Glenapp Castle

Nine of us stayed at Glenapp Castle for five nights in June. We had the 4 bedroom penthouse suite, which comprises the top floor of the castle. The suite is decorated nicely. It is clean and comfortable, and there are plenty of toiletries for easy travel. My husband and I found the bed in the master bedroom to be extremely comfortable, and our guests in the other three rooms all mentioned how amazing the beds were as well. The bathrooms are all large and beautifully decorated and the water pressure in the showers is great. The castle was originally built in 1870, and they have done a lovely job of renovating/ modernizing the rooms it while also maintaining the architectural integrity. The suite is very cozy, and I bet it would be absolutely lovely in the winter months. The best I can describe staying in the suite as is almost like staying in a life-size dollhouse. The floor plan is charming, but awkward (like most old houses and castles are). There are stairs to get up to the master, more stairs to get up to the master bath, stairs to get down to the bathroom from one of suites, and steps and halls and more stairs to find the other 2 bedrooms (which are way at the opposite end of the first 2). I would like to note that although there is elevator access to the one side of the suite with the two latter bedrooms, I would say it is only partially ADA accessible based on the difficulty it would be to navigate to the opposite end of the suite. Our main complaint about the room was that when we arrived our bedroom was extremely warm. This was due to a combination of the fact that the heat was on in the rest of the castle due to weather, the windows are small with little air flow, and the large skylight they designed above the bed in the master bedroom resulting in a bit of a greenhouse effect. The master bedroom is up an additional set of stairs from the main living area (actually, 2 sets of stairs and one is wide open to the living room below), which resulted in all the hot air rising into our bedroom. We like to sleep cold, so were extremely uncomfortable the first night. However, the staff was able to provide several fans for our room and change out the bed linens to lighter blankets and sheets, which made it much better. (Note: there is no air conditioning in the castle). The staff at Glenapp is some of the kindest we have met in our travels. Benjamin, the Operations Manager, even took my parents with him to church on Sunday. I would describe it as one big happy family that truly wants you to enjoy your time in Ballantrae. They go out of their way to make you happy and accommodate guest needs. As mentioned above, there were nine of us on the trip. Our sixteen year old son has a rare genetic disorder that can make travel difficult with him. He has both medical and behavioral needs, and the castle staff was extremely respectful and responsive to this. For example, when we asked if we could change up the prix fixe dinner menu, they offered themed

What an amazing experience, from the personal welcome upon arrival right through to departure. We particularly liked the subtle nature of the staff and their ability to be attentive without being overwhelming. We loved the magic behind having our room tidied whilst out and the bed turn down whilst dining. A real treat to visit and something to experience.

Excelent stay, very good food and a beautiful setting. Attentive staff and well kept property,garden and surroundings.

We’ve fed this to the team directly at Glenapp and hope the situation improves as it was a real let down. The food and rooms are fabulous. In a 5 star hotel you would not expect - to receive the wrong meal - on numerous occasions, fail to bring refreshments to the room after room service had been called. Have a turndown service which didn’t remove used drinks trays, allow you to wait over 40 mins for first course - these were just some of the issues in 3 days. There are lots of staff, they just need training and mentoring - that’s what was missing! Such a shame as there was a lot to like, but in comparison to Whatley Manor, Lords of the Manor, Le manoir it was poor.

this was a beautiful castle in the southwest corner of Scotland. The positive notes are that the staff are outstanding, extremely friendly, very helpful. Our room was beautiful. It was the “master suite with Seaview“. The food was also very good. Getting there took two hours from Glasgow airport. It would take about 2 1/2 hours from Edinburgh. So, it’s a hike. Some concerns that we had are that the Castle does not have air conditioning. In today’s day and age, I do not find this acceptable. We had to open our windows and leave them open all night long just to keep it cool in the room. Considering the price point of this castle, I really think they need to invest in HVAC. We also had multiple flies, mosquitoes, and even bees in the room because we had to leave the windows cracked all day and at night so that we could be comfortable sleeping. I would also say that this hotel/castle is wonderful if you really want to be away from everything, in a quiet, forested, secluded location. And I mean it when I say it is quiet. There are times of the day where there was literally nobody in the lobby or the drawing room or the library. It literally felt like we were the only people there. Personally, this was a little bit uncomfortable. There are not a lot of activities to do on the property itself. Virtually everything requires a boat ride or a car ride to see anything. You can do walking on the trails or falconry, which is extremely expensive, over 1000 U.S. dollars, Also, if you want to play golf or do boat trips or other sightseeing, you will have to drive yourself or have a driver. The clientele here is also fairly elderly. We did not see many young people at all and we are only in our early 60s. Overall, beautiful place but needs HVAC and better pricing for activities. All are VERY expensive.