Christmas Villas In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Catherine - Verified booking

  We had a lovely relaxing time at Brae of Airlie Farm.

  Bill, the caretaker was very friendly and the information provided by the owner before our stay was fantastic. Positives: Lovely location and views. Beautiful gardens with so much space. The house is lovely, spacious and with loads of interesting and quirky pictures and an amazing selection of books. The ping pong table and dart board are a bonus and we and our teenagers enjoyed many games. The tap water tastes delicious. Not so positive: The WiFi is awful. Not a major problem but it would have been useful to have been told that beforehand. The house needs a bit of love - the flooring, in the main room particularly, is in need of updating and a comfortable sofa would have been wonderful. The sliding doors overlooking the patio don’t feel very secure. The drawers in living room have woodworm so it was impossible to get the games out of them. There is a baby swing in the garden which is a lovely idea but the seat is cracked and actually a health and safety hazard. There are various consoles, dvd players and televisions but very few link together and work. We had to attach the dvd player to the tv in the bedroom because the wires were incompatible with the tv downstairs. The house was very warm, which would be a huge bonus in winter but it would be really useful to provide instructions for the heating, just in case it is 22 degrees outside. (Thankfully Bill came to the rescue) Instructions for the oven would also be helpful. The non-stick pans were in poor condition and obviously the damaged coating is very unhealthy. The games room was a bonus but again needs a little attention. There were only two (proper) ping pong balls (the others didn’t bounce) and only one usable dart. There were lots of random items in the games room that feel like they’ve been abandoned and a pile of DVDs which, despite being an interesting selection, were almost impossible to play, even after we found a compatible tv and wires for the dvd player, because they were so scratched. There is a cattle grid at the entrance to the property which has sunk. Some vehicles would struggle to cope with that. We really enjoyed our stay but it could have been closer to perfect.

  Read more less >

• Michaela - Verified booking

  We have visited the Brae of Airlie farmhouse before and absolutely loved it.

  We said we'd go back and it took 3 years but we returned. It was just as lovely as we had remembered it. There were two of us and two dogs so the facilities were more than adequate for us, however it's worth noting that there is only one shower so if large groups stay, sharing would be required. The house and garden is perfect and if the owners ever wanted to sell we'd upsticks in a heartbeat! The location of the house is fantastic, within a 40 minute drive of many interesting places including Arbroath, the Cairngorms, Glamis Castle and Queens View to name just a few. Also not to be missed is the 'Wee Bear Cafe', a dog friendly cafe right near the farmhouse and a lovely place to stop for a well earned coffee and piece of cake after a walk around the reservoir. We visited in Autumn this time and were able to pick apples from the many trees in the garden. We observed deer in the field beyond and geese flying overhead as well as pheasants in the garden - such a treat. The house is in need of new glazed doors as the seals appear to have blown which affected the view from the window but still perfectly adequate. The wood burning stoves are wonderful as are the many books to read of all different genres. Overall, 10/10 in our opinion. We will definitely return, hopefully with our family.

  Read more less >

• Anona - Verified booking

  There is history and personality in this house, the artwork and all the lovely books.

  My teenager who is usually attached to her mobile.put together a pile of books, on top was a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald. I was then questioned mastermind style, not even a chance to google, didn't go well.. So she retired to her lovely room "to watch the wildlife in her chair by the window", with her pile of books. There is plenty of wildlife so we didn't see much of her! If you want a boutique style holiday home, with fluffy cushions and expensive linen, with takeaways on tap this is not the place for you. If you don't like bracing weather and getting wet, muddy feet and feeling slightly damp when out and about, definitely not the place for you. This is a cosy home (get that heating on!), with amazing views, in a lovely area, plenty to do it you are inclined. We seemed hypnotized by the views. It's so peaceful, I loved seeing my woofers looping round the house with big smiley faces. And last but certainly not least, the lovely people, particularly Bill the caretaker. who is fantastic, and helped us with a family issue we had, he couldn't have been kinder. Thank you Bill.

  Read more less >

• Paul - Verified booking

  In general, the property was as described - and warmer than expected.

  The stove in the living room is more for effect than warmth - and only take small-sized logs. The ping pong table and darts board were very much enjoyed. The space afforded by two fridges (one for food; one for drinks!) was also welcome. Despite some of the reviews, we found all of the seating in the living room comfortable, including the new sofa. A few small things would have made it even better: there were only three table tennis bats, and the flights kept falling off two of the darts. A full set of equipment would make it even better. And the DVD player did not have any cables to link it to the TV, or a remote control. Once we had borrowed a cable from the neighbour, we found that it does not connect to the large new TV in the living room: we had to move the smaller TV from the games room into the living room instead, and use the remote control from the upstairs TV. Nonetheless, we had a pleasant time. Although we did not see any of the promised wildlife, the views of the sun and mist rolling over the fields and distant hills was a nice change from city living.

  Read more less >

• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  Rusko Stables is a lovely, well equipped holiday accommodation. We enjoyed staying there and found it was generally well suited to our needs. We know the area and this was a very good base to visit from. Having an en suite for each bedroom was perfect. The description of the accommodation was accurate, but it would have been helpful to know that the middle bedroom didn’t have a wardrobe or storage. With an adult and a 17 year old sharing it as a twin room, it was a bit awkward as they had to store their clothes in the cupboards in the hallway outside. The kitchen, lounge, dining area is very nice and a social space, although some side tables would be handy. The view from the patio at the back is beautiful, but the space could be better equipped and utilised, and could use some shade or a canopy. It’s also a bit impractical to take food and drinks all the way down the stairs and around the building. A garden space at the front would be easier to access for outside dining and drinks. Overall we had a lovely holiday and really enjoyed our stay at Rusko Stables.

  Read more less >