Argyll House

About this property

Argyll House has been described as “probably the best party house in Scotland.” The dining hall seats 28 in style and comfort, and the rest of the house lends itself ideally to big groups for family celebrations, anniversaries, corporate bonding sessions, or anything else. Argyll House has been thoroughly equipped and nicely furnished throughout, so relax and enjoy the party.

Visit Scotland have made 8 visits to this highly celebrated property, and have ranked it right at the very top of their 4 star ranking for excellence every single time.

Argyll House is as extravagant as a boutique hotel, but at a fraction of the cost and without any of the formality of a hotel. There is also the option of being completely self catering if that suits you, or fully catered if you really want to kick back during your stay. It does not have the grandeur or intimidating historic atmosphere of a castle or a stately home proper, but that makes it a very comfortable place to be at home in, even with nearly 30 people.

A river runs through the grounds just 100 yards behind the main house, and shared facilities include the indoor swimming pool and a tennis court (although both of these can be privatised for certain hours in the day).

With the two other renovations now complete, there is space for an even bigger party. The nearby Mill sleeps 20 with a fabulous open plan living area of nearly 1,000 square feet. And The old barn which is also located nearby sleeps 16 in style and comfort. All can be hired together for groups of up to 60. All properties are entirely independent of each other so you maintain privacy.

* Please note that Argyll House can accommodate up to a maximum of 22 adults + 14 children.

Although just an hour and a half from Glasgow, the house sits in some of the loveliest scenery in Scotland. The Kyles of Bute are renowned with both walkers and sailors as among the most stunning bits of coast in Scotland. Whatever the weather in Argyll, usually remarkably mild, this is great country for site seeing, with every corner revealing a new variation on the theme of mountain, loch, valley, sky, woodland, sea, rock, and beach. The Cowal peninsula is a fabulous base for an active holiday with marvellous wildlife, numerous gardens, other tourist attractions to visit, and a variety of sporting activities.

The house has grounds of 23 acres, and sits about a mile above the head of Loch Riddon, enjoying complete privacy and lovely views down the glen to the river Ruel. The Island of Bute itself is as little as 15 minutes away from the house – accessed via a ferry from Colintraive – and was a “must visit” destination long before Stella McCartney got married there or former racing driver Johnnie Dumfries moved into Mount Stuart House as the new Marquess of Bute.

Inverary with its famous Jail and Castle, seat of Clan Campbell for the last few hundred years, is only 45 minutes away, as is Loch Lomond. Dunoon is another tourist destination in its own right, and it is just under half an hour away. You can get to Glen Coe in an hour and a half; to Stirling, Oban or Fort William in under two. Loch Ness and Edinburgh are easy enough day trips – reachable in less than 2 and a half hours.

As well as general site-seeing and trips to the Island of Bute, Inverary and further afield, there are a host of other activities you can undertake around Glenaruel. It’s fabulous walking country and you will be provided with twelve mountain bikes for those who want to explore on two wheels rather than four. There are some really excellent routes direct from the house, involving all sorts of terrain and levels of strain!

There’s a lovely 9 hole pay and play course ten minutes away above Tighnabruaich. There are five bags of golf clubs for the house and they probably won’t be too fussed about the usual rules regarding golf shoes provided you don’t arrive in jeans and carve the course up. The same applies to the almost equally spectacular nine hole course at Blairmore & Strone, half an hour away. Cowal Golf Club at Dunoon and Inellan are the 18 hole courses in the area that welcome visitors.

For fishing, there are too many options to go into here, but you can spend anything from £9 per day to over £1,000 for river fishing in the area. You can fish for trout in the nearby stream for nothing or in the Lochen at the head of the river. Mackerel on a line in a boat on the Kyles is a right of passage for hundreds of West of Scotland kids every year. They swim in shoals all around these waters and there’s no permit payable.

It’s a fabulous part of the world for water-sports of all sorts. Horse-riding, climbing, canoeing, caving, archery, quad biking, paint-balling, and clay pigeon shooting are also all available either on site or in the area. 

There is a wee shop selling all the basics at the camp-site in the Glendaruel valley, about a mile’s walk away, beside the historic Kilmodan standing stones. You get a slightly bigger choice in the Spar at Tighnabruich five miles away. Dunoon is 16 miles away and is a thriving market / harbour town with award-winning bakeries, cafes and butchers, as well as a big Co-Op and a big Somerfield supermarket.

Scotland is not really well served by pubs in general; this area is definitely an exception. The Glendaruel Hotel is a lovely wee pub, a two mile drive away, and serves good pub grub. The Colintraive Hotel and Tighnabruich Hotel are each a tad busier and a tad more ambitious in terms of menu. Chatters in Dunoon is highly recommended, and the Whistlefield and Coylet Inns on Loch Eck are also worth a visit. Less than half an hour away from the house is a wonderful restaurant on Loch Fyne, overlooking the old Castle Lachlan. The Benmore Gardens tea room is not half bad, either, and the Otterferry Inn and Loch Fyne Oyster Bar have good reputations (on which, it might be said, they trade slightly). All in all, though, there are few areas of Scotland where you can enjoy such a variety of excellent, reasonably priced menus.

Accommodation

* Please note that Argyll House can accommodate up to 22 adults + 14 children.

The house has been well equipped and nicely furnished, mostly with antiques. The new, comfy beds feature fabulous quality goose-down and feather duvets and gorgeous bed-linen, we’ve put some original Scottish art on the walls, bought half decent crystal for the table and generally tried to ensure that it’s as comfortable and well-equipped a place to stay as you’ll find in Scotland, without having any of the formality or grandeur of a castle or stately home. The house has a lovely, relaxing feel.
With a drawing room, Sauna, Hot Tub, TV room/snug, full-size billiard room, playroom, large kitchen with AGA and breakfast room downstairs - as well as the impressive dining hall seating up to 28 people - the house has sufficient accommodation to cater for any large house party. We have laid out the bedrooms to offer real flexibility; two rooms are set up as twins, three as king-size doubles, and one as a quadruple bunk room. The other seven bedrooms can be set up either as super-king size doubles, as twins, or even sometimes as triples. All bar two of the bedrooms have either an en suite bathroom or a basin. There are four further bathrooms, two separate loos, and a sauna. Altogether, the house has nine showers and ten WCs.
We also have an indoor heated swimming pool that is shared between the three houses on the estate. Each house gets their own hour of exclusive swimming time in the morning and in the afternoon – outside those three hours, it is a “free for all” in the pool. The same rules apply for the tennis court within the estate.
Set amidst the 20 acres of woodland, and enjoying lovely views across the glen and up the mountain, the gardens are mainly laid to lawn and terrace with hydrangeas, rhododendron and azalea, as well as reputedly the tallest Grecian fir in Scotland. Our own woods feature numerous tree species and adjoin thousands of acres of forestry commission land through which guests are welcome to wander. One of our terraces features a Grade A listed sundial. A tributary of the river Ruel runs through the gardens, from the Lochen that supplies our private water supply. There is a lovely waterfall walk within the garden, and a rope-assisted climb down to a pool for outdoor bathing. It’s a fabulous location for kids.
We’ve added a trampoline, croquet set and football goal to what nature has provided as a playground, and we’ve installed two midge machines. Other facilities include the 10 person sauna, a table-tennis room, a billiards room, five sets of golf clubs and 10 bikes.
Bedroom Breakdown
- Bedroom with king-size double bed
- Bedroom with king-size double bed
- Bedroom with king-size double bed
- Family bedroom sleeping 6
- Bedroom with 3 single beds
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
- Bedroom with super-king double bed (can be set up as a twin room)
*All except 2 of the bedrooms have either an en-suite bathroom or a basin. There are four further bathrooms, two separate loos, and a sauna. Altogether, the house has nine showers and ten wc's.