Lochside Garden House

Fantastic homely place to stay. 4 year had a fantastic time in the tree house and hot tub. Lots of farm animals to see as well as the wild life. Lots to do right on the door step. Enjoyed a game of snooker each day and a walk to the boat house where you can take out the boat on the Loch bring your own rod plenty of place to fish. Would say the other reviews are harsh on this place!!
Mar 18th, 2023

Nice little place in a pretty area.. yes, it could do with a good dust and a clean however I think some reviewers have expectations set too high; it's a Victorian house, not a Hilton. No major complaints regarding whether things work or not, spaces etc. - however would benefit from a bit of de-spidering as there were some absolute beasts hiding here. Would like to visit again in the future.
Oct 25th, 2022

Aug 3rd, 2022

I booked Lochside Garden House for a week from 29th April for the family to celebrate my husband's 70th birthday. The location was great but, unfortunately, the house was not. It was not clean. There were cobwebs everywhere, hair in the shower drains, fluff from the tumble dryer on the floor in front of the washing machine, a lot of cracks and chips in the kitchen floor tiles which were black, the radiator in the kitchen was very greasy and the lightshade above the kitchen table was thick with dust. A lot of the carpets were dirty, the rug in the sitting room was threadbare and some of the floorboards in the hall needed replacing. A lot of the window panes had cracks in them, one of the sheets had a large tear in it and another had a stain on it. One of the wardrobes was falling apart, some of the beds had blocks of wood on the legs and the door from one of the kitchen cupboards was at the side of the fridge freezer. None of the sofas in the sitting room were comfortable and when I removed the throw on one of them to try to plump up the cushions, I found that there were two green cushions on it which looked like they might have come from one of the green sofas in the photos advertising the property. This made me wonder how long ago these photos were taken. The final straw for us was when part of the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom fell down onto the chair beneath it around 8am on the Monday morning. This completely unnerved my husband and he went straight home. When we said to the owner that we could have been injured and asked about compensation for our ruined holiday, he said that we wouldn't have been hurt and he fixed things, he didn't deal with money. He told us that we would need to contact the agency about compensation. We did complain to the agency and we did receive compensation from them but as of now, more than 2 months after our stay, I have not received the return of the 200 I had to deposit into the owner's bank account before we arrived at the property. I have attached a selection of the photos we took which illustrate some of the points made above
Aug 2nd, 2022

If you want a relaxed holiday in a shabby house, then this will suit you. If however youre expecting an average level of cleanliness, then this is not for you. My family and I stayed at Lochside Garden House from 27 May for 7 nights. Family members also occupied Avenel Cottage for the same dates. Lochside is situated in a beautiful area, however there are numerous issues in the house that need addressing by the owners. We had no problems with the cottage and that was in good condition with all appliances working. My first concern is that the house is not safe for small children and this should be clearly stated in your advertising. The lower stair gate had a lock missing. The back door does not lock, which meant the house was not secure. This meant anyone could have entered the property while we were asleep and also we could not lock it when we left the house during the day, therefore putting our belongings at risk of being stolen. Both the trampolines were unsafe and had holes in them with damaged safety nets and broken zips. The house was absolutely filthy and needs a major refurbishment. One of the cookers was not working properly, and we had to wash the grill pans before they could be used, one cupboard had a missing door and the drawers were faulty. I found wet laundry in the washing machine and bedding in the tumble dryer, which I had to remove before we could use either of the appliances. The house is advertised as having a well equipped kitchen and that it sleeps 13 people. The small fridge and freezer are inadequate for the number of people potentially using the house. A lot of the crockery was cracked or chipped and not fit for purpose. There were only 3 wine glasses (our party consisted of 9 adults and 3 children), no beer glasses and only 1 old dirty chopping board. Several of the dining chairs were wobbly and unsafe to sit upon. The kitchen had clearly not been decorated or adequately cleaned for years. The light shades above the kitchen table were covered in a half inch mat of thick dust, and were directly over where people sit to eat. One bedroom had rubbish under the bed, which emphasised the shoddy approach to cleaning. 1 of the downstairs bedroom had no wardrobe. All 3 sofas were incredibly uncomfortable and need replacing. The sitting room carpet was threadbare and filthy. I notice that there are reviews going back to 2019 detailing many of the same complaints, so I suggest that you need to remedy the faults or reduce the star rating.
Jun 24th, 2022