, however, when lodges are advertised as "luxury", then luxury is what you expect.

  What you don't excpect is: 1 flat pillow per person Curtains throughout the lodge which were not ironed (obviously hung straight out of the packet) Dreadful WI-FI Bottle shelf in the fridge was broken and had been glued but fell off again when bottles were placed in it There were no curatain or blinds on the front windows of the lodge so no privacy at night The twin room had only 2 coat hangers On arrival we found a glass behind the curtain in the rear bedroom so obviously window sill had not been cleaned The lodge is for up to 6 people but the fridge was not large enough and only had a small freezer box No dishwasher or washing machine which is surprising for a "luxury lodge" Crockery is a mis-match of different types The hot tub is supposed to be unlocked at 9.30 a.m. but on the Sunday 12th May 2024 and Monday 13th May 2024 it was 10.30 at least before it was unlocked The location is very pleasant but be aware there is very little on site for anybody other than wedding guests Would suggest getting a food delivery from one of the supermarkets in Perth. We got a delivery from Asda T o be clear this is a true reflection of our stay and the accommodation is not "luxurious" and standards need to be raised

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• Fiona - Verified booking

  The area is outstanding.

  The property is well situated for walks in the area. The peninsula is really worth a visit if you’ve never been before. I could have easily stayed much longer. There is a lovely drive to Loch Shiel, if I’d had time I would have walked to the loch from where that road ends. The view of the area from the top of this road was beautiful. Highlights were the warm welcome, the log burner was lit and the Christmas tree lights were on, candles lit too. After a long drive this was great. Kilcamb Lodge in Strontian. Superb food and location. The Oakwoods. The excellent log burner in the property. The very well equipped kitchen. The bath, with plenty of hot water. Comfortable seating in the lounge, this doesn’t always happen I know. Sanna beach. Singing carols in the Ariundle Centre and Kates freshly made shortbread. The breakfast there is good too. Chatting with Adrian about how they arrived in this part of the world. Experiencing hail, snow, rain and the occasional glimpse of blue sky at Christmas. Last of all, but not least, the peace and quiet at Drimnatorran.

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