Guests say
Ivy Cottage offers a charming and peaceful retreat, ideal for exploring the Isle of Arran. Guests appreciate its tranquil setting near woodland walks and the beach, as well as its well-equipped kitchen and cosy atmosphere. The owner is frequently praised for being helpful and welcoming. While most guests found the cottage clean and comfortable, a few noted issues with damp, cleanliness, and maintenance. The location is quiet yet convenient for local amenities, though the uphill walk may be challenging for some. Overall, Ivy Cottage provides a relaxing base with plenty of character in a beautiful area.
Most guests found the cottage clean on arrival, but one review highlighted significant issues with damp, mould, and cleanliness, including a toenail found in a bed. The majority of feedback is positive, but the negative review lowers the overall score.
The location is widely praised for its peacefulness, proximity to the beach, woodland walks, and local amenities. The only minor drawback mentioned is the uphill walk, which may not suit everyone.
Guests generally found the cottage comfortable, with cosy beds and a relaxing atmosphere. Some noted the narrow stairs and less comfortable sofas, and one review mentioned issues with damp and odours affecting comfort.
The cottage is described as well-equipped for self-catering, with good kitchen facilities, WiFi, and heating. Some minor issues were noted with the shower pressure and maintenance of furniture, but overall facilities are positively reviewed.
The owner is frequently described as helpful, accommodating, and easy to contact. No mention of gifts or welcome packs was made, and one review noted a lack of welcome information. Thoughtfulness is reflected in the owner's approach rather than extras.
About this property
This lovely cottage, with beams and wood burner, still retains many of the original features and is within walking distance of the beach..
Ground Floor:
Living/dining room: TV, Freesat, DVD Player, CD Player, Woodburner
Kitchen: Electric Oven, Electric Hob, Microwave, Fridge/Freezer, Washer Dryer
Bedroom 1: Single (3ft) Bed
Shower Room: Cubicle Shower, Heated Towel Rail, Toilet
First Floor:
Bedroom 2: Double (4ft 6in) Bed
Bedroom 3: ¾ Double (4ft) Bed.
Electric heaters, bed linen, towels and Wi-Fi included. Initial logs for wood burner included. Cot and highchair. Small patio with garden furniture. Private parking for 1 car. No smoking.. Ivy Cottage, located ½ mile from Whiting Bay, is a great base for keen walkers, with Glenashdale Falls on your doorstep. The detached cottage is adjacent to the owners’ home and has been renovated in 2019 to give a modern home, yet retaining many of the original features. The thick stone walls, beams on the ceilings and original internal doors give this property a true cottage feel. The living room is open plan with the dining area and the stairs, bathroom and single bedroom leading directly from this cosy space. The wood burner stove is perfect for the cooler evenings after a long walk around the stunning falls. The upstairs bedrooms have sloping ceilings throughout, so do mind your head, but this adds to the cottage character. A small patio at the front of the cottage has seating for guests to relax in countryside surroundings and listen to the sound of the burn running beside the cottage.
Glenashdale Falls is a popular walk for guests and locals and offers the option of heading further along the forestry tracks to either Lamlash or Kildonan. The cottage is approximately ½ mile from Whiting Bay, mostly downhill, but coming back up to the cottage is more of an uphill climb. Whiting Bay offers a convenience store, post office, coffee shop, restaurant, bar, putting green, bowling green, beach, children’s play park and a golf club which is a few minutes’ drive from the cottage. Beach ½ mile. Shop, pub, and restaurant ½ mile.
Free WiFi
There are low ceilings, doors and/or beams within the property.
We highly recommend that you book your ferry as soon as possible as ferries get very busy. You can call Calmac on 0800 066 5000. For ferries that travel to Orkney are Northlink Ferries 08001114422 and Pentland Ferries 0800 688 8998.
Suitable for up to 1 pet
Reviews (9)
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Confirmed Guest
Such Lovely cottage, amazing value. Sandy the owner was very helpful.. WiFi wasn’t great but that didn’t spoil the stay at all. Would definitely stay there again.
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Confirmed Guest
Ivy Cottage is an older property. Given that it's layout, kitchen and bathroom were very usable and comfortable. The shower was adequate and very welcome along with the heaters in the living area after a couple of wet walks. Just mind your head in the upstairs bedrooms, beds were very comfy. Lovely walk up to the waterfalls from the cottage, worth a wander up to see them. Sandy was lovely and was there if we needed anything. There is a bus route from the bottom of the road which runs well to Brodick. The beach/shore is also just at the bottom of the road, downhill walk there but an uphill walk back to the cottage. WiFi worked well in the cottage, though we lacked normal phone signal. We enjoyed our stay and it was nice to come back to somewhere we could relax in after walking.
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Tim Boyle
Ivy Cottage is a lovely looking old cottage in a wonderful area. On arrival there was no welcome information available apart from an old bit of paper with very minamul info on it. It had clearly got wet in the past and had been left on the kitchen worktop undernearh some kitchen dish towls. This is the first guest house we have ever stayed at where there was no sort of welcome Info.Unfortunately the standard of cleanliness was not very good. I understand that this is a very old cottage and with that comes a level of difficulty to maintain which i understand, however the level of damp was unacceptable! There were clear arrears of black mould in every downstairs room.The shower was minimal and not very powerful. My wife and daughters were unable to wash their hair during the week we stayed as the shower was simply not powerful enough. Unfortunately the furniture needed some TLC downstairs too. Both leather couches were extremely warn and had a lot of dirt between the cushions which meant we couldn't really sit on them. To top it off the smell of stagnant drains became unbearable as the holiday went on. It started out smelling badly in the mornings but by the end of the week the smell was constant. It made it uncomfortable to sit downstairs.The upstairs bedrooms were lovely and the beds were good apart from my daught finding a toenail in her bed on the 1st night. Because Arran has so much to offer and is such a wonderful, beautiful place we were able to be in the house as little as possible. The walks from the house were simply stunning. Arran is a wonderful place that we will definitely be visiting again, we just won't be staying here. The house really needs a lot of TLC and it would be great.