Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire offre coste mozzafiato, castelli storici e una ricca cultura scozzese; piatti tipici includono haggis, salmone affumicato e biscotti al burro.

The Lodge On The Loch

The Lodge On The Loch

Aboyne Loch Golf Centre, AB34 5BR, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Park • Steak • 4-star • Lodging


"First of all apologies to all those poor and terrible reviews that I ignored and shouldn’t have! Within half an hour of arriving we contemplated going home. Check in was a rushed affair with no exchange of pleasantries. The main focus of the female owner...was for us to get our breakfast and dinner pre orders in ASAP. When I returned back through I started ordering breakfast and a comment was made about ‘that’s a lot’. When I said cereal and cooked breakfast, twice more comments were made about ordering a lot of food and was I sure I wanted so much. As someone who struggles with my body image I was mortified and asked was I not allowed to order what I had. It was pointed out I would be charged extra for cereal!! I ended up cancelling this more through embarrassment than anything else. (I have to point out here that we had spent two nights previously at the lovely Carnoustie Hotel. The Lodge was £50 dearer per room than Carnoustie who had no surcharges on anything and whose staff were super attentive. I’ve also worked in hotels so know about customer service) The room at the lodge whilst large and looking into the loch was not particularly amazing. On closer inspection it wasn’t very clean in corners and one of the face cloths was brown rather than white. The room above was occupied on second night and the room is not well insulated so we could hear every footstep, etc. I also felt that the shared walkway outside left the room with no privacy. We went for dinner in the very outdated restaurant/bar on the first night. There was a total of five other guests and no atmosphere at all. We had just sat down when our starters arrived, then my husband just finished the last bite of his when the plate was removed as clearly our main course was ready. This is what I hate about pre ordering the food had clearly been kept warming. Our plates cleared again no pleasantries, no checking if it was ok, nothing. Our sum total time for what was a basic pub grub dinner was 25 min start to finish! It was so disappointing and rushed that we went into Aboyne the second night for tea. Breakfast wasn’t much better Curt questions, overcooked bacon and black pudding, our dirty plates left in front of us so we didn’t feel welcome to sit and have a relaxing cup of tea to start the day. Just absolutely no finesse or luxury at all. I have no issue paying astronomical prices if you get what you pay for an you absolutely do not get value for money here and if not careful could run up a number of surcharges. The lodge is, as one other review states, a complete rip off especially when compared to our stay at Carnoustie and other much nicer hotels. I notice some people saying they felt like family well I must be the black sheep as I did not feel at all welcome at this place and was on edge whenever i was anywhere near the female owner after her attitude to me from the outset. The male owner didn’t even speak to me the whole stay and when my husband handed in key he was only concerned with had we paid no check made if everything had been ok. In fact we both felt that the owners were more focused on making money than customer service. So in conclusion take a lesson from my mistake and DO NOT stay here there are far more nicer places to go for a lot less money!! Read the other negative reviews as they are all pretty accurate and I wished I had listened to them."

The Muchalls Bistro

The Muchalls Bistro

14 Dunnyfell Road, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Steak • Bistro • Coffee • Dessert


"Invited here for a birthday lunch with my in-laws. Situated just off the so didn't have to travel too far outside of Aberdeen to get there. We were one of two dining parties at the restaurant, so there was plenty of room in the...dining area, even on a Saturday. Inside was nicely decorated with mounted photos of Scottish rural areas and a prints from local artists. I particularly enjoyed the background music, which was chilled out trip hop. Ordered scallops in Romesco sauce with chorizo as a starter, which I quickly demolished as the scallops were perfectly cooked with a nice balance of rich, mildly spiced flavours. Went for Shetland mussels in a tandoori sauce (that days preparation) with skinny fries for the main, which was equally tasty and satisfying and made a nice change from the standard mussel sauces usually on offer. There was a good range of vegan and gluten free options on the menu, and it was nice to see different vegan ice-creams as dessert options (I had the chocolate with orange blossom) as well as or fruit sorbets. The young waiter who served us was also excellent throughout and my wife and in-laws all said they enjoyed their meals. I also particularly liked the chef made chocolate tablet that was served complimentarily with our coffee. One very minor criticism: I noticed a log burner near to where we were seated, and it would have been nice to have had this burning on what a fairly cold day."