Braemar Lodge Cabins Not for Profit

I think it is time that Trip Adviser updated its website: It is three years since the Braemar Lodge Hotel, the centre of the cabins, hotel and restaurant operation, was burn down. The cabins remain, and still serve their purpose, but the rest of the estate is incomplete.

This place is incredible. We had all the necessities to cook in and have coffee/tea. Beds are comfortable. This family run cabins did everything to make our stay even better. It’s the comfort of a hotel with the convenience of a home. Cannot wait to go back! Gerry and Stella F

We arrived very late without a booking. Staff was very kind and helpful. Excellent atmosphere, cabins were very clean and comfy. We spontaneously decided to stay an extra night which was no hassle at all. Would definitely stay there again!

Welcome to Fawlty Towers. Bed and pillows excellent but that is where the luxury stops. This place is tired and needs attention. Grouting around spa bath is cracked, external spa cover is torn and worn, there are marks on the walls and furniture. External door outside to the spa does not lock so has a cheap bolt on the door to secure it. All of the gardens are tired and need some care to remove weeds and overgrown plants. The restaurant was closed so dinner was served in our room. Meal arrived at 1845 and after requesting cutlery, it arrived 15 minutes later! Dessert order was taken at 1700. When main meal arrived, we were told that this dessert was not available so ordered something else. Surprise, surprise-we were then advised 10 minutes later that this one was also not available. Placed third order which was duly delivered. room. The Lodge has two rooms for dogs to be taken with you so we were able to take our miniature schnauzer dog with us, however, be aware that they want to charge an extra $60 to clean the room for dog hair etc. This was not notified to us on confirming the booking. There is a lovely lawn outside the room which would be nice to walk your dog on. You cannot access the lawn from your room but rather have to find an exit door well away from your room to find your way to the lawn. There should be a gate with easy access from the room to the lawn so that it can be used. The restaurant was available for breakfast and as we had our dog with us, we were asked to dine outside on very shoddy tables and chairs with no protection from the elements. If it is a pet friendly lodge, they should consider where people will dine with their pet if the weather is bad. Pets are not allowed to stay in the bedroom on their own. This place is understaffed and not worthy of being called a luxury retreat when you are expected to pay in the order of $420 for the room. The staff on duty tried their best and advised that the restaurant was closed due to the low number of guests. No wonder they have low occupancy as if people read these reviews, they will realise that there is better value for money where accommodation is required. This is an embarrassment to our tourism sector and a couple that we met from overseas also commented that it was like Fawlty Towers. They were also going to pass a comment onto their travel agent. Braemar Lodge-please have a look at your rooms and do the necessary maintenance. Please also look at how you serve your meals-cutlery is normally delivered with the meal-not sometime afterwards. We would not return to these premises.

Had a brilliant weekend in the lodges. Malcolm and his staff made us very welcome. 2 min walk and your at the pubs, shops and restaurants. We ate both nights in The Kings Larder as the food was amazing. Will definitely be back.

We booked a cabin for A) my Birthday B) for my boyfriend to ski. We’d had a long drive up to Braemar (6 hours), on our arrival, our cabin was cold and smelled of damp, however, after a couple of hours it was warm enough. We had bought a meal with us to cook, and unfortunately, cutlery, plates etc were very unpleasant to see, we would have washed everything before their use, even more so now because of covid. The oven wasn’t great, in fact, very disappointing, greasy. There was cobwebs in every single room ( a spider’s nest on the ceiling in one bedroom), cobwebs on coat hangers. I hoovered the main rooms we were using, lounge, main bedroom and bathroom which we found unacceptable. The shower hose had a nasty smell, good job we had cleaning products with us, after a good clean, the amount of black debris ( shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and soap) was disgusting. We can honestly say, that we left our cabin cleaner than when we arrived. Attention to detail is important. We found the area absolutely beautiful and will return, but unfortunately not to the cabins.