6/10 Okay
Kelly M., Malakoff
Aug 14, 2022
Liked: Cleanliness
Old, dated Manor did not meet our expectations
We had been looking forward to our weekly stay in Scotland for almost 3 years. Sadly, the villa did not meet our high expectations.
First, the villa was in a nice location in Blairgowrie with a large yard, and a quiet neighborhood. The house has great character but it is old and rustic. There are 10 bedrooms inside the main house and 8 cottages in the courtyard. Ten of them are king bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. The rooms are a nice size, but the carpet is old and the floors creak when you walk on them. The hot water in some of the bathrooms did not work properly and the walls were so thin that you could hear people snoring or coughing in the adjoining room. My wife and I stayed in the Master Suite with the turret on the 2nd floor. The room was large but the windows had plexiglass covering them so that they could not be opened. The house has no air conditioning or ceiling fans so the rooms have no air flow and become stale and stuffy. I was forced to move out of my room and into a double room that had a window that opened so that I could get some cool air from outside. Nicholas was very good to work with and met our every request, including electric fans for the rooms. However, out of our group of 18, 10 left the villa after only 4 days. Of the 4 couples who stayed the entire 4 days, 2 of them had to change rooms. For what we paid to rent the villa for 1 week, I expected a lot more comfort. I have stayed in 5 star villas but this was not one of them.
In addition to the base rent, my wife and I also ordered additional services, including a welcome dinner on the first night of our stay with a special anniversary cake, a bagpiper, a band to play ceilidh dance songs, special commemorative gift boxes for each guest, a highland games feature, a whisky/chocolate pairing and a farewell dinner. I highly recommend the bagpiper, the band and ceilidh dancing, the whisky/chocolate pairing and the gift boxes. However, I do not recommend paying extra for the preparation of meals, special dessert, or for the Highland Games. Save your money and use the large kitchen on the ground floor with 2 full size pizza ovens. We made our own pizza one night and spaghetti with salad the other night and we loved it. You can also walk to nearby restaurants.
The house did have some other very nice features as well, but if you are unable to sleep comfortably, nothing else really matters. If you need a place with 18 bedrooms without air conditioning, this might work.
Kelly M.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2022