Scottish Highlands & Islands holiday cottage: Glencoe

We found this cottage to be a good family sized accomodation, excellent views acoross Loch Linnhe. the ammenities were very good especially the free use of the swimming pool and DVD's at the nearby Holly Trees hotel. Maintainence staff were very punctual; when needed. The location and accomodation and facilities available i.e. washer, dryer central heating etc. made it suitable for any time of the year.and excellent venue for a group of walkers however improvements could have been made by the availability of an extra set of keys, and an uptodate information book re- local restraurants, amenities etc. also we found the barbecue area had not been cleaned up for some time i.e there was still a dog's bone and rubish lying about from previous occupants also the barbecue itself appeared not to have been cleaned for some time.

The price is excellent for a property that sleeps ten people. The view from the French window and veranda is stunning, although the French window only opens with extreme force - very stiff. Our only gripe with the provision outdoors is that there are no garden chairs and there is no barbecue (contrary to the description), but on a warm evening the view over the loch with beer in hand is not to be faulted. Kitchen facilities were generally pretty good, but the dishwasher doesn’t work very well. You have to press the power button several times before it will stay on, and even then it’s not very good at cleaning crockery or pans. The front left ring on the cooker hob doesn’t work: the knob is worn, so that it can’t turn the ring on. Also, there is only one socket shared between the fridge and dishwasher, so that you have to unplug the fridge to operate the dishwasher. The dining table easily seats ten people. As far as lounge facilities go, it’s comfortable but only seats six people comfortably. The TV and DVD player work, but the TV signal is very poor (just watchable) and the DVD player has no remote, so we had to watch “Stand By Me” with subtitles all the way through. The hotel that owns the cottage provide a very good free DVD loan service. Bathrooms are fitted out to a good standard, the only real criticism being that the toilet in the ensuite bathroom has a very weak flushing action. A pool table in the lounge/kitchen is a definite bonus for passing time in the evening or while you’re waiting for people to get ready to go out. Bring your own cue chalk. Also, free use of the very modern swimming pool and sauna, at the hotel down the road, is a real enhancement to the holiday. A minor gripe is that sauna wasn’t always hot enough. Staff at the hotel are friendly and helpful, although service at the bar could be a lot faster. The bar meals are good, but vegetarian options are on the expensive side with small portions. There is a terrace with a good view of the loch, but it tends to be dominated by smokers. Local walks are very enjoyable, especially along the dedicated cycle/walking track that runs behind the cottage. Within very easy reach of the cottage (mostly by car) there are more activities of various types on offer than you could hope to get through in a week. There is another hotel down the main road in the opposite direction – easily walkable – but it’s less relaxed than the one that owns the cottage and full of people on corporate bonding courses.