Christmas Cottages In Scotland To Rent

Norma - verified booking

"S22733 is a well presented and comfortably furnished holiday cottage. It was a great place to spend our Christmas holiday and we had a very peaceful and relaxing time there. Our accommodation was of a very good quality and was warm and well-heated, and was well thought out and immaculately clean. We were delighted to receive a very kind and welcome Christmas gift of chocolates and champagne on arrival, which was amazing and made a lovely start to the holiday. We can only compliment the owner for their kindness and courtesy, and any communications that we had to make with the owner or any queries that we had prior to the holiday were dealt with in a friendly and helpful manner.The cottage was full of character and was traditionally styled and had on display some beautiful photographs of the local area and some large framed ordnance survey maps, which were both decorative and informative, and became a very useful guide for planning our days out in the local area. Ideal for families or keen walkers, the cottage is situated in the highland village of Kingussie, which is within the Cairngorms National Park and is well-placed for exploring the Rothiemurchus Estate and the Cairngorms, the area around Fort William and the Ben Nevis Range, Inverness or the Loch Ness area, and within a forty- five minute drive through the dramatic and rugged pass of Drumochter, the scenic highland villages of Pitlochry and Blair Atholl can be found, with Blair Castle and Lochs Tummel and Rannoch not too far away. Dalwhinnie distillery and Loch Ericht, the Creagh Meagaidh Nature Reserve and the cycle paths at Laggan, and Loch Laggan are between about a 15 or 40 minutes drive. The area around Loch Laggan and the Ardverikie Estate were some of the film locations for the popular,” Monarch of the Glen” TV series, and parts of the more recent “Outlander” drama series were filmed in the Abernethy forest and the Cairngorms. So, there were plenty of beautiful and interesting places for us to visit within easy reach of the cottage and not too far away. S22733 was nicely styled in a way that reflected its surroundings and there was a lovely Scottish flavour to the styling of the cottage. The furniture was quite traditional, and some individual pieces of furniture had been reupholstered in traditional fabrics and tartan and the owner had arranged around the cottage some beautiful photographs and artwork connected with the local area and had placed alongside the sofa a basket of lovely tartan throws. The lounge is a good size and was very cosy and welcoming and had been decorated ready for Christmas. It was tastefully and comfortably furnished, and although quite traditional was also stylish and modern, and had a futon, a large comfy sofa and a high back armchair, and was a lovely room for us all to rest and relax in at the end of each day. The owner had provided a good selection of books and guides there about the local area and the wifi was efficient and worked fine whenever we wanted to use the internet.In the lounge and throughout the cottage as a whole, the owner had put together a good mix of traditional period and country style and had combined it with something quite modern and more contemporary. The main bedroom is well-presented and is an excellent size and had a fitted wardrobe and plenty of storage space. It was attractively styled and had on display some beautiful landscape photographs and a variety of Scottish tartans displayed in small frames. Both bedrooms were tastefully styled and had quite modern soft furnishings and bedding, but in the main bedroom there was a more traditional and stronger Scottish element to the styling and the bed there was draped with a beautiful tartan throw. The second bedroom is smaller and probably needs a slightly taller chest of drawers to provide a bit more storage, but again was beautifully presented and had more contemporary soft furnishings and had a lovely bright yellow traditional print blind on the window and a wonderful painting of a Scottish coastal landscape on the wall. To have a washroom and toilet upstairs and another bathroom downstairs was a bonus and was very convenient and saved on having to make journeys upstairs, and was invaluable in the mornings when we were getting ready to go out for the day. The kitchen is stunning and is part of quite a new large extension at the back of the cottage, which has been beautifully designed and has a raised ceiling in the roof space and skylight windows, and so is nice and bright and airy. This extension, though less traditional, blends well with the rest of the house and is very spacious and is quite contemporary. It is fitted with modern kitchen units and is well equipped and has a large fridge freezer, and all the usual labour saving appliances, including a dishwasher and washing machine. We spent quite a lot of time in this room, as it had a very cosy dining area down at one end, where we relaxed and had our meals around a big farmhouse table and looked at guide books and maps.Kingussie is a lovely highland village and was a good base for our holiday and the cottage is situated near the end of the main high street, so a supermarket and a variety of shops and some hotels/pubs are all close by. S22733 is at the end of a terrace of traditional grey stone Victorian houses and so benefits from having the added bonus of having a convenient parking space, which is off the road and immediately adjacent to the cottage. The only potential slight problem is that there is not much garden space on the same level as the cottage, however my husband found a patio table and chairs up at the top of a flight of stone steps, where there is a garden, with a view of the hills. These steps could be a problem for anyone with any mobility difficulties, but having said that the cottage is situated in such a beautiful area, with great mountain scenery to drive through, and at the time we were visiting during the winter months, this problem did not really matter. Also, the quality of the accommodation at S22733 is of such a very good standard, that it is worth making this slight compromise.We would strongly recommend S22733 cottage because it was so attractively presented and was quite spacious and was spotlessly clean. The owner had put a lot of thought into the arrangement of the facilities in the cottage and had included some nice personal decorative touches in the furnishing and decoration of the cottage and had a good sense of style. S22733 is close to so many beautiful places in this part of Scotland, which offer a variety of outdoor activities and experiences, but also the opportunity to just be in a very peaceful and tranquil environment, and as the cottage is situated in a village, it has the convenience of having good amenities just down the road. This is such a lovely property that we would love to be able to return there at some point in the future and would certainly recommend it as a holiday rental to anyone else."

Mel - verified booking

"We've just returned from a week in the cottage, which sleeps up to four in two bedrooms - we were a smaller group of 3 + one dog. We chose this property for the location in a village with good amenities, as well as the secure entrance yard. We also had planned to travel with another couple, who would take the adjoining cottage, so this setting would work really well for a bigger group who wanted to maintain someone privacy or separate space.The village is beautiful and you have two parks, village shop, excellent butchers and two pubs within easy walking of the cottage. With small log burner, lots of space in the cottage lounge and dining spaces and two good sized bedrooms, this was a great choice for us. One long corridor connects all the spaces which gives lots of room for shoes, hanging space for coats. There was a great selection of DVDs fot cosy movie nights in and books to read. The parking space behind the cottage was perfect for us, even though the road nearby is quite quiet.Location is really well connected for travelling the area, visiting the Cairngorms, St Andrews, Pitlochry, Stirling, etc. and regular trains from Cupar (5miles away) mean you can choose not to drive. We’ll definitely be back again - a week wasn't long enough to see everything! :)"

Richard - verified booking

"We had a great two weeks at S22733. There is some great walks in the local area and slightly further afield. We did visit the Highland Wildlife Park mainly just to see Hamish the baby Polar Bear. Do try the local butcher as he has some great cuts of meat. We had a meal in The Cross in the village, it is a bit pricey but well worth every penny. If you have children just take them to the next village Newtonmore to try and find as many wild cats which can be found around the village. Just a bit further than the Co-op in Newtonmore is a little shop with maps of where to find them all and more information on the Wildcat Trail.S22733 itself has all the basics you need to cook and to do any laundry or you can just climb the steps in the back garden and enjoy a picnic or meal or just a drink with a great view over the house and onto the Cairngorms in the distance. There are plenty of wildlife to see in the local area as you have Red Squirrels and Deer everywhere. If you go to just the other side of Inverness to Chanonry Point and see some dolphins really close, but you need to be there as the low tide is just finished and the incoming tide has started."

Janet - verified booking

"We were so lucky to find this cottage. Firstly it was less than a minutes walk to our family who live in Kingussie and secondly it was a fantastic property. The kitchen/diner is large and has everything you need such as a dishwasher, washer, dryer, microwave etc plus a large range of pots, pans and dishes. The cosy living room is comfortable as are the beds. A large walk in shower is in the downstairs bathroom and there’s a toilet upstairs. Towels and bathrobes are provided and the welcome pack was a lovely thoughtful touch. There are steps in the garden up to a table ideal for alfresco dining with lovely views. Kingussie is a lovely small town with lots of pubs, restaurants and a few takeaways but further afield is the beautiful Cairngorms with lovely walks. Would we go to S22733 again? Yes in a heartbeat, in fact it’s by far the loveliest cottage we have ever stayed in."

Confirmed Guest - verified booking

"What a hidden gem in the Scottish countryside. We couldn't have asked for more. The cottage was absolutely stunning and matched the breathtaking scenery. The cottage has been decorated to such a high specification and was has been so well looked after, it was as if we were the first people to have ever stayed there. It has everything you could possibly need and more when it comes to facilities and services. It's close enough to nearby villages that you have small food stores etc if you need them but far away enough to think that you are in the middle of nowhere. No light pollution , no noise pollution just peaceful and relaxing. Lynne, the owner, could not have made us more welcome. Such a lovely lady! She was on hand for any questions, recommendations for eating out etc. I would definitely recommend to any one who is heading into Scotland."