Kimkim Trip Reviews for Scotland

This could not be further away from Hilton or a major hotel chain. This hotel is on the 6th floor of a building in center city. It is not appealing from the street, but inside it is extraordinary. It is immaculately clean with a simple, tasteful decorations. The staff is lovely and friendly, and the big surprise is a daily supply of freshly on-site baked goods and homemade ice cream. Breakfast is served in a cozy breakfast room with staff cooking in the visible kitchen. The entire experience provides a sense that you are visiting an older relative who is delighted you are there and she would do anything to make you feel welcome and at home. I would definitely return. It was the best first impression of Glasgow.

3.5. My sisters and I stayed on the top floor in a “family suite.”It consisted of one room with a king bed and a twin bed. Next door was a small room with a bunk bed. Both rooms were separated from the hallway by another door. There was one en-suite bath for us to share. There were three big negatives to this arrangement: Three guests sharing one bathroom. Poor air circulation NO LIFT… and the hotel staff was actually the wait staff in the pub on the first floor. The rooms were clean, and the location was good. The food in the bar downstairs was satisfactory , but not great. The wait staff was very friendly. We did ask for assistance with carrying heavy luggage up the stairs. Our ages range from 73-80 so this was a challenge. The pub staff helped, but they were not available when we had to depart on a train before 7:00 am . I liked the concept of rooms over the pub , but the poor air circulation and the luggage on stairs made this an Inn I would not rebook. Inverness is a town with many tourists. I imagine other hotels may be more comfortable.

We loved staying at the Manor House. The rooms were clean and more spacious than some we experienced in Scotland. The check in process is through the bar. One of the co owners checked us in. The owners, a husband and wife team, were eager to please and fn to talk with. Mary Ellen graciously offered to wash dry and fold our laundry for 5 £ each. I originally asked about sending it out to a laundry service. This is the kind of place Manor House is. They do everything that can to please their guests. Leo, Mary Ellen’s husband is a co-owner and an entertaining and charming bar tender. Their sweet children perform Hotel duties, including wait staff and trouble shooting. Sally, their sweet black dog lives attention and is a balm for guests who have left their pet at home.

This was the only lodging during our trip where the staff seemed overwhelmed and not very friendly. I almost forgot I was in Scotland. No one tried to engage us in conversation or inquired about our needs. No lift. No offers to bring luggage upstairs in spite of our obvious advanced age. The toilets in the lobby had signs saying they were only for residents’ use. Even as a guest, I had to get a key from the reception desk. The bathrooms were tiny and hard to use. The best part of this hotel was the location. It was easy to walk throughout Portee., and the view over the water was gorgeous. We never went into the restaurant for dinner. It was unappealing. No customers. Uninviting smell. The room itself was not inviting. The bed was comfortable, but one window did not open , making it hit and uncomfortable.

Pennygate Lodge is fantastic. Beautiful setting. Beautiful interior. Immaculately clean and tastefully decorated. Large guest rooms and bathrooms. Comfortable beds. Excellent linens. So appreciated a top sheet! Lovely Highland Soap toiletries. Fabulous shower. Tasty local cookies in the room. Glass bottles of water and milk in a hall refrigerator. Impressive attention to the environment. The owners and hosts are a couple who renovated this old manse to create a graceful and welcoming home to travelers. Fiona was out of town during our stay, but her husband Tony was an outstanding host, going out of his way to provide transportation to the ferry and Castle Duart. He was clearly invested in our enjoying our holiday. In addition to the lovely guest rooms and a comfortable lounge/ sitting room, Pennygate Lodge has an excellent restaurant on site owned and run by a husband and wife team. They serve an order- from-the-menu breakfast every morning that far exceeds the customary hotel breakfast fare. Dinner, which requires reservations, is a night out — without leaving your your guest house. The atmosphere is simple yet elegant. The co-owner and chef’s wife is the sole wait staff, who is obviously devoted to impeccable service. The meal begins with a complimentary creative starter. We ate there two nights. We would have made it three nights, but they do not open for dinner on Sundays. Each night, all three of us were delighted with every course. The website says there is a fixed price for 3 courses. This is not current. Diners can order just a starter or as many courses as they chose. This is fine cusine. Mull is not a bit fancy nor highly populated, but this restaurant would be successful in an foodie city.

There was nothing wrong with this hotel except it was highly generic. One exception: the interior decor was positively ugly. It had the feeling of any chain hotel in the US. It is owned by the same company that brought us generic middle of the road Holiday Inn

Andy was well informed, friendly and fun to be with. His most amazing feat was finding Geraldine Bird, a parish historian at the church my grandmother and her family attended in Rutherglen. He did not seem to do any preliminary work to check out the address where my grandmother and her family lived in Rutherglen. I did not expect to see the flat where they lived, but I did expect him to do his homework. With us, he used his GPS seemingly for the first time to find the location. He drove us through Govan and Gorbals with some history of the area. His own experience as a Glaswegian was a real bonus. Honestly, his personal charm and general personality was very appealing to us on our first full day in Glasgow. His personality gave us an excellent impression of Glasgow and its residents.

No problem other than the cycling race in Glasgow which blocked the street in front of our hotel. No way to avoid this — except the company could have texted us in advance.

Excellent walking tour guide. Very well informed. A good mix of straight history and local tales. Good sense of humor. Flexible. Willing to stop when we were hungry. Found a good place to eat. Passionate love for Caithness, which was contagious.

Angela was an excellent guide. She was so personable that we felt as if we had known her for a long time. Her love of Caithness was palpable. Having her respond to people who spoke to her as we toured made the experience feel so genuine. Angela was extremely tuned in to showing us what we wanted to see. I told Stephen I wanted to see Highland Cattle and she took us to her neighbors’ land where we could see them up close without crowds. She herself is a “wild swimmer” — meaning she swims in the cold sea by her home. She has relatives who surf near her home. It all felt so genuine. It’s hard to get this level of insight on vacation.

Excellent. Very informative guide with a deep knowledge of the Jacobite rebellion. She clearly separated myths from history for those of us who had some background information upon arrival. She was very pleasant and easy to listen to and follow. Seeing this site and realizing the impact of this battle that lasted less than an hour Had quite an impact on us.

Fabulous experience. The guide is amazing. I could have listened to him for a week. He had a beautiful speaking voice and perfect delivery of history and tales. He also read his audience well. Gods use of traditional Scottish music to enhance the tour. Great opportunities to get out, walk, and experience Skye. Lovely lunch in a cafe in route. Bull, our guide was a consummate professional. I would recommend him without reservation.

The tour of Mull given by a former Mull high school teacher was good. It did not have the same thrill or love of the area that other tours had. The Mull tour did not include Castle Duart, which we did the day before in our own. Our host at Pennygate Lodge drive us there at no cost to us. As MacLean descendants, we lived the castle and we were thrilled to meet the current clan chief, Sir Lachlan MacLean. He was such a kind gentleman and interesting to talk with. The gift shop on site was the only place where I made purchases. Both my daughter and granddaughter have McLean as their middle names so this was especially interesting to me. We had a driver who drove us to the ferry to get to Iona. He was my least favorite driver. He was less informative, and his driving was too aggressive and made all 3 of us nervous.

Comfortable, spacious 2 bedroom apartment. An elevator would have been nice since our apartment was on the third floor, but we managed.

A quaint Villa in the heart of Pitlochry.

Please don’t advertise “free parking”. There was only 8 “free” parking spaces. Difficult to find any parking.

A quaint Inn with comfortable rooms. It was warm and the staff provided a fan to help us sleep comfortably. The staff were friendly and very service oriented!

Gareth was amazing. He was very knowledgeable, provided a lot of history and great info.

The driver was very helpful and patient. It took awhile to get the car that we needed and he waited with us until everything was finalized.

We played the castle course which was the hardest of all the St. Andrew’s courses. It took 5 hours to play and we had to use a push cart. It was a beautiful course! Recommend reserving a cart, but not sure if any are available on this course.

Great guide and tasting at the end of the tour.

Our guide, Steve Reddick, was amazing. Very knowledgeable and passionate. He took us to all of the habitats and we saw many birds and animals. He was a joy!

Our guide was really just a taxi driver. He was very polite and courteous but he did not tell us about the area or provide insight or history.

I expected the trip to be longer and see more. It basically was a quick trip to an area where we saw a few porpoises and supposedly a whale or two. The entire trip took less than 1 hour.

Our guide was knowledgeable but he wasn’t the individual who I believe was originally booked (he said he was asked to step in because the original person was not available). The tour lasted about an hour, much less than what was listed in the itinerary.

there is nothing like watching the close working relationship between a dog and the shepherd. We had the most amazing time with our host. After the demonstration, we got to play with all of the border collies for about an hour. Even my most apathetic teenager had a huge grin on his face.

OMG...these were the most decadent chocolate I have ever had. Never knew chocolate could be that amazing!!

John and his partner certainly did not disappoint. We were suppose to have a 2 hour guided tour with John through Stirling Castle. But he has so much information to offer that the 2 hours turned quickly into 4 hours. If you are a history buff, John is the person for you.

Martin and Jamie were the most laid back guides. even though we did not catch anything, they were gracious hosts. we really enjoyed the beautiful and quiet location. We now can check off Tweed river on our list of top fishing locations.

Wonderful hotel and highly recommended for your visit to St. Andrews. Also, catch a meal there if you don’t feel like coordinating dinner. Included breakfast was also very good. Nice job Rufflets.

Very nice hotel and the experience was overall very nice. Make sure that you confirm which room you are getting as we had a bit of a rough start with room selection but the staff squared it away for us. Also know that you are about a 20 minute walk from the Royal mile. As we didn’t mind walking this was not an issue for us.

If you are serious about golf. This is a MUST do. Golf’s hallowed ground must be seen and toured. Our guide was exceptional, and I wish we remembered his name to share with you.

David was our guide and did an amazing job here. Highly recommended

We played the Jubilee course. The experience was surreal to play on golf’s hallowed ground. If you are serious about golf…you MUST play here.

This was our favorite castle experience. Blair is not like Sterling or Edinburgh castles. It is more of a plantation property. However, the furnishings and grounds are amazing. I our opinion, it is a must see location.

We were in London during a heatwave and we knew there would not be air conditioning. The staff kindly provided us with a second fan, which was much appreciated. The room was quite small but we knew to expect that in such an expensive city. Very clean room and tasty breakfast pastries.

Beautiful spacious room and great location in New Town. Easy to walk to Old Town. The included breakfast at the restaurant across the street was fantastic- best of the trip. Very accommodating staff who helped us send our laundry out.

Lovely room that looked up at Ben Vrackie. Very clean and comfortable and friendly owners. Loved the location; we could walk to dinner on the main street but not noisy at all.

Comfortable room that looked out toward the harbor. Restaurants in town book up very quickly so we ate at the hotel one night and it was delicious. Much better than expected, especially for a hotel restaurant. There's a parking lot but you have to find out the details from the front desk; it's not obvious at all when you arrive. Excellent full breakfast included too.

Nightmare-- the room smelled strongly of cat urine or mold. The hotel said they were unable to move us due to being sold out; in addition, our room opened onto the car park where a car show was going on, meaning that we couldn't open the window to air out the room. I did write to the hotel when we got home and they said they would refund us, but haven't seen it yet.

Eamon met us at baggage claim without any problem and gave us a great introduction to London. It was delightful to ride with him.

We thought that this would be a good way to get an overview of London but our bus was stuck in traffic more than it was able to take us from site to site. Would skip it next time.

Great hike back into the Hidden Valley. The hike in was a bit of a steep scramble in parts (more than I expected) but the route back was less difficult. Lots of beautiful scenery along the way.

Even though we had timed tickets for 10 am, we still had to wait about 30 minutes in line to enter. The line looked like it was getting even longer behind us so I would recommend tickets as early in the day as possible--very glad that Stephen got us morning tickets.

Fascinating walking tour. I didn't catch the guide's name but she was great. Very knowledgable and informative with just the right level of history and other facts.

An unexpected highlight! Beautiful and relatively uncrowded castle on the edge of the ocean. Well worth the drive.

Wonderful tour with Safari Steve. He drove us in a very comfortable Land Rover to several habitats within the park. At each one, we saw birds and other animals that we never would have spotted on our own. Even though we are not "birders," it was delightful for all of us (including 2 teenage boys). One of our most enjoyable days.

Slightly dated. Can be noisy depending on room. No lift. Dining room BEAUTIFUL, overlooks golf course. Food amazing!!

Amazing place and amazing staff. Food unbelievable.

Great place. Great bar entertainment!!

Beautiful place. Great staff. Amazing gardens.

Nice place.

Nice place.

Beautiful lodge in a quaint little town. Comfortable stay with beautiful lake view.

Love The Camillia we called home in Edinburgh - The boat was really a very special experience with lotsa comfort and space for everyone in the family (2 adults + 4 teenagers). Centrally located and convenient - Boat was easy to find within a 10 min bus ride from Waverley Station and just a minute walk from bus stop. Tesco express round the corner (2mins), walking distance to Edinburgh old town and nearby eateries. We'd recommend this unique experience

Cabin is compact with all we needed in a airconditioned cabin, including the inroom shower up to breakfast before checking out.

Beautiful hotel, with great restaurant. Room was very hot and uncomfortable during our stay this summer - Very warm and stuffy inside the room with only 1 fan, and we're unable to open the windows for cooler air (as we noted summer midges from hotel signages). While this was largely due to weather conditions, we'd suggest the hotel to anticipate and provide support for added comfort during such times. Otherwise, it'd definitely dampen the overall holiday vibes and mood at the Scottish highlands.

Beautiful and cosy house - a very pleasant surprise as we arrived, with all that we needed in a home away from home - Clean, spacious, cosy deco for chilling out together, beautiful views with fireplace, fully functional kitchen etc - Would really be perfect for the Winter we believe! BUT, it turned out really uncomfortable during our stay this summer - Very warm and stuffy inside the house with only 1 fan, and we're unable to open the windows for cooler air. Some summer midges made their way into the house too, so it was not pleasant and couldn't sleep well. While weather conditions are not within control, it'd definitely help if there was more fans, portable airconditioner made available. Equally important would be messages for guests on midges precautions. Otherwise, it'd really dampen the overall holiday vibes and mood at the Scottish highlands.

Very cosy stay, with family B&B feel and breakfast!

Hotel looks recently renovated with functional room - good enough if you're here to catch at match at Anfield Stadium (5 mins walk away). Surroundings look quiet with very few people around and not many shops opened when we were there.

2br apartment functional for our family.

A detour from the regular tour itinerary but well worth it for the F1 fans.

Not too eventful other than some random snaps of Loch Ness. Explanation of Lochness/ Monster on board was muffled too...

Beautiful castle

Bucket list ticked for the Liverpool fans! Truly amazing experience at Anfield! YNWA!!

Beautiful engineering piece. Loved the lighted tunnel at the top!

Wildlife watching with Safari Steve was great experience, through his lenses, passion, sights and sounds. Something special for city folks like us!

Cabin is compact with all we needed in a airconditioned cabin, including the inroom shower up to breakfast before checking out.

9.5km hike in the lost valley, glad for the clear blue skies and cool morning breeze

Checked out the mysterious stonehenge with Wills, our very knowledgeable and insightful guide!

The host of this accommodation was so welcoming and friendly! The location and view from the room was wonderful. It was walking distance to shopping and some cool attractions. I would absolutely stay here again!

My husband and I are not usually ones to pay a lot for our accommodations because we are rarely there. We just need a clean place to sleep. However staying in this hotel for a night was a treat. The building is absolutely breathtaking and has an old world feel. So classy. The room had everything we needed and was beautiful and comfortable. Rumour has it that Elton John had stayed there. :-)

This is a small local feeling B&B. The staff were so friendly and the breakfast was delicious. It was a cozy location where you can't help but meet and chat with other guests. The location is perfectly close to downtown and parks and attractions such as the distillery.

Definitely book way in advance to secure a spot in the hotel. The bunkhouse is very rustique and does not offer the same level of comfort some may seek after a long day on the WHW.

The manager was really friendly and helpful! Breakfast was also really good. Might be good to have some additional healthy options, like fruit. Facilities were nice and clean.

Some ongoing constructions. Tools and nails on the floors of the spa area. Pretty dangerous and also unprofessional

The privat tour with our very experienced guide Rhona was a special highlight for us. She really was able to vividly describe the battle of Culloden and patiently answered the many questions we had. She definitely knew all the true and untrue tales and stories about what had happened on this historic field and impressed us with her knowledge of the gaelic language. We highly recommend this tour and especially Rhona as a guide.

The tour was an overall nice experience and offered many beautiful sights such as Neist Point, the Fairy Pools, Fairy Glenn and particularly the Quiraing-formation as well as the notorious Old man of Storr. However, the driver Martin seemed quite rushed and on a very thight schedule, which led to interesting driving manoevers as well as some hasty visits without the necessary time to really appreciate places. The "visit" at Dunvegan Castle for example was meant to be a lunch-break or gift-shop-consumption-stop instead of an opportunity to explore the castle - which we actually did not see at all! The tour was advertised as a "guided tour" which was somewhat misleading, as the guidance offered was merely the drive-around! Martin was friendly and did his best in offering some explanation, but those turned out to be more anecdotal. Personally, we would choose quality over quantity.

We really enjoyed this tour. Mary, our tour guide was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.

Very nice cruise along Lake Linnhe. although The weather was spotty with rain there was seating inside and we we were able to still see the beauty and hear the captain speak about the scenic surroundings

Nice hotel, great staff.

Beautiful, historic hotel in a quiet setting.

Loved this hotel -- it was one of the most beautiful we stayed in. Very modern decor. Our room had an amazing view of the harbor and was very well located. The hotel restaurant, Baab was also exceptional.

This was my least favorite of all the hotels we stayed it. The buildings were formerly a school and the guest rooms in particular feel very institutional. The hotel was fully booked the night we stayed and the staff seemed very overwhelmed. That said, it has a great location that's an easy walk to Stirling Castle.

This was a great location in the in New Town. An easy walk to shopping, restaurants and attractions. The staff was exceptionally friendly and I would have appreciated having the kitchenette if we'd stayed longer in Edinburgh. This was also one of the most spacious rooms we stayed in.

Gareth met us at our hotel and took us on a wonderful walk around Edinburg's new and old town, teaching us about the history and showing us the sites. It was a great way to orient ourselves to the city.

Glamis is a beautiful castle -- exactly what you expect a castle to look like! There are only a few rooms to see and you get to learn a bit of history about the castle and the family. I enjoyed it, but it was not one of my favorite experiences in the end.

I don't consider myself much of a nature person -- not a hiker or a camper and definitely not a bird watcher. That said, this was an amazing experience -- one of my favorites of the trip. Steve our guide was exceptional -- he took us to 4 different habitats in the Cairngorms and taught us all along the way. This is a 5-hour tour, but I could have spent 5 more hours learning from Steve.

Our guide, Rhona, was very knowledgable about the battle and the history. She spent time setting the context and the background of the political situation and really helped us envision the full picture. We asked tons of questions and Rhona was very patient with us.

Right on the banks of Loch Ness, this was my favorite of the 5 castles we visited. The setting was especially lovely.

I am gluten intolerant, but I really wanted a high tea experience on our trip. When you eat gluten free, you just assume that your experience is going to be a compromise vs. that of anyone you're with. That was not the case here. Our table was tucked away in a little alcove, which gave a very private feeling. We were invited to select a personal pot of tea from an extensive list -- wine and champagne are available for an extra fee. This was followed by a several courses including a 3 tier platter of savory bites and a second one of sweets. Everything was 1-2 bites of meticulously prepared food.

Amazing hotel and staff. Unfortunately, when we were there they had issues with the WiFi and the elevator wasn't working. ( we were on the 4th floor). Great location, great breakfast, and the staff were so welcoming and helpful. Liam especially went out of his way to help us out.

The exterior of this hotel may leave you feeling that the inside will be the same, but that is not the case. The rooms are modern, clean and well equipped. There is a restaurant/bar located in this hotel which was also had an amazing atmosphere. Food was excellent and the staff were all very helpful and friendly. The only issue is that there wasn't any parking in their small lot as it was full of the restaurant patrons. They did have overflow parking available in a small lot across the street.

Georgie and Rick were both friendly and very welcoming. This is a beautiful B&B and our room was spacious and well equipped. Modern and clean with a wonderful breakfast. Very relaxing. Georgie recommended Gasta Pizzeria and bar for dinner and it didn't disappoint. It was close by and had great pizza.

Ardrhu House is in a secluded bay with beautiful views and beautiful grounds. The exterior is well maintained and the castle like building is lovely. It has many positive features, the spa, hot tub, outside sitting areas and sun room. The bedroom was a bit small but comfortable. It had an authentic feel. The staff were friendly and helpful. Food was great and the dining was enjoyable.

This is a lovely hotel and very modern and spacious. We had a lovely view of the harbour. Perfect location, but no parking. We had to park in the railway parking lot across the street which was £3 per day. Restaurant for breakfast was spacious, but understaffed. Staff were friendly and helpful. Great little town for walking.

Hotel was very close to airport (6 min walk to airport) , but approx 20 min from central Glasgow. We had an extra day here before our flight left, so we took the airport bus to the town center which worked perfectly and we spent the day touring around Glasgow. This is your typical Courtyard by Marriott hotel and did the trick.

Excellent, worth the visit. This is a must.

A bit disappointing. Food was great, but the experience didn't seem as authentic as we were expecting.

Kate was amazing, so knowledgable and friendly. Loved this tour. Meeting up with Kate at the start was difficult. We didn't really know what to expect and how to locate her.

Our guide was knowledgable and friendly. Again hard to locate her at the start of our tour.

Boat trip was great and well narrated. Urquhart castle was a pleasant surprise and definatley worth seeing.

This was a beautiful distillery and our tour was great. Our tour was booked for 3pm but we arrived at 1:45pm and they were able to accommodate us at the 2pm tour.

This was so fun. The stopover in the town of Mallaig was nice, and just enough time to grab a quick lunch.

We had the perfect weather for this. Staff were awesome, very knowledgable and friendly. We had our tour booked for 3pm but asked if we could change to 10am, and were accommodated. Excellent narration.

Beautiful castle and surrounding area. Very high up and amazing. Parking lot was full so we had to park in a public lot and walk to the castle.

Old, worn furnishings. Even the supposed refurbished room looked tired. We were right over the front door and parking lot and had a lot of noise. The front desk said the room had not been paid for until we showed our receipt. No hot water in the bathroom. We do not suggest that you book this hotel for other guests in the future. We knew this hotel would not be perfect, but we didn’t know how imperfect it would be. Zachary, in the restaurant, was the only highlight of the hotel. Excellent!

The room, location, and staff were all excellent. We had a beautiful view of the river and castle. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Good breakfast!

A great location within Edinburgh to use as a place to eat, rest up. The overall décor was quite exotic. The hotel was very clean and well staffed. The restaurant was quite good and the breakfast service is a nice feature.

a hard to find location, but so worth the travel. A beautiful building set on an island. Amazingly quiet and restful. We did not stay in the main building, but one of the remote cabins. I would rate this as the most unique part of our trip. The staff were so helpful and made us feel welcome.

A total surprise being located near the airport. We could walk from our hotel to the tram that connects to Edinburgh. This allowed us an extra day to get back to the city for additional exploration.

The train was comfortable. The ride was a bit simplistic. It was difficult to fill in two hours in the town of Mallig.