Mountain Hall View

6 Customer Reviews

• "An outstanding cottage in a wonderful tranquil location."

  However I feel it could be so much more. Overall we couldn’t have asked for a more tranquil setting. As mentioned on previous reviews the downstairs toilet is rather overpowering at times, I understand this may be a drain problem. The beds do move around on the wooden floor which makes for an interrupted nights sleep, a simple solution would be some kind of rubber castors on the wheels. After the long journey I was looking forward to a nice relaxing bath but unfortunately the plug in the only bath does not work as it doesn’t stay down, an easy and inexpensive repair . Overall we had a fabulous week at Mountain Hall View . A day trip to Belfast from Cairnryan was an extra bonus and would highly recommend to other guests. Breathtaking scenery and some great walks to be had.

  Reviewed by JanApr 2022

• "Problem with WiFi only really works in a rather empty room."

  No information pack or welcome pack left. Poor quality toilet seats and no toilet roll holders. Water not hot on arrival had to search out boiler manual at end of a long journey. Beds move on wooden floor and come apart in night. Bedheads made of fabric feel unhygienic. Crumbs in cupboards and fridge so less spotlessly clean than would hope . The remote location really would benefit from the owner leaving maybe some information on local walks - we tried to find this but the only two places nearby were both out of stock. This is a nice house but it feels a bit unwelcoming

  Reviewed by GillianSep 2021

• "Previous reviews made us a bit anxious, but overall we had a great stay at Mountain Hall View."

  Yes there were some things that could be ‘better’, but we had plenty of room, the cottage was clean (not sparkling but clean enough for us to live in) and there was plenty to do in the area. There was a nasty drain smell in the utility room, but we bought some drain cleaner and it was sorted.

  Reviewed by SharonSep 2021

• "There are only two reviews of this property so far, so I assume that the property has only recently been offered as a holiday let."

  I agree totally with both of the previous reviewers, and whilst the property is stunning and in a beautiful location, the lack of local information, or a manual for those staying regarding rubbish etc, as well as minimal equipment and missing finishing touches (e.g. toilet roll holders) makes it feel a bit stark and not as welcoming as it could and should be. It does indeed sleep 6, but that would be 3 x couples or a couple plus two children as there are only three bedrooms that have double beds (not twins). There is an unused single room that has an unmade double bed - it would be better to remove this and make it into a usable single room. Our original party was 4 adults each requiring a separate bed, and we were promised a sofa bed in the separate sitting room. However, this was not provided, and this would have caused huge problems if all four adults had come. This sitting room is under utilised with just one chair and two bean bags and we called it the communications room as it was the only place I could get a wifi signal. A second television and comfortable sofa would be useful and maybe a table so that this could be a games room or a quiet reading room. It was spotlessly clean (apart from under the beds - which do move around and the two part bases are not secured together) but there was no welcome pack - which need only be some milk so that guests who have traveled a long way can have a cup of tea or coffee on arrival. Whilst certain pieces of equipment have been provided following the reviews, it is still minimal, and there are still only two knives - a bread knife and a small veg knife. I ended up buying baking trays and a knife set from the supermarket in Girvan - a total cost of £9. So, a little bit more thought on the practicalities would have been appreciated, The only contact number we had was for Sykes - no local number for either the owners or the housekeeper. Without the wifi and limited mobile signal, we felt quite cut off and were alarmed to find a van parked inside the property grounds one morning. The van had a name and a telephone number, but no indication of the nature of business. They did not approach the property and it was only when we approached them that they said they were there to strim the grass. There was no courtesy call from anyone to let us know to expect them, and being in a remote spot, being single women, we felt quite vulnerable. Having said that, the grounds did need some attention as this beautiful property looked like it had been picked up and placed in a field. Apart from chippings around the house, there is no garden to speak of, and the pretty little summer house could have been tidied up for guests to enjoy. The balcony in the main bedroom looks unfinished and it would be a lovely place to sit if there was a bistro set and proper surface underfoot. This place has such potential, but it feels as if it has been put out for the holiday market in a bit of a rush. For anyone considering booking it, I'm sure you will have a lovely time as long as you are aware of it's shortcomings (personal opinions of course). Ballantrae is a lovely little village and we were pleased to be able to support the community hub/pub (King William) which opened while we were there. Lots of local information there and games, and the garden centre coffee shop sold little maps of the local area. We went to Glasgow on the train, did a Treasure Trail around Girvan, went to Turnberry Lighthouse, the Robbie Burns centre and monument in Alloway, had Cullen Skink at the Brig o' Doon, and completed a 9 mile Ballantrae Circle walk.

  Reviewed by JaniceAug 2021

• "The previous review helped set expectations and thankfully it wasn’t as bad as the review made out."

  The setting is beautiful, the size and general facilities are great, however perhaps could be clearer about WiFi as this only worked for about 5% of the time and when available was very slow. Rang Sykes up to ask about it and they blamed BT issue in area which I think was a bit lame, it’s probably just a limited connection and there is no phone or 4G signal unless you stand outside near gate. Also asked Sykes about the bizarre behaviour of water boiler that pumped outside, they didn’t respond to this after saying they would via email. There are drain smells in the bathrooms and the laundry but these can be managed using the fans/opening the window/using the air freshener. The door handle in the upstairs bathroom is loose so falls off. The beds move around on the wooden floors. The general cleanliness was ok but the fridge needed a bit more of a clean before putting our food in it and there was food left behind in the freezer. There were adequate cups, glasses and crockery for 4 of us but you had to keep on top of washing up so for more people it would have been a bit annoying. Overall it felt a bit not quite finished off as if it had been rushed to get ready or the people who owned it hadn’t stayed there to see how it works? There’s great potential to make a bit more comfortable and make use of the additional rooms that aren’t being used such as the “router room” - perhaps a table tennis/additional tv? Also information about the area would be helpful as trying to search up things online isn’t possible without WiFi or phone signal. Overall we had a good holiday as the location is stunning and the house was large and comfortable.

  Reviewed by CathyJul 2021

• "This is a beautiful property in a great location with huge potential BUT it certainly does not warrant 5 ticks."

  1.In many years of renting properties here and abroad this was one of the worst equipped properties I have stayed in. It is advertised as a property for 6, I’m glad we were only a party of 3. There were plenty of glasses and large dinner and large picnic plates but:- Only 4 smaller plates, 6 bowls, 4 pasta dishes?! Only six mugs so if there were 6 people in the property you’d be constantly washing up. No type of strainer or collander No tin opener Only 2 sharp knives, one bread and one small vegetable. For this quality of property I’d expect equipment for making real coffee, we went and bought a cafetiere for ourselves. 4 bathrooms only 2 of which had bins in There is a lovely patio but only outdoor seating for 5 people As your details state you can step out onto the upstairs balcony to admire the location but that is all you can do as there is nothing to sit on up there. The beds are on castors and tend to drift across the room. There were some rubber cups for the castors but they are too small so don’t stay on. We are aware of the Covid constraints but that is no excuse for absolutely no visitor information. As a consequence we were unable to deal with the rubbish, didn’t know what the owner wished to have done with the bedding, didn’t know how to operate the skylight opener (we tried to work this out but our conclusion was the batteries were dead) etc. etc. 2.We left a note at the house re all the things that required attention including The skylight opener mentioned above The bath was out of action as the plug wasn’t closing, I was very glad not to have small children with me! The door handle on 2 of the bathrooms needed screwing on properly as they kept coming off (I only had a screwdriver on a penknife to try and secure them). The two bathrooms in the newer part of the property smelled disgusting, bad drain smells. I think the owners were trying to mask this with a plug in air freshener in the entrance hall. We would usually turn these off as they smell pretty awful, we had no choice but to leave it on. The WiFi stopped operating after 2 days. 3.The cleanliness of the property on arrival was very poor especially as the current circumstances mean the cleanliness is more important. I have taken photos but I’m not sure if they will attach so I will try to describe. As the beds are on castors I’d expect the floor under the bed to be spotless but it was very dusty (I only saw this as I was trying to relocate the castor cups!) Baking tray was greasy so needed washing before we could use Drawers contained crumbs Dirty vegetable peeler Grit in the bath Glass in the shower cubicles was dirty Some corners of the floors had clearly not been hoovered and large crumbs under the sofa Bits of apple, raisins and hair left in the washing machine. In the bathrooms you could see that cleaning had been carried out but it looked dirty as the cleaning product had not been rinsed off. All in all a very disappointing property that I would neither revisit nor recommend.

  Reviewed by SaraJul 2021

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