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Dalhousie Castle: Traveler Reviews


Dalhousie Castle
Cockpen Road, Bonnyrigg EHI9 3JB, Scotland
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Traveler Reviews

78% Recommend
3.5 of 5 stars 135 reviews
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A great wedding venue ...

Dalhousie Castle

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4 of 5 stars
voyagevole 26 contributions
London, England
Sep 1, 2008 | Trip type: Friends getaway

We married at Dalhousie this July and have mixed reviews on Dalhousie Castle, although it was still a wonderful wonderful day!

I'll start with the not so good stuff: In the run-up to the wedding we went on two occasions to see the castle and just get a feel for things. Mostly the service was okay but I was always a little doubtful that I'd have a relaxing "getting ready" morning at Dalhousie and sadly I was proven to be right to worry. The check in staff on the morning of the wedding were curt and unhelpful, and this seemed to reflect on most of the other staff who spent the morning sniping to each other! Frankly it was these staff who let Dalhousie down in my estimations.

The good stuff: The duty manager on the day who ran our wedding was brilliant .. Liz was competent, kind and generally the one person who held the wedding together!!
The piper was brilliant
The falconry display was different and well worth the money - all our guests were blown away by it!
I think the food was good, although I didn't manage to eat much (nerves!)
The Mary Queen of Scots room was wonderful - I felt like rapunzel getting ready in my turret!!

The wedding co-ordination could have been better handled, there were things I noticed that hadn't been handled correctly but no one else had a clue (only me!) so it wasn't all bad.

The pricing is a bit steep - we bought in our own wine and paid the corkage fee (which is also steep) and it was well worth it (Majestic at comiston do a good job!)

Other wedding related tips - Margaret at Bryans Farm Flowers in Dalkeith is a SUPERSTAR and I'd recommend her every day!!

We will be going back - if only to remind ourselves what a wonderful day we had. It was a shame to have had the hiccoughs in the morning as bad customer service can so easily be avoided really!

  • Liked — The falconry, the mary queen of scots room, the fact I got married there
  • Disliked — not up to scratch staff
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Other
  • Traveled with Friends
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since September 08, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $320 (year-round)
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mixd

Dalhousie Castle

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4 of 5 stars
jessica123London 3 contributions
london
Aug 28, 2008 | Trip type: Family

Stayed at Dalhousie as part of a wedding party. The castle was lovely and our stay and the wedding fantastic. I have a couple of criticisms however; firstly I was surprised to see mildew all round the baths in a couple of the rooms (all it takes to remove this is a 5 minute dousing with bleach). I was told that my criticism would be referred to housekeeping along with the bleaching remedy - surprised they didn't know. The staff also seemed to be a mixed bag - there were those who couldn't do enough to help and those who really didn't seem to want to help at all and were surly. The chap who played the bagpipes and gave us our tour was a real treasure. The setting is magnificent.

  • Liked — Setting
  • Disliked — Mildew and mould around baths
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay August 2008
  • Visit was for Personal event (wedding, ...)
  • Traveled with Family (extended)
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since August 28, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Pet owners
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
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Average price*: $320 (year-round)
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Lovely venue & settings

Dalhousie Castle

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3 of 5 stars
shesi 38 contributions
kent
Aug 25, 2008
1/1 found this review helpful

We stayed in the castle for my sister's wedding. The castle itself is absolutely gorgeous with stunning scenery. The room we stayed in could have been better for the money. We ended up having the disabled room which if you were in a wheel chair you would still have struggled. The bathroom was massive with a good shower within the bath, all the toiletries they gave you were a good size & good quality. Our only criticism was the mould on the tiles. This wasn't castle mould it was dirt mould. Our bed was extremley comfortable. We had tea/coffee making facilities, tv, 2 complimentary bottles of water and a bowl with cookies which had been there a while as they were soft and horrid! Nice touch though! We paid £180 for the room and in our opinion it really was not worth that but as it as my sister's wedding we decided to not worry. The breakfast the following morning was ok. They offered you pretty much whatever you wanted with the norm, cereal, yorurts, full scottish, kippers ect. The cooked breakfast was on the small side and the best thing about breakfast was watching the falconary lessons. Again the scenery in small breakfast room was amazing! Would i stay here again, probably not but for a specail occasion it could be worth it.

  • Liked — comfortable bed
  • Disliked — cost
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay August 2008
  • Visit was for Personal event (wedding, ...)
  • Traveled with Large group or tour
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since January 12, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, People with disabilities, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
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Average price*: $320 (year-round)
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Dungeon Restaurant was great

Dalhousie Castle

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4 of 5 stars
RanulfSuffolk 5 contributions
Suffolk
Aug 9, 2008 | Trip type: Couples

Myself and my husband stayed 2 nights at Dalhousie on our honeymoon. Rooms are really pricey, and so we had a standard room, which was really lovely; clean, well decorated; nice bathroom and lovely view. The highlight was the Dungeon Restaurant, the food was wonderful, service great. Another highlight was the brilliant gent who gave us (and another couple) an impromptu ghost walk, great fun and a great character! The only downside on our stay was that it did feel rather like a wedding factory - hotel guests have to walk through wedding parties and several seem to be going on at the same time and knowing how much the rate for this is, (we did consider Dalhousie for our own wedding, but I'm glad we decided on elsewhere), I would not have been happy if I had been one of the brides.

  • Liked — Good facilities, nicely decorated and great view
  • Disliked — Very expensive
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay July 2007
  • Visit was for Honeymoon
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since May 16, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
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Average price*: $320 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
A Most Memorable Stay

Dalhousie Castle

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5 of 5 stars
ClarabelCoKildare 1 contribution
Co Kildare
Aug 2, 2008
1/1 found this review helpful

A large group of us are just back from a weekend at Dalhousie Castle and had a wonderful stay. From the friendly and helpful staff to the Castle and surroundings, we loved every minute. The SPA is a treat and offers a great selection of pampering packages. The Library Bar, Dungeon Restuarant and The Orangery are all lovely locations to relax. The various themed rooms are well presented, spacious and clean. The food was very good and the staff were very accomodating and patiently attended to our party at all times.
What topped it off was our tour of the Castle in the wee small hours, learning about its history and hearing the stories associated with the Castle's past. Staff were creating an ambience during the tour and obviously enjoy having an audience to share the history and ghostly goings on there..and one of the cameras did stop working for no reason!
The next morning we spent time at the Falconry and flew some of the eagles, nice way to spend a Sunday morning.
The weather was fab too!
We will always remember our stay at Dalhousie and definately be back to show others around!

  • Liked — Dramatic theme rooms
  • Disliked — nothing
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with friends
  • Traveled with Large group or tour
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since August 02, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Pet owners, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Great food / Wine, Spa
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates ABS:HotelCheckRates-d191447?ext=true&src=ShowUserReviewsHotels&fromServlet=ShowUserReviews&Action=QC_Button_Reviews
Average price*: $320 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
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Dalhousie Castle Also Known As

Address: Cockpen Road, Bonnyrigg EHI9 3JB, Scotland