Villas In Scotland

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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• Paul - Verified booking

  Lovely refurbished place, the description was accurate and we thought the location was good for ourselves.

  A few minor things, none of which affected our holiday in any significant way, but the owner may want to have knowledge of; The internal doors opening on to the carpet require the bottom of these doors adjusting as it was a struggle to push to open and close. As we had dogs with us, we needed to keep door shut, so restricting the area for our dogs to the hard floor areas. We received a call about the heating, we checked it out and it was very hot, although the thermostat registered 15* degrees, we lowered it to 13 degrees and turned the individual radiator thermostats to their lowest, this made a difference. However, the radiator in the landing, which was invaded and had no access does not have an individual thermostat and if it did, it wouldn’t have made any difference as we couldn’t reach it. This raditator continued to produce some heat. The walled controller having been lowered to maximum of 13 degrees did however help. A few more kitchen funerals would help if we had not been eating out all the time would be necessary for a long stay. The amount of stairs were not a problem for us, but the depth of tread which makes them steep was a problem for an older visitor who came to see us. We couldn’t get the STV app to work on the main TV, we didn’t use the others. Please don’t think this is a complete criticism as your place suited us and we were happy to have used the place. Good luck for the future. Paul

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• Ellie - Verified booking

  Excellent location for exploring the far north of Scotland, wonderful walks on the doorstep, with amazing beaches nearby; we spent 2 weeks here and would happily return.

  Property was fantastic for two of us, would be great for up to 4 (maybe 5) people. Easy to control effective central heating (needed on cooler windy June days), with an excellent electric shower in the downstairs wet room. Property very clean on arrival, and well equipped, we used oven, toaster, kettle, microwave, washing machine, and wifi, and all worked well. There is a slightly uneven 500m track to the house, but driven carefully our small car (with almost no ground clearance) made it fine. A few minor upgrades would makes this house perfect; pans a little tired and could do with a refresh; glasses a bit limited (we bought 4 and left them behind for the next visitors); in the almost-never-dark midsummer I'd have preferred blackout blinds or curtains upstairs. Nearby Borgie Lodge does good evening meals (book ahead); for coffee, visit the roadside cafe hut Coastal Coffee and Treats just beyond Bettyhill on NC500 towards Thurso. The nearby general store at Bettyhill (15 mins drive) has all the basics + fuel, but for a larger supermarket you'll need to drive for over an hour to Thurso (Co-op and Tesco) or Wick (Aldi, Co-op, Tesco Superstore). Many local roads (including A roads) are single track with passing places so getting places takes longer but views are amazing.

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• Allison - Verified booking

  Beautiful location.

  Dreadful directions - would never have found it without asking locals. Spacious house. Quirky layout - nice. Comfortable seating & bed. Road leading to house very rough. Extremely poor internet - very unreliable meaning could hardly access internet nor watch the single channel on the smart tv. House only superficially clean - needs a deep clean & cleaning maintained throughout - grimy kitchen, appliances, crockery, towels, utensils & cutlery. Lots of cobwebs & dirty windows. Very limited cutlery & crockery - if 5 people would really struggle. Nice views. 3 x impromptu visits to house & garden areas from host - 2 x in evening - not great. Plenty firewood to use but did not need to do this - central heating was good. House needs to be given a bit of care, time and attention to make it what it could be. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Improve internet or inform of how poor it is. Update crockery, towels, utensils & cutlery. No impromptu visits - when you have guests it’s not “your home”.

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• Colin - Verified booking

  We had an excellent weeks holiday at Challenger Lodge which we found ideal as a base for exploring the North coast of Scotland.

  Our party consisted of three adults and one dog and had plenty of space since the accommodation sleeps up to 9 persons. Challenger Lodge is spacious, well appointed, classily decorated and clean. The property is set in a secluded location with open views out to the loch and surrounding hillsides yet only 5 minutes by car to the town of Lairg where there is a Spar supermarket, fish & chip take away, hotel with bar and petrol station. There are several local wooded walks, both on the estate and in the local area with one good walk to a very private Loch Craggie along a logging road. A welcoming pack of basic essentials was much appreciated on arrival and the owner Shanta, who was visiting the estate during our stay, thoughtfully brought a dog bowl, dog bed and dog treats. We will be looking to make a return visit in the near future with other members of the family as the property is excellent value for money.

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