Steading Cottage - Craigievar Castle

Beautiful, spacious, historic cottage.

Lovely views of the castle and magnificent walking paths.

Comfy stay in fantastic surrounding only thing that could be better is mobile phone reception or Widi

As usual with an NTS owned cottage, this is located in a lovely spot (close to the magical pink Craigievar Castle)!

The property is well maintained, but guests need to note that the rubbish/recycling bins are not where the welcome pack indicates. Strangely, there is no shaver/ electric toothbrush point in the very modern and otherwise well appointed bathroom.

Superb location.

Brilliant for dog and I to enjoy countryside. Cottage comfortable.

We stayed for 4 days and have mixed feelings about the cottage.

The first thoughts were very favourable but we found after a couple of days that things like the windows were filthy and the door frames needed a good wipe. On using the over bath shower I almost fell. the bath is quite narrow and you end up standing on the sloping sides inside the bath to get the water from the shower. This is very disorientating especially when washing your hair. A grab rail is definitely needed on the wall to help you stay safe. The cottage was a warm cottage but we were unable to open any windows as they all seemed to be painted shut. We were also rather disappointed that for the 4 days we were at the property, the castle was closed as well as the tea room. I did see the manager on our last day and mentioned this as there was a constant parade of people tooing and froing to the castle. Such a disappointment .

Cottage was a delight as it was as good if not better than advertised.

Well equipped , comfortable ,warm when neede , & plenty of hot water. Castle beautiful & really should be visited , the grounds are lovely to walk our dog in

Lovely cottage in great setting.

Some appliances could do to be updated - particularly the oven which gets too hot and makes the hob rings warm!? Also, not impressed that barely any windows are openable - not even sure if that’s a fire risk!! But overall a great stay!

We understand that it is an old building and with those things can be tricky, but not being able to open a window in the whole house was unexpected.

Since the windows were mostly painted shut or the lifting mechanism was broken, we had to use the front door to get some fresh air in. It wasn’t a real problem but I thought I mention it.

We enjoyed our stay very much.

Beautiful setting. Our only quibble is, as with several other National Trust properties where we’ve stayed, is that basic provisions are rather parsimonious eg only one bin bag and no shower gel. Oh, and the tv has a mind of its own.

This is our second visit and apart from the Hoover in dire need of TLC or renewal, the accommodation and location is very satisfactory for our needs.

We’ve also stayed three years ago in North Mains and that property was equally very satisfactory. Looking forward to returning next year.

Fantastically maintained and very cosy!

We had a lovely time here, and it was a very welcome getaway for the weekend

Stunning views of the castle from this detached cottage.

Well appointed and plenty mod cons. The only thing that could be improved was that the windows don't open and so it is needing better aired. We weren't uncomfortable because of this, but the building will suffer.

We will be there next year.

We had a very peaceful, pleasant time staying here, so close to the lovely castle and also a grand base for exploring many other great places.

Very nice accommodation.

It was a very relaxed journey.

Absolutely fantastic place.

Lovely setting. So peaceful. Fantastic walks round the grounds, especially early morning, late evening. Lots to see and do in the area. Just perfect.

Comfortable, cozy yet spacious space with a great view of the castle.

Lots of lovely walks around the property. The location is brilliant, with loads of castles and other historic properties an easy drive away, and the cottage itself is in a quiet and very dark location on the grounds. The staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. The cottage had everything needed for an extended stay, including a washing machine; however, it would have been helpful if the kitchen had been stocked with simple necessities such as salt and oil (will definitely remember this on our next stay, although the nearby grocery store had everything we needed). A change I would like to see is the check-in time: 5 p.m. seems late, especially with check-out at 9:30 a.m. Another minor annoyance was the nonstop emails regarding our stay -- in less than one month, I've received 18 messages regarding this one booking. It's nice to be informed, but this is too much. However, despite these minor complaints, my family and I were happy with our stay and this cottage in particular, and we're looking forward to booking again soon.

Comfortable and homely cottage, warm and well equipped.

Spectacular trees!

We had a short great stay at the Steading cottage with some pleasant walks among, particularly the beautiful old trees around the castle.

We want to be back when the pink Castle opens again—just the place for a relaxing quiet time.

The cottage was absolutely lovely, classically updated with everything you need.

In a lovely quite, peaceful remote area close to the Cairngorms. Although there was very little mobile connectivity it did not bother us at all…I would visit the cottages again.

Clean and warm, good facilities except iron was missing.

Gorgeous setting, meticulously clean, private, and reasonably priced.

Have stayed in all three cottages and it’s a fabulous spot to see Royal Deeside The only thing is it could do with more comfortable seating

Very comfortable and well equipped.

Liked the American style closets in the bedrooms giving lots of hanging and storage space. Only one problem the combination door lock on the front door did not always lock securely and required some fiddling with to ensure the catch located correctly. This needs some urgent attention.

The cottage was perfect for our needs and had everything necessary for our weeks stay.

There was no internet connection at the cottage but that wasn't important to us.

Pros - lovely location on the estate, with plenty of walks and gardens to stroll through.

Clean throughout, and generally well equipped kitchen. Efficient heating (needed even in summer!). Comfortable beds, warm duvet covers. Cons - horrid horrid lounge furniture! In this day and age, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a comfortable evening on a sofa which isn't a reject from an NTS property circa 1950. The sofa and armchairs in the property are awful! Uncomfortable, tiny, just impossible to relax in after a day hiking in the surrounding gorgeous countryside. We generally just went to bed early rather than try. This was disappointing, given we stayed for 2 weeks. I can't imagine what a few rainy days would have been like. Just awful, I imagine. Also, bring your own bath mat (as we did) as shower is an over bath type and extremely slippery. Also, surely, a hair dryer and iron are standard items these days?

Great cottage, nice dining table, adequate kitchen, effective heating.

A decent vacuum cleaner was provided so nice and easy to clean up. Only thing missing was an iron, (which previous visitors had broken), and a teapot would have been useful.

We had a wonderful week, the property was clean upon arrival and has a fully equipped kitchen.

However, there were a couple of niggles, no toilet roll, no kitchen roll or sponge to wash up. These are just a few of the items which we have always had in some form at other properties. If just a roll to get through until we do a shop. The bed in the main bedroom was uncomfortable but despite this the cottage is cosy and comfortable. The proximity to the castle and the scenery and wildlife in the grounds is amazing. The area around the castle and the wider Cairngorms is simply srunning and largely untouched. We will definitely be back.

What a difference a week makes, the week before it was sunny and warm and our week it was mostly cloudy and rather cool.

While I was happy with the cottage my wife found it cold unless the heating was on all the time we were in. However, I did think there should have been a shower mat available for the bath. Unfortunately, my wife overbalanced and hit her face and we had to leave on the Thursday, just in case there were any complications which, happily, there weren't.

The cottage was well presented and very cozy in a beautiful surrounding.

We often struggled to shut the door as it had a key pad not a key. There was also dirt in the bath which needed to be cleaned before we used it. However it was very warm and had all necessary equipment. A bag of logs to use would be a bonus even if we had had to pay extra as we would not have been able to fit one in the car it was so full. A lovely stay and would stay again.

Cottage was ideal for our family.

Very cosy & comfortable. Had everything we needed for our stay. Wi-Fi & mobile signal are a bit of a hit & miss but we knew that before we arrived.

A very comfortable cottage in a great rural/isolated location for peace and quiet especially in the evenings after tourists visiting the castle have gone.

Some small gripes. Utensils in kitchen were good, but no tea pot. The Electric cooker needs upgrading, the strongest ring won't maintain the water boiling adequately if for example you make pasta. The website did not make it clear you needed to bring your own fuel for open fire. However these are small points and we really enjoyed the cottage.

This is such a cosy but well equipped cottage.

It felt homely straight away. It’s in the grounds of the, fabulous, fairytale-pink Craigievar Castle so there’s about 60 hectares of woods and other paths / fields to roam ( our dogs were in heaven). The staff and volunteers at the castle - which is a ‘must-see’ are friendly and full of great stories of the area. It’s remote so no pub or restaurant within about 9 miles but you need transport if you go to the Highlands. Also, no WiFi and very limited phone connection if that’s important to you. We found it to be a really relaxing break from hectic life with the magnificent Cairngorms to explore and lots to do and see in the surrounding area including wildlife. When all the walking and cycling makes you hungry there’s great food nearby and everyone we met were friendly. We will return.

Lovely location and cottage had everything we needed except it would have been good to know in advance there was no mobile phone signal as well as no WiFi!

The members of staff at the castle, particularly John were very helpful.

Beautiful location for the cottage right next to the wonderful castle, lovely walks including a more strenuous marked one up behind the property, Alford has good Coop nearby and plenty to see and do all around, great place