Holiday Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alexander - Verified booking

  Quite frankly apalled by the state of the property.

  Central heating was not working & we were fobbed off with a single electric fan heater. 2 of the radiators were rusty & holed, with visible rust staining from previous leaks. Bathroom door handle was hanging off & not working properly, which meant we couldn't close the door for fear of being locked in. Cleanliness was very poor & food had been left from previous users. There was a strong smell of damp throughout the property, with mold visible on the underside of the bathroom sink and cistern. Property was generally tired & in need of upgrade or replacement, which came as a shock considering the 'top dollar' fee payed. The property was not as advertised on Sykes website, certainly regarding the operational central heating system, & we took the decision not to stay for the 2nd & 3rd nights mainly over health & safety concerns due to the damp. Have raised a complaint with Sykes, which is currently being dealt with. We have plenty of photos of the state of the property, which obviously won't get across the damp smell, but they paint a picture of a property not fit for purpose. I post this as a warning to anyone thinking of staying at this property. Unless a lot of work is carried out ASAP to address the identified issues, issues which have been previously identified by othet users if you look at previous reviews, then I would recommend not using this property if you value your health. To be fair to Sykes, they are trying to resolve the issue, but the property owner does not appear to want to accept responsibility for the issues identified. This experience ruined a weekend away for me & my wife, who were visiting my 87 year old mother in the area for the weekend. We spent the 2nd day looking for somewhere else to stay, which the property owner insists does not entitle me to request or receive a refund as we never checked out at the designated checkout time. I would suggest some property owners in the area are now charging top dollar due to being on the NC500 route, & relying on single night trade, therefore not having to present their property in a good state. Just my opinion, not fact. Anyway, I will be posting these observations & opinions on as many social media sites related to NC500 & Sykes in the hope that no one else is subjected to what we have been subjected to. Quite shocking in this day & age to be fair & begs the question if Sykes carry out sufficient due diligence on properties they advertise on their website. My 1st experience with booking via Sykes would suggest not.

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• James - Verified booking

  The problems we encountered were ones that could not be easily rectified.

  On arrival, we could not miss the heavily stained carpet in the double bedroom, stains on the wall and a see through blind in the bathroom. The television had been changed from dish to aerial and without any instructions we were unable to watch live television. On the Monday when the office opened I spoke to Sheenagh and pointed out several problems, such as the shower in he double bedroom falling to pieces, which to their credit Sheenagh and Steve attended to straight away. Other things really need addressing by the owners, the twin bedroom which our nephew and his wife slept in had a musty damp smell on arrival, we were told that this was due to a lack of underfloor ventilation due to it being a stone floor, worryingly, there was an electric fire and a dehumidifier already in the bedroom. Despite our best efforts, this musty smell was there the whole fortnight. The beds were good in both bedrooms, but the settee’s in the lounge were very uncomfortable and really need changing. We had several beetles appearing throughout the property during our stay. The location is not quite the cosy quiet place you would imagine a holiday let to be, we realised after the first weekend that using the front door of the cottage had to be done carefully as traffic from other cottages, estate vehicles, parcel vans etc, came within inches of our door and window at a speed I consider excessive. A speed limit with signs should be established. The twin bedroom has a security light outside which shined through the window keeping our family awake, so a blackout curtain had to be fashioned using a black blanket from our car. In the bathroom of the twin bedroom there was a heavily stained floor next to the toilet which appeared to be from a previous leak. Being a frequent client of Sykes, I have to say we were all pretty much disappointed with the property, and take no pleasure in posting negative feedback.

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• Jo - Verified booking

  We had such a wonderful time in this beautiful house!

  We could not fault anything at all! The hosts were the most kind and attentive people that you could meet and went out of their way to ensure we had everything we needed. Arron was fascinating to chat with - explaining to us the history of the local area, where to go to see the local sights and I found my family had lots of shared interests with her - which some of the conversations were intriguing! The house was spotlessly clean with everything inside that you may need plus more! Lovely touches such as bottled water, toiletries, plenty of towels and a delightful welcome hamper. It was extremely spacious and all though there was 8 adults, we did not feel at any time cramped in. Plenty of privacy as well as very large social areas. And then there is the gardens - astonishingly beautiful! We were lucky enough to sit in the garden a couple of evenings due to warm weather and it was so peaceful. Well cut lawns surrounded by the most perfect flowers which is all tended to by the hosts. Arron and John allow two well-behaved dogs so we had our two collies with us and they were also very much welcomed. We cannot thank you both enough and we definitely will be back to continue with the conversations.

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• David - Verified booking

  What a lovely cottage and a beautiful location!

  The cottage was warm, comfortable and quiet and, to our delight, red squirrels live nearby. It was a real joy to watch them scampering up the drive most mornings! Our only small 'niggle' was the lack of water pressure for the shower which meant it wasn't as powerful as we'd have liked but it was sufficient to do the job and wouldn't deter us from staying here again. The location was excellent, close enough to a main road to get out and about quickly but it still felt 'off the beaten track' and a cosy retreat to return to after a days hiking / sightseeing. Some lovely walking is to be found in the woods behind the cottage - mostly well made forest tracks - and Comrie is accessible this way, avoiding the main road. Crieff is good to visit and for 'supermarket' shopping (Aldi / co-op) and also has a superb deli + cafe! Comrie is pretty but limited and not everything was open on the days we visited (out of main holiday season). The circular walk round Glen Lednock was lovely though (more squirrels!). All in all, a great base for a wonderful relaxing holiday in a beautiful part of the country. We hope to return soon.

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• Brian - Verified booking

  The accommodation was in an ideal position to tour the interesting Castles, Country houses, and scenic Beaches in Aberdeenshire.

  It's located minutes away from an entrance to the beautiful Aden Country Park and Leo our little Frenchie loved his long walks in it every day we were there. The park has excellent play areas for kids and an enclosed dog agility area where we could let Leo off the lead and he enjoyed that a lot. The accommodation itself was even better than the description with a very large open plan area incorporating Kitchen, Dining and Living room. The kitchen has all the utilities (fridge, freezer, dishwasher cooker) that you need to cater for the whole family. The living area has a good sized HD television with Freeview Play and there are plenty of games around to keep kids happy. A dog bed was provided which our Leo preferred to his own bed and he loved the present of a little stuffed animal that was left for him. Both bedrooms were a good size with comfortable beds and there is a good sized Bathroom with a large shower. A small utility room by the entrance to the property has a sink and a good-quality washer dryer. Should we return to the area in the future we wouldn't hesitate to book The Hayloft for our stay

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