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"A very comfortable cottage which was neat and tidy on arrival."
A log fire helps to keep it cosy on a cold night. Very well positioned for visiting distilleries.
Archiestown is a quaint village but regrettably has no restaurants for eating out. The Archiestown hotel which, if Googled, shows a nice restaurant but the hotel has been closed for some time. Aberlour nearby has many facilities but it does mean driving there.
Reviewed by ThomasApr 2022
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"Great holiday hope to return next year"
Reviewed by RobertOct 2021
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"We had a good week at Newlands."
It is a cosy cottage with plenty of space for a family (only 5 of us but our kids prefer to have their own rooms - hence the need for somewhere with 4 bedrooms!). It could perhaps do with a bit of TLC - some shoogly fittings etc. But it is in a lovely location with nice views to the hills and the enclosed garden is great for the dog. We found some good walks in the area.
Reviewed by AilsaOct 2021
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"Plenty of hot water, comfortable beds, couldn't find any non slip bath/shower mat."
Great view from the kitchen and living room. Could do with some clear instructions on using the television. We would of loved some information of the history of the house.
Reviewed by KarenAug 2021
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"Lovely cottage, good location for sight seeing"
Reviewed by ElaineJul 2021
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"Good accommodation, plenty of room for 7 of us."
Big kitchen diner with everything you need.
Unfortunately the only Hotel within walking distance for a drink or food was closed for refurb at the time we were there, end of July.
The map location on Sykes app actually sends you up the wrong dirt track road. But it is close by.
Reviewed by PeteJul 2021
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"The house was comfortable for our family of five plus a dog, who enjoyed the safe, big garden."
Nice open views to the front. The directions for finding the house could have been slightly clearer but the arrangements for keys and so on were good.
Reviewed by CharlesJul 2021
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"Not deep cleaned to a suitable standard."
Both outside and inside required money spent and attention to detail on level of cleanliness and tidiness.
I felt the property had been charged out at the highest price with as little spent on it as possible. The list was long but to find cobwebs and dead flies behind the curtains , poor cleanliness in the bathrooms and dust around the skirtings and window sills was something no one should have missed.
As a family we choose many cottage holidays often several a year and Sykes is one of our go to companies. I am not in the habit of giving poor feedback but I felt this property was letting the normal high standards down.
Maybe some form of inspection is over due.
Reviewed by MichaelJul 2021
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"We've stayed in a lot of self catering holiday cottages in Scotland and this was well below the standard we are used to."
There was a leftover dog toy which obviously belonged to a previous visitor under one of the chairs which doesn't give you much confidence the place has been cleaned thoroughly. The beds (and a lot of the other furniture) were old and worn and not that comfortable. Bedding and linen was fine but the beds need replacing. The bathrooms were also in need of an update, very basic and a bit shabby looking. There is a lovely big garden but the only outdoor seating was an old bench and table, it would be nice to have some proper outdoor seating so you can make the most of the garden/eat outside of the weather is nice. The cottage was well equipped with all the basics and location was great but some investment is needed to upgrade the furniture/bathrooms to make this a more enjoyable holiday cottage.
Reviewed by LauraJul 2021
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"A comfortable, warm house."
Decor was a bit dated but fitted the farmhouse feel of the property. There is a lovely big garden in the property with Apple trees. Garden is not totally enclosed.
Property is a short walk from the village but on a busy road. Village is very quiet but there are some nice walks not far from the house. We had a nice stay in the property.
Reviewed by PaulOct 2020
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"Excellent location and a very homely cottage."
Kids loved the garden and it was a good split having 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom upstairs and 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom downstairs.
Was very good value for money and we all really enjoyed our stay. Would recommend!
Reviewed by StevenJul 2020
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"Newlands was the perfect getaway for New Year."
The house was clean, cosy and comfortable with a very well equipped kitchen for cooking. Central heating was super efficient and log fire added to the winter warmth. The 5 ring stove and double oven were a treat. Views over Ben Rinnes were stunning. Sunrise and sunset were especially amazing. We loved standing outside at night time and admiring all the stars. Lovely walk down a forest track to Aberlour for a pint in the Mash Tun, then along the Spey to Craigellachie for lunch at the Copper Dog and a wee Dram in the Highlander. Pippa was very helpful. Great walks in the woods behind Archiestown too. Loved it. Hope to be back soon.
Reviewed by EmilyDec 2019
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"We were very uncomfortable on the beds, the mattresses were too hard and the springs in them lumpy."
As I have arthritis the pain was worse after trying to sleep on the beds. I had to put am duvet on top of the matress
to enable me to sleep at all, my daughter suffered back pain and this worried me as she is only young.
We left early on the Wednesday instead of Saturday due to this and the weather drawing in.
There were too few logs left for the log burner and we had to purchase our own which were hard to find,
and when we did they were expensive. We needed the burner as it got quite cool in the evenings.
We had not expected this additional expense so we left early.
Reviewed by DorothyJul 2019
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"We thoroughly enjoyed our stay but had to buy a larger teapot and a jug to meet our catering needs."
It would also have been useful to know just what soap was being supplied in the bathrooms.
Reviewed by PeterJul 2019
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"A comfy cottage with massive garden and local walks from cottage into forest ."
Good location as can do inland and coastal walks - Morayshire coast was spectacular .
Note - no dishwasher - may be an issue for a large party.
Initial issues with level of cleaning on arrival - owner apologised and plans to address with cleaning staff, so hopefully will no longer be an issue.
Despite above we would return to this property and we had an excellent holiday here.
Reviewed by ElaineJun 2018
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"Ease of booking - simple yet effective!"
Reviewed by BertMay 2018
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"A very well placed cottage for visiting distilleries or just going for walks."
It is very comfortable and there's plenty of room for all the family and visiting friends, the garden is also large with lots of of visiting birds which the children loved to feed and watch. We would highly recommend this cottage it is warm (loved the wood burner) and relaxing and we will book again.
Reviewed by WilliamFeb 2018
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"Great loction and nice clean cottage comfy beds"
Reviewed by GeorgeApr 2017