Cormack Lodge - Brodie Castle

Excellent accommodation and location.

Thank you for welcome gifts. Exceptional valve for money. Only slight negative is that the bathroom it misses having a shower and shelf by the bath for shampoo etc…

Lovely comfortable well equipped cottage in good location.

Nice to be able to walk around the estate. A tour of the castle well worth while.

We had a lovely week , the cottage was well equipped and very comfortable

Unfortunately the immediate impact of Cormack Lodge was the overwhelming odour of wet dogs.

This affected the dining room and bedroom, the two areas we occupied most. It only slowly began to dissipate after about 4 days into our stay. We have stayed at other NTS pet friendly properties and there has never been a problem. Perhaps carpeting these areas at this property and then allowing multiple dogs to occupy was not such a good idea. So, disappointed that the property had not been adequately cleaned or aired to remove the very obvious odour before we arrived. Further it was not possible to open the windows. Otherwise, the aspects were fine. Kitchen and equipment were functional although the kitchen door was a nuisance as others have commented; bed was very comfortable - firm mattress; good location, lovely estate; fabulous tour of the castle.

Lovely,well equipped cottage in beautiful location.

Our second time there and would return. Great for dogs. Lots to visit in the area. The castle is well worth a visit too.

This is a beautiful little cottage in the grounds of Brodie Castle.

Very tastefully decorated with some lovely artwork and furniture pieces. Gorgeous vintage bath with shower head attachment. The listing showed that there was a bed settee but that’s not the case. I was there with my best friend and much as I love her I didn’t want to share a bed with her so I managed to sleep on the couch because I’m not very big! I’m sure if I’d contacted management it would have been resolved but it didn’t detract at all from our enjoyment of the holiday or the cottage itself.

The speed of the traffic on the road outside is a real cause for concern.

Despite a road sign for 20mph and pedestrian signage, vehicles pass at speeds of upwards of 40mph, with total disregard for vehicle entrances and pedestrian gates. Given the proximity of the pond, we found dead ducks on the side of the road, having been hit by cars. This was distressing and unnecessary. National Trust for Scotland needs to address this issue urgently.

Fantastic property on the Brodie estate well placed for local exploration.

Note it has a lovely cast iron bath but no walk in shower so you need to be quite spry.There is no bed sofa in the living room .There is a well appointed living room with wood burner and a very well provided kitchen and dining room.

Thank you!

The makeover is 100% successful! The cottage has a lovely homely feel now. The lovely touches around the cottage make it feel inviting and cosy. The kitchen is well stocked, the living room and wood fire were lovely to come back to. I love the big bath and a huge thank you for the addition of bath sheets! The bed is a tad small but very comfy. We had such a lovely week at Brodie, the garden is big and enclosed, and the walk from the wood at the back to the castle is a delight. Also, thank you for the lovely surprise in the living room for the festive season and the welcome pack, which was much appreciated . We will definitely return….thank you for such a lovely, relaxing and cosy week at Cormack Lodge …a well deserved 5 stars

This is our 4th year running at Cormack.

It is such a lovely cottage, all our needs met. The welcome pack of goodies much appreciated. The cottage in perfect position, plenty walks from the cottage door, not far to Brodie Castle. The internet was first class compared to other holiday cottages we have stayed in. Bed very comfortable. House had good heating and easy to adjust. We will be back. Kitchen had everything we needed in it. We will be back

Cormack Lodge was an excellent base for our holiday.

It provided us with all that we needed, a very comfortable bed, plenty of hot water for the bath after a good day out, the right kitchen equipement to prepare the good locally produced food and the opportunity to relax in simple comfort. Thank you to the housekeeping staff at Brodie Castle for heping to make the Lodge so welcoming. One of the daily highlights was the morning and evening walks in the grounds with our dog. The opportunity to soak up the peace and fully appreciate the gardens, the architecture at a lesiurely pace was so refreshing.

A lovely cottage in a great location.

With access to Brodie castle straight over the road, there are plenty of great walks direct from the door step. If we ever stay in the area again we will definitely look to rebook.

Great location for places in that area.

Very well equipped kitchen. Very clean. But there's obviously a serious issue with damp (and consequent smell), not helped by most windows being painted shut, so couldn't air some rooms. The lack of a shower would prevent us from going again.

The cottage is on a road with some traffic, unusual for NT cottages.

Nice walk around lake and to castle. Clean and comfortable although kitchen is rather dated. The lodge is very spacious for 2. A king sized bed would be better and a shower would be helpful. Outdoor deckchairs would be nice.

The location was fantastic (although you do need to drive to most shops/pubs etc).

Lovely evening walks in the grounds of Brodie Castle and around the lake. Quiet & Comfotable.

Lovely, well equipped cottage in a beautiful location.

Excellent for dogs with an enclosed garden. We loved the walks in the grounds of Brodie castle. One improvement would be the addition of a proper shower. We would like to return.

The property was very well equipped and clean all that we needed lovely pictures and lamps

spacious and comfortable cottage.

clean and welcoming. great dog walks, especially directly out the back of the garden. castle Brodie tour is very interesting with entertaining guides and just a short walk away. EV charging but only daytime in the castle carpark.

A wonderful cosy cottage in a fantastic setting.

Lovely walks around the Brodie Castle grounds just on the doorstep. Staff were very responsive to any questions we had. Will definitely return.

This was our 3rd visit to Cormack Lodge, and I loved the renovation !

! its refreshing to stay in a holiday cottage that is bright and cheerful, its what you wish for when you book a holiday, a happy holiday experience and not making you want to turn around and go back home. So thanks again for caring about your customers. We will be back again. oh I forgot to mention !! as usual Scotland and its National Trust Estates are brilliant

Fabulous setting with walks from the doorstep and garden larger than we expected, so dog was happy!

Cottage generally very well equipped, just lacking a dishwasher. Bed was particularly comfortable. Shower not really usable due to lack of screen, but bath a luxury.

A fabulous property which was beautifully furnished, very well equipped with high-end equipment and comfortable.

The home-from-home touches including generous welcome tray, starter supply of logs, variety of books and impressive Christmas tree were much appreciated. The slight damp in the bedroom and bathroom were a minor inconvenience but not so noticeable after the property warmed up. Also had some difficulty closing the wood burner doors so it didn’t burn as efficiently as it should have done. It still heated the living room very quickly. Would love to come back when the opportunity arises and definitely recommend to others.

Cormack Cottage is an absolutely wonderful cottage.

We loved our stay and will definitely be back. Thankyou.

Cormack Lodge was a lovely location, comfortable and warm place to chill out and relax in the evenings.

Great location for exploring the Moray coast and forests in surrounding locations. Fantastic welcome pack and NTS staff at Brodie Castle were always very responsive, helpful and friendly. Would definitely recommend and will be back in the future. Bed was very comfortable. The lodge was perfect for us and our four legged friends.

Third time here, we love it.

Love the area. Cottage is perfect. Will be back

Having stayed at Cormack Lodge three times, I have to say I was very surprised by the new curtains and heating, towels were thick and soft also new carpet through out and new furniture.

It all combined to make a good self catering let; a really nice comfortable home from home. The book shelves were a great idea and I added a couple of books I finished there. The welcome tray and fresh flowers were an other lovely idea. I look forward to going back next year.

We have just returned from a wonderful week in this lovely cottage.

It was comfortable, clean and charmingly decorated. Despite the reservations of some previous reviewers, we found nothing to fault about the property. We enjoyed its situation in the grounds of Brodie Castle which give opportunity for excellent walks, and it is a very convenient base for exploring this interesting part of the country.

Although THREE emergency phone numbers there was difficulty contacting anyone when wanted.

We found bed too small. Fairly busy road outside not comfortable to walk along to nearby cafe.

Our initial impression was that the property was was in a beautiful location and is very well presented.

Imagine our surprise when we entered the dinner to find a lovely selection crisps and biscuits plus a bottle of Scottish water. The house was spotlessly clean and included towels and bed linen. Despite what other’s have said we found the bed firm and very comfortable indeed. The kitchen was very well appointed and ther was even a litre of lovely cold milk in the fridge

There were some welcome touches such as provision of scatter cushions in the living room, ornaments and replacement dining room furniture.

Initially we found the bed to be very hard, not as we remembered from previous visits. We thought we were maybe imagining this but I then read the scathing complaint from a recent guest citing this issue. I contacted NTS at Brodie Castle and Kirsty sorted the problem the same day by sourcing a new mattress topper (on a Sunday!). Once this was fitted there was a noticeable increase in comfort. This was much appreciated. Unfortunately, soon after our arrival, the weather turned unseasonably cold and we were more than glad of the wood-burning stove. It was used a lot more than we had anticipated! All in all, despite the poor June weather, we had another very pleasant stay at Cormack Lodge.

We had to cut our 2 week holiday short by some 5 days due to the pain caused to both my wife and myself by the bed.

When we arrived, we found the bed mattress to be so firm it was like lying on a concrete block! In all our years of using Sykes as a company which we relied on to provide us with a good holiday, we have never had anything like this before. No matter how hard you pressed, there was very little give on the mattress, and we were unable to rest comfortably without either of us being in pain as if we had slept on the floor. in fact, I have slept on floors in tents while camping right through to comfortable ‘posh’ hotel beds with no discomfort such as this caused. Due to the amount the holiday had cost us, along with the distance travelled to get there, we had pinned our hopes on this being an excellent break, so we endeavoured to stay as long as possible. Imagine my horror of finding my wife in tears on the Tuesday morning and being unable to move due to the pain, and with her being scared to try and sleep there any more, I decided it would be better to bring her home. When we first arrived, there was a terrible musty damp smell throughout and along with the musty smell, that others have also commented on in their reviews, in the kitchen we also found a mouse carcass along with a cardboard Rodent Trap/Bait Box for Mouse Poison Control by the boiler. I appreciate the wildlife problems that can happen and understand the problems therein, but to leave a carcass in the kitchen where food is prepared is certainly not in health and safety considerations or something your guests should experience. As you know, mouse droppings etc are enough for councils to close down establishments where food is prepared. The trap in the kitchen was very dirty and covered in grime as if it had been there for a very long time. This total experience has really soured our impression of the Sykes holiday experience we have enjoyed for many years. Sykes say that they have not had any complaints so if you have had any poor experience at this lodge I would advise you to complain so that things may improve for other visitors.

I rented the place because I had some family connection to the area but if I didn’t have that I don’t know if I would be able to justify the expense for the accommodations.

I did appreciate the flowers and small amenities but I did find it as not an ideal place as most stores and restaurants are in neighboring towns and not nearby.

Loved Cormack Cottage, comfortable, warm and ideally situated!

The complementary castle tour and use of the grounds was the cherry on top of the visit. Will recommend and return.

Loved the cottage, the setting and everything about Cormack Lodge.

To make it perfect, a little footstool in the lounge. For putting up weary legs after walking the grounds with the dog. Yes the skylight in the kitchen leaked a little, but we had heavy rain, and a little kitchen roll did the trick. The garden was fantastic for the dogs. We will be back.

Wonderful little cottage, very comfortable and with a lovely and secured garden for our dog to enjoy!

The staff at the castle was really nice and very helpful. They were also very enthusiastic and clearly passionate about the estate as well. We would love to book again!

Couple of things to consider.

When there was heavy rain it was dripping in from the skylight in the kitchen. There was a smell in the bedroom/bathroom of damp. A spare blanket would have been welcomed.

It was a lovely cosy cottage.

Really good value. Lovely and private and really nice dog walks straight from the door.

Generally fine.

Unfortunately there was dog excrement at the front of the property and the kitchen roof window was dripping condensation onto the floor, it also desperately needs maintenance as it was black with mould. Otherwise, the cottage was comfortable, warm and just what we wanted.

A warm , cosy, comfortable and well equipped cottage in beautiful surroundings.

Great walks from the cottage.

Great week at Brodie Castle,our 2 scottie dogs loved the walk around the duck pond.

Lodge very comfortable and had everything we needed.A must is the tour of the castle and a walk through the playful garden and a hot chocolate in the tea room !

Good value for money.

Well heated, clean and comfortable. Good kitchen. Clean towels & bed linen. Nice surroundings. However, some improvements are needed - gutters and drains blocked leading to dampness and accompanying smell; eccentric hot water - timing & quantity, simply not possible to have a bath; unable to make contact to arrange complimentary castle tour.

There was apparently heating in the cottage but NOT at the correct times .

The heating came on very early when we were still in bed . When we came in the evening about 18 00 , the cottage was not very warm and the heating was off . We had considered buying an electric fire to keep us warm . It was a good job that the weather had been quite warm during our stay !!! If we did not have a roaring coal fire on , it would have been quite miserable in the cottage . My wife has mobility issues and was unable to get into the bath because of its height . It would have been helpful to have had some kind of aid to help her get into the bath . We still had a great time in our visit to Moray

What a wonderful location, among the trees on Brodie estate, grounds of Brodie Castle excellent, great place to walk your dog, as is the path beside the Duck pond.

All nearly next door to the Lodge, but far enough away as to maintain your privacy. The Lodge is spacious and well equipped, log burner very useful, when needed, cosy. Garden in enclosed and a good size. Would definitely stay there again. Forres is 5 minutes down the road, where are family live, so perfect spot for us. Aug 2023. Sue, Glen & Gracie dog, from Lincoln.

A delightful cottage, I found everything I needed within a clean, comfy cottage.

The garden was fenced off and safe for the dog. The only drawback was the noisy road just outside the gate though saying that Brodie Castle grounds was just across the road and I enjoyed the peace and the gardens when the visitors had gone.

A return visit to Cormack Lodge as the location is excellent.

We love the wood at the back and walk to Brodie castle, the enclosed garden and easy access to everywhere. The cottage is no frills, and since the makeover it’s not as comfortable as it was. We avoided the living room as it a little too soulless now. The space for a cottage for two is comfortable, the bath is great and plenty of hot water and heat, when required. The bedroom is comfortable, but would benefit from airing out. The dining room is great for eating and relaxing (would be better if the dining chairs were upgraded). The kitchen is adequately equipped. You need to bring essentials such as hand soap, kitchen roll, bin bags (as only one provided) and decent toilet paper. However, we have visited three times now so the pros do outweigh the cons. Brodie is a very lovely place to stay.

The property suited my needs without any difficulties.

It was ideally located for using as a base and exploring Scotland. The woodland walks were good and also the duck pond close by. I had no difficulties with any of the equipment whilst staying at the property. Cormack lodge would be my first look to see if available for future booking

This was our second visit to Cormack Lodge.

It was pleasing to note that previous comments that I and others had made had been actioned. Furnishings had been upgraded and both Wi-Fi and tv reception were much improved. There is more information available in loose sheets but this could be improved by including these in a comprehensive folder for the property. Unfortunately the garden area still awaits turfing following drainage repairs but direct contact with NTS explained that this work had been delayed due to adverse weather conditions before our arrival. Fortunately weather conditions were dry during our two-week stay. All in all we had a very pleasant return visit.

Second stay at Cormack just as enjoyable as first stay last May.

Everything perfect. Walks from outside door which is a must for us. Back in October. Thank you.

There was no broadband on our arrival.

I tried reporting the issue on the numbers given for Brodie castle and the duty manager but both went to voicemail. This was around 4pm. The Sunday morning there was a knock on the door and a groundskeeper said but had been contacted and would look at the fault. We heard nothing until Tuesday morning when we got a call to arrange a convenient time for someone to enter the cottage. I explained that we had had to travel home for my wife’s mum’s funeral on th Tuesday and wouldn’t be back until Wednesday evening so with only two days of our holiday left we didn’t want to be tied waiting for repairs. So no broadband all week. Also there were no kitchen towels provided or oven gloves. And no instructions for the heating, the sheets of paper left with information for the cottage said instructions were in a folder in the kitchen but there was no folder. In addition the garden was dug up, whilst we were made aware of this a couple of days before we arrived it was disappointing that we couldn’t sit outside as it’s a key aspect of what we enjoy. Overall it was a very disappointing experience (particularly since we originally booked south lodge).

There was a definite improvement on last year's stay; but could I suggest a list of bins day.

My family live in Forres and I know the bin days are weeks apart, but a list left in a prominent place could go a lot to easing the bin problem. Saying that the shed was very much improved. My comments about the thinness of towels were taken on board things were much improved. Also, how about a book where we could pass on places to visit and shops to shop in, we had something like that in a cabin in Rafford a few years back which we found useful. However, as we know the area quite well, we were okay. Television reception could be improved; but we enjoyed the silence and listening to the radio whilst reading our books.

This cottage was clean and tidy but not very homely we spoke to the girl who manages the property and she told us that it was due for upgrading.

Cormack Lodge was very comfortable ( apart from dining chairs!

), generally well equipped and furnished to a good standard for a holiday let. Your listing includes a DVD player which isn’t there any more. This was raised with NTS staff at Brodie Castle but nobody got back to us on this. As TV reception is suspect due, I think, to a bad aerial connection, a DVD player is all the more relevant. Some other issues / facts that should be highlighted are: - - lack of any comprehensive information pack relevant to the property (e.g. location of shops or services, local recycling regime and bin collection, simple collated instructions for equipment in property, etc.) - WiFi doesn’t work in lounge so ‘smart’ features on TV don’t work, so no iPlayer or red-button available. - lighting is very dull for reading by, in what is already a fairly dark, shady cottage. - no oven gloves in kitchen and only one thin dish towel for a two-week stay. It should be noted in the listing that there is no mobile phone reception in the property on BT mobile or EE. This was an issue for me because of inability to receive one particularly important incoming call on a medical issue.

+ Spotless, good standard of decor and flooring, kitchen well equipped, outside table bench, good sized garden well fenced.

- No info for visitors, (recycling bins, local interest etc), walls bare, only a few pictures perhaps some photographs of local features? No cushions on chairs. Right next to a fast road.

A really quaint old cottage ideally situated for our needs and nice to come home too after a day adventuring.

Comfortable bed and plenty of lovely white towels.

The rooms smelt musty on arrival but after some air came through it was better. It was thoughtful to have milk in the fridge for our arrival and biscuits .Thank you .

The property had not been serviced when we arrived but a phone call was met with a prompt response.

The TV channels were very limited. We would prefer an enclosed shower.

We have stayed in many National trust properties and once again not disappointed.

The location was perfect. We had our springer with us and walks direct from the door we’re ideal. Well furnished, warm and everything we needed was available. Would love to go back even later this year.

Unfortunately we were very disappointed.

Examples: Most of the windows could not be opened. The curtains were partly moldy. The skylight in the kitchen didn't allow a second look.

Lovely cottage in a great location.

If you lovely the simple and traditional this cottage will tick all the boxes.

Overall, my stay was enjoyable and the cottage pretty comfortable.

An abundance of pillows were provided which helped the extremely hard, uncomfortable sofa. A welcome packet in the cottage would be very helpful.- especially for foreign visitors like myself. I didn't understand how you waned me to sort the recycling (I am not from a recycling community so I don't know how it's done here). Instructions in the shed where the bins are kept would be extremely helpful. I didn't understand the hot water heater - getting more than 2 inches of hot water into the bath tub. The washing machine/dryer was also confusing. The router for WIFI should actually be closer to the TV to fully utilize the smart features. I could not make phone calls while in the cottage through my EE service. I had to go out on the road - very strange & inconvenient. The printed directions to the cottage location on my checking in email were not correct. So those should be edited for accuracy.

The cottage was clean and comfortable and we had a very enjoyable holiday.

We would definitely return in the future. The location was excellent with a lake to walk round and the whole castle grounds on the other side of the road, which unfortunately was a very fast one and went right past the front door. The rubbish bin was outside the drive and was full to overflowing when we arrived and was not emptied all week. We had to leave our non recyclable in a bin bag which was tied up on the window sill inside the house as we were frightened that foxes/rats would tear it open if we left it outside. The only other thing that could have been better was that we followed the instructions on how to find the cottage and retrieve the key and then we had no idea where we were in relation to the castle, shops etc and there was no literature inside the cottage and no one to ask. We eventually worked it out but more information, especially on the location of food shops would have been useful.

Great location, dog secure garden and loads of local stuff to do and see