Holiday Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  the whole cottage needs a thorough clean and furnishings very old and worn .When we arrived Mr Sinclair was just coming out of the cottage saying the TV wasn't working and he would be back. He did return a few minutes later and sat in the room trying to fix the TV. What a start to our holiday trying to unpack with a stranger sat there. The bathroom door wouldn't open properly, old rusty bin, light over mirror not working, heater in bathroom full of dust, old rusty tin of air fresher, shower screen on bath had black mould along the bottom. The kitchen had dirty cutlery trays and all utensils in them were very old. cupboard handle broken, dead beetle between the melamine plates, spider and web in a cup. No icebox in fridge so Mr Sinclair said to use the freezer where the dogs were kept in a separate outhouse which was disgracefully dirty. We were told not to shut the curtain in the hallway as the rail was broken. This meant when we left the bedroom to use the bathroom, we were on view up the lane. The single beds were very hard with child size quilts. furniture old, random old xmas decorations etc in draws which needed cleaning out. The carpets and flooring all needs changing as it is so old. there were dozens of flies every day due to the cottage facing the horse stables. We bought fly killer and were constantly spraying them. My partner honestly thought I was going to say " take me home" but because he had booked it for my Birthday I tried to make the best of it. We left 2 leg rest from our reclining sunchairs in the cottage shed by mistake, and after a call to them the day after our return, the daughter said she would get Mrs Sinclair to ring me. I have a friend in Ayr and though I could collect them when visiting my friend later in the year but I haven't had a call back and that was a week ago. I would have contacted you before now regarding how upsetting and disappointing our holiday accommodation was but I am just recovering from Covid and haven't been up to writing. On a positive note, we loved the areas of Rockcliffe and Kippford and would like to see other areas of Scotland. Baring in mind our bad experience at Tumbling Banks would the company give us some form of compensation for not only how upset we were but also for such poor accommodation as we would use Discover Scotland again but would suggest you think twice about using this accommodation to future clients in its present state. Kind regards, Susan Harwood

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• Vivien - Verified booking

  Four adults.

  First impression Quaint. Facilities everything you needed for your stay . Lovely quiet location to chill and relax . Plenty of places to visit We found Peterhead prison, Fraserburgh Lighthouse and Fyvie Castle really interesting, we also got to see the dolphins at the lighthouse . On the downside externally the grounds don’t look maintained there are weeds around the house and the foliage around the cottage has overtaken the front of the house , takes away the beauty of the cottage , guttering is full of debris and when we had a heavy downpour the kitchen was flooded came in through the back door . Sky light in the kitchen is cracked and water dripped through on to the table . Smoke alarms are not in working order , some light bulbs do not work and have not been replaced . The building facing the cottage which is named The Pub was not fit for purpose as per the pictures table tennis and pool ( which we was looking forward to using) it had birds in there and every where was full of bird poop, so we could not use it not fit for purpose ( we did mention this to the owner and he swept it ) but you could not use it as there was still poop everywhere .Cleaning needs attention to detail all light sockets were dirty on top, bathroom taps were grimy around the base , the kitchen sink was dirty just needed a bit of elbow grease to clean . Some of the glasses which were once a set of four have not been replaced for example only three wine glasses . There were leaflets available for sight seeing suggestions but it would be nice to see a sightseeing recommendation book , the visitors book was full so unable to leave our feedback . Lastly we met the owners briefly on our way out one day seemed very nice , downside was we phoned them twice to discuss a couple of issues our calls were not returned a bit disappointing. Overall the cottage is in a good location just needs some TLC .

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• John - Verified booking

  We had a lovely weeks visit up to Milltown House from 24th to 31st of October 2020.

  The cottage is exactly what I was expecting - quirky, cosy and welcoming. There is a wood burner to keep you warm in the evenings, which I (Greg) thoroughly enjoyed lighting and stoking each night - who needs a tele! There was a fantastic Hot Tub which our wee boy loved, even if the two adults didn't quite get to "relax" in it, it was a much appreciated bonus to the property. The beds were comfy, and the absolute silence from being so remote was well needed. The Cottage is situated in a brilliant Rural area, with access to local villages/towns with plenty of outdoors-y things to do. We went up to Banff and MacDuff, as well as down to Haddo House Country Park near Methlick, the latter of which is stunning with a great park for kids. Also nearby is Turriff, where we would nip to for bits and bobs at the local Tesco. We had dinner in Turriff a couple of nights and would highly recommend "The Rustic Grill", it was probably the best meal my partner and I have ever had. If you fancy a chippy, we would recommend Dolphin Fish and Chips in MacDuff, again in our top 3 chip shops ever visited. Jamie, the owner, is delightful and couldn't do more to make his guests feel at home. My parents visited us and stayed at his wigwams which are lovely too. The only comment I would leave for improvement is attention to detail in the cleanliness - the house overall was clean, but there was thick dust in some places and the ping pong table needed sorting out. Overall, a lovely visit and we would definitely come back - and probably book out his adjacent cottage "The Orangery" too!!

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• Steve - Verified booking

  Firstly a great location and a very nice ( and quirky !

  ) place to stay, and would recommend. Great enclosed courtyard for the dog and for us to sit out in, and the games room (pool & ping pong) were great. Useful forest track nearby to take dog out in morning and evening. We did enjoy our stay. Very close to the coast. However, get a feeling that this place is a wee bit tired with some minor issues. The wetroom had no place to put towels or toiletries, and there was no toilet roll holder ( though it looks like there was one before): it doesn't quite match the photo. Heating was great, but hot water only just hot enough for shower ( with it on max) - especially in such a big room. Kitchen was well equipped (cooker looked new), but a couple of baking trays would have been useful. Wood burning stove was a bit dodgy, but useable, as door won't lock closed ( we use one at home, so we are familiar with them): this was reported to the owner. However plenty of wood. Some light bulbs were out and missing in some places which made living room a bit dark as plants outside windows were covering them. Internet was intermittent ( e.g. all our devices reported "Connected, but no Internet" several times during the week), though I suspect that is more the rural location: ended up using quite a bit of 4G mobile data. The games room was really a good and welcome addition and a place to chill in the evenings, but could have done with more lighting and more than one decent pool cue ( and some chalk !), but it was fun, as was the ping pong. I wish more places had something like that. Overall, though, not bad at all - and recommended !

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• Andrea - Verified booking

  Arrived here late evening.

  The place was absolutely freezing cold.The hot tub was completely empty with a hose left out for us to fill it up ourselves which meant an eight our wait for it to get hot.The Jose was broken and riddled with holes.i only ever stay in places with hot tubs and never ever have I arrived to find it empty with instructions on how to fill yourself.No where in Sykes description does it even mention this.This is my birthday celebration and I am disappointed to say the least and feel one day of my three day break was spoilt as I only booked because of the hot tub.We are still here it’s our first night and I feel you need to compensate me for not being able to use the hot tub until what will be well into the second day of my break.I would not recommend nor will I recommend Sykes as your accommodations were not fit for purpose and so against trade descriptions.I will be looking for compensation for one day and I hope someone gets in touch as my trip advisor review will not be a good one.Who ever turns up to a holiday property with a hot tub to find it devoid of water and asked to fill it themselves and I may add without any chlorine or chemicals

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