just returned from a two night stay at Dalhousie Castle which was the venue for our Son's wedding.

We had a perfect day both with our stay at the castle and the weather. All the Staff were friendly and attentive to our needs, we had five lively children with us the eldest being eight and they were allowed to explore the castle and enjoyed running round the extensive grounds.

The Piper piped all the guests into the chapel and while we waited, he collected the Bride and Bridesmaids from the Honeymoon Suite, we could just hear the pipes in the distance which increased in sound as they neared the chapel. We had the rings flown in by Owl which had apparently appeared in one of the Harry Potter films.

All in all a perfect day. Yes it is expensive but, for the unique setting, it was worth it.

Our stay at Dalhousie was quite pleasant. Though the castle is large, we would catagorize this property more as a country retreat. We stayed in one of the theme rooms for a family of four. We had a king sized bed and two twins in a large room with a loft space. Our room was appropriately furnished, nothing luxurious. The children loved the fresh baked cookies every evening. If you're expecting palace like furnishings, this is not it. There is a wonderful library with leather sofas where you can read and have tea or a drink. The reception staff and bell person were very professional and helpful.

We had breakfast and dinner at one of the restaurants, Orangerie, the meals were good and the wait staff were friendly and efficient . We enrolled for the owlry session and had a wonderful time learning and working with the birds. The children 12 & 13 were really engaged and loved handling the birds.

Dalhousie Castle is a wonderful place to stay and a magnificent place to get married. Living in California, I booked our entire wedding at Dalhousie using the Internet. Laura Morris, a wedding co-ordinator at Dalhousie helped make everything so easy for me. When my husband and I arrived in Scotland for the very first time 2 days before our wedding, Dalhousie Castle and the staff was everything we dreamed it would be! It was gorgeous and Lynn was great! On the day of the wedding, I was treated like a queen by everyone at Dalhousie. My bridal party and I had appointments in the spa that were fabulous. I think I looked pretty good with their manicure and make-up application. We had lunch in the Orangery which was excellent. They even worked around our tight schedule, bringing our food immediately. Laura had recommended that I hire Tracy Montgomery to do my hair and I am so glad I did. Not only did she do an excellent job on my hair, she also did my mother, my daughter, and my matron of honor. Also, Tracy was able to do our hair in my mom's room (Queen Victoria) that the hotel had prepared for us early! I did not have to worry about anything on this day. We had Liz who co-ordinated everything for us. She took care of the guests, the groom and myself. Andrew the piper was an especially wonderful detail to our wedding. He was full of beautiful things to say and he played the pipes beautifully! The chapel at Dalhousie was perfect! I especially liked making my grand entrance by walking down the gorgeous staircase! Our photographer, David Ho, was recommended by Dalhousie and he was superb. Everyone loved him and his assistant Andrew. The Dalwalsey room was a lovely place for my very small party to sit and have drinks as they waited for us to take pictures. The Dungeon Restaurant was a phenomenal place to have a wedding breakfast. The food was amazing and the service was excellent! Thanks especially to Sally. After the party was over and most of the guests left, we even got a private "ghost" tour of the castle. This was done by Peter. We love Peter!!! He was very imformative and entertaining and all in good fun he even gave us a good fright! My groom and I stayed in the honeymoon suite that night, the DeRamsia suite which was fantastic. Everthing we hoped for on our romantic wedding night! I can not say enough about how wonderful the staff was. Everyone was very helpful and kind. If you want a dream wedding in a castle, you have got to consider Dalhousie Castle!!

We booked into the castle for a friend's wedding. We had orginally booked into the lodge at £175 per night (wedding rates). On arrival, we were told we could drive to the lodge as there was a parking area. We simply had to drive over the bridge and we would be there. What they didn't say was the bridge was only 7 ft wide! As I drive a jeep grand cherokee my husband had to get out to check we could fit over the bridge!

On arrival at the lodge we were hugely disappointed. We were given a room up in the eaves and I can only describe it as not unlike a cheap
B&B. The ensuite had a cheap shower cublicle and fittings and the furniture in the bedroom was of poor quality. I'm not sure if some people may see it as "quaint and country house" but to us it was just
very poor. We rang up to the castle to ask if there was a room with a bath and were informed the lodge does not have baths. I asked if there was a larger room as we were staying two nights and was told that unfortunately more guests were arriving the next evening so they couldn't move us. I'm not sure how guests arriving the next night would impact on our room. Perhaps we had already been given the best room in the lodge?? Also in the castle information it refers to the lodge as having a whirlpool and sauna. This is actually
not as you picture it. There is a room in the lodge which has a sauna
but the whirlpool is actually one of those whirlpool baths which people have in their homes. Admittedly it was slightly larger but don't be under the impression it will be something grand and luxurious. Anyway as we felt were being truely ripped off we asked if there were any rooms in the castle. I knew these would cost considerably more but at least I would have been able to enjoy my stay more. Fortunately we were able to upgrade to the Lairds room in the castle at a cost of £280 a night. This was much better with a four poster bed, although not really worthy of the cost. The old fashionned tv stood on an equally old metal stand and the drawers inside the wardrobe were on their last legs. Although much more expensive I felt less ripped off!!! The bathroom was nicer and had a bath with overhead shower. Again not quite the luxury fittings you would expect. The public areas of the castle are very nice and the grounds are beautiful. I would highly recommend a walk around them after the traditional scottish breakfast. As we were at a wedding we had a lovely time and the castle had taken care of all the wedding arrangements and I believe everything went to plan.

The other thing to be aware of is the castle advertsies that you can have 24 hour room service. in reality this means you can have a sandwich if there is anything available as there is not a chef on later on in the evening and no cooking is undertaken.

We did have the opportuntity to see some of the other castle bedrooms
as our friends were staying in them. They were nice but you just felt something more was needed to justify the cost.

Overall the castle and the grounds are lovely but I feel this is geared more towards the tourists who want the castle and Harry Potter
adventure and more money needs to be spent on improving the rooms and adding more luxury fittings and those things that you feel justify the cost.