Holiday Cottages in Scotland with a Swimming Pool

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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• Diane - Verified booking

  We love Brunston Castle but missed the bar, pool etc with them being closed.

  At least the mini golf flags were out (take your own putters whilst Covid19 is about) and the kids climbing frame open. We stayed in number 28 and found the accommodation dirty. The kitchen sides were dirty. There was food crumbs and sweet wrappers in the lounge. We moved the single chair by the patio door and found toe nail clippings on the carpet and chewing gum stuck to the ashtray outside. The shower was warm in the morning but we had no hot water in the evening when getting ready to go out. This was sorted by changing the timer settings on the panel in the kitchen. The bed mattresses were hard and none of us slept that well. The outdoor furniture comprises of 2 plastic square tables and 6 plastic chairs. 2 of the chairs were broken and the others were uncomfortable to sit on. However. The kitchen had a Nespresso coffee maker, washing machine, full size fridge/ freezer, dish washer and plenty of crockery and glasses. The rooms are a good size and parking is directly outside the property. If travelling with children we can highly recommend the following activities: Heads of Ayr Animal Farm Park Culvean Country Park Ayr sea front by the pavilion. A trip to Arran from Ardrossan. Great places to eat: Yasmins, Indian in Girvan. Cecchinis, Italian in Ayr Little Rock, cafe bar in Brodick Pavilion cafe in Ayr Souters Inn in Kirkoswald (expensive by very nice)

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• Peter - Verified booking

  This cottage was by far the worst I have stayed in and I as really disappointed in the standard and cleanliness of this lodge.

  I contacted Sykes and informed them of my problems and my concerns and also asked them not to get the owner to ring me as I did not want a confrontation with the owner whilst I was on holiday, guess what this request was ignored. The subsequent conversation with the owner was pretty much what I was expecting he could not understand that there could be any issues as he loved going on holiday there and he could see no problems with his property. The problems were dirty and stained carpets, he know about this and they were in the process of getting them replaced!!!!, dirty windows and a deck area that was slippy and needed pressure washing. no remote for tv the owner told me to contact receptionist they might have one !!!!. The lodge photographs well but in reality it is in the centre of the complex and gets very little sun doe to trees and its orientation. This lodge had a similar complaint earlier in the year but I was assured by Sykes that the issues had been taken care of this was not the case. I was contacted by Sykes and given £50,00 compensation this was very little considering myself and my friends had spent a week of our time and the cost of the lodge in a very disappointing and dare I say grubby accommodation.

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• Brian - Verified booking

  Lodge 28. Clean , warm, comfortable.

  Good kitchen facilities and washing machine and dishwasher very useful. Although sleeps 6 it only had comfy chairs for 4. No heating in en suite bathroom which consequently was very cold. Additionally. the toilet cistern was flushing non stop when we arrived and often during the night. (a sticking fill mechanism?) but seems to behave itself halfway through our week. Secondary bathroom over bath shower only consisted of a hair wash wand and not an overhead shower. Also its mounting bracket was coming away from the wall. The over sink light worked intermittently. And the outside door light didn't always switch on. I noted these observations to reception for the benefit of advising the owner and to the credit of the site and as a courtesy to the owners they despatched a maintenance guy next morning and he re-attached the hair wand bracket, removed sink light diffuser and jiggled the fluorescent tube. Access road surfaces rather rough and bumpy although this does have a speed calming effect for vehicles. Overall. a comfortable property in which we enjoyed our week

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  This accommodation has been very well organised and everything required is readily available in the farmhouse BUT three factors diminish its enjoyment : 1. incredibly hard mattresses on the beds, so unforgiving that I had to use a walking stick to get around for the rest of the holiday [and I don't usually need a stick !]. 2. the seating in the living room is generous but not particularly comfortable suffering the common problem of being too deep from front to back of the seating surface. 3. a perennial problem that we have suffered over the last 30 years : excessively dim lighting in the living area. The assumption seems to be that all guests will spend their evenings watching the TV, playing on an iPad or fiddling with their 'phones. We found the level of lighting so low that it became difficult and unpleasant to try to read a book or newspaper. Such a shame about these important details because we feel the owners have got the place fitted out about 85% right ! Hope all this helps ! With more accommodating mattresses, we would certainly visit again.

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