Dog Friendly Apartments in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alexander - Verified booking

  We spent a happy week in North Stables between 9 and 16 September.

  The flat was clean and well-presented. The sitting room and bedrooms were well-decorated and comfortable. The NTS staff were exceedingly friendly and helpful. We had an excellent tour of The House of Dun given by Colin who was a terrific guide. The surrounding area is beautiful and there is much to see and do. However, while most of the flat was highly acceptable, the kitchen left a great deal to be desired and needs to be re-designed. The flat accommodates four people but there was an inadequate amount of cutlery. Serving a starter and a main dish involved washing knives and forks between courses. It seems, judging by the irregular number of glasses, that breakages are not replaced. There were only two eggcups. One of the frying pans has buckled and did not work well on the rings of the antiquated cooker. The fridge/freezer was far too small and inadequate for two, never mind four, people. It was also poorly positioned especially for older and infirm people. The kitchen was full of cupboards, most of which were empty. A proper re-design, removing most of these unnecessary cupboards, could result in the dining table being accommodated, more suitably, in the kitchen rather than the sitting room. Surely some more cleaning materials could be left. On arrival, we found two dishwasher tablets and two tea towels, one rubbish bag and no cleaning cloths. In the bathroom there was one roll of toilet paper. There was a time when a welcome tray would have been left but all I could see was a bowl with sachets of instant coffee and tea bags. NTS holiday properties are not inexpensive. My recent experiences suggest that they no longer present particularly good value and compare unfavourably with other properties in the “heritage” area of holiday lettings. We enjoyed our trip but certain aspects of the presentation and equipping of the property left us feeling disappointed and gave us the impression that not enough attention is being paid by the NTS to important, smaller details which make so much of a difference.

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• Alison - Verified booking

  This property was full of wonderful furniture, fixtures and decorations but we arrived during the hot period in August.

  We had decided ahead to bring a fan just in case, and thank goodness we did. All the windows (both downstairs and bedrooms) in the property barely open so there is no air circulating and the heat hit us as soon as we arrived. We used our fan and ended up buying another one to try and stay cool (there is no outside space at this property). Other disappointments included no welcome/information pack AT ALL so no instruction leaflets, information leaflets about the area, recommendations etc. No information either about the bins so had to leave them full. There was nothing to clean with - no broom, dustpan, hoover ....... Our beds were wonderfully comfortable but the pillows and duvets and covers for them all were very poor quality (especially compared to the rest of the fittings and furnishings) and these didn't help in the heat of the night which was unbearable. It was lovely that we were able to bring our little dog with us but sadly she hurt her leg and was unable to walk which meant we couldn't even go out in the evening to get some cool air. We would love to say we'd like to return because overall, the flat was lovely and well equipped as far as expensive furniture and decorations but the window problem spoilt our stay. This flat could be perfect, it's so well located but we expected more - better bedlinen, some information, cleaning utensils and some air! for the money that we paid to stay here (£1087!).

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• Moira - Verified booking

  We have visited Mar Lodge for a number of years and the location is spectacular that’s why we keep going back.

  It is quite remote but Braemar is close by with a small Spar for essentials, a couple of small cafes, my favourite art gallery & of course the recently refurbished luxury hotel. It is noticeably around Mar area much busier post covid with campervans galore & cars which was quite a nuisance when trying to walk along the road within the Mar estate even the private roads (where they should not have been) we had to stop numerous times & in one instance had to move into the undergrowth as a campervan was so wide. To be fair the road sign is too small for drivers to see. We were there off season so goodness knows what it would be like in the height of summer. The lodge itself is lovely but not luxury so it makes for a comfortable stay when you have children & dogs. The only down side is the kitchen it’s really small for the size of lodge & the cooker oven caused me no end of troubles trying to get it to the right temperature but that could just be me. Maybe some simple instructions near the cooker would help. Other than that it is great for large families or friends to get together in the most wonderful location with numerous hill walks & best scenery you could ever want on the doorstep. As per usual our very large family get together, all loved it. We will be back.

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• Chris - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at North Stables very much.

  The flat was comfortable, clean and to a high standard. Very quiet and peaceful when the house closes. The staff that we had contact with during our stay were very helpful and friendly. The complimentary House of Dun guided tour is a must and the grounds/gardens are good to walk around. A few things that could be improved: 1. The washing machine is not working and appears, from previous reviews, to have not been working correctly since February. This should have been fixed by now. 2. The Wi Fi signal is very bad and keeps cutting out. 3. The boiler intermittently cuts out mainly when having a shower resulting in a cold wake up! It has to be reset by pressing the button on the boiler. 4. Several doors are difficult to open/close due to them catching on the carpet. 5. Two of the duvets appear to have a plastic covering under the cover and these can be very hot to sleep under. 6. Front door handle nearly off and needs refixing. 7. It would be nice to have had a starter supply of washing up liquid and hand soap. The above in no way spoiled our enjoyment of the property though and we would have no hesitation in returning.

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• Susan - Verified booking

  We had a lovely stay here.

  We were given a very friendly welcome by the housekeeper. The flat is just as described. Light and airy. People have mentioned the cooker is old. It is, but it works perfectly well it’s just very slow to heat up. The beds were very comfortable and bedding and towels were clean and new. 10.5 tog quilts in May were too warm for us, but at least we weren’t cold. I couldn’t open the beautiful old sash windows on my own, but together we managed. N.B. If you leave the windows open you’ll be visited by house martins. They like to leave little parcels behind them! The gardens and surrounding woodland are open to guests and it was wonderful having the freedom to wander around. All the staff were lovely, friendly and helpful. It’s a few miles straight into Montrose to the nearest supermarket, there are beaches, nature reserves, castles, gardens and grand houses nearby . A lovely place to visit if you can manage 18 old stone steps up to your front door!

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