Dunkeld Country & Equestrian Estate

What a beautiful setting. All the right ingredients. Coloured huge leaves decorated the lawns with the autumn colours. Big shiny trout dams glittering in the sunlight. Overpowering trees with mysterious shades in the woods. Beautiful chalets built with rocks. This place had it all. It took my breath away. Soon to be disappointed. The unit was put together by unqualified people. Misaligned cupboards and drawers, drawers not closings, extractor fan installed sky high in the air, lights installed in dysfunctional places, dirty toilet under the rim, bathroom tiles filthy. The indoor swimming pool was milky. There were 2 huge holes on one of the dam's edges. Very easy for a fisherman to break a leg there. One could see that it was there for a long time. The bicycles were unavailable or broken. The tuck shop had 3 ice creams in stock. I bought 1 and it was frozen, melted and refrozen, not good. The receptionists were very friendly. The lady at the retail shop was very friendly and helpful. The restaurant was very good. They just played the same music every day for a whole week long. Rather frustrating. We did complain but apparently that was the manager's instruction to use only that music selection. In this day and age with the variety available at a rather low cost, that is really unacceptable. The food was excellent. David , the fly fishing coach was a star. All in all it still was a memorable stay. We will go back again. It is a lovely setting, but we do expect the Top Management of the group to pull up their socks. It is a beautiful place. It just needs attention to detail and a firm hand. It is a pity to see that such a beautiful venue is busy falling to pieces.

This is a lovely estate with a sense of calm and peacefulness. The fall colors of the trees along with the rustic vibe of the buildings, horses, cats, ducks and zebra (the first day) were so picturesque. The multiple ponds with various foliage and flora, and water features added to the serene feeling. There were four friend in my party - we each had a "Hotel" room. The rooms are right next to each other with doors exiting to an outside seating area for each room. Our rooms varied some but had the same basic setup to include a separate room with doors for the shower and for the toilet. There was a large tub in larger room outside the shower and toilet. Each room had either a gas or wood burning oven; the gas preferred. With regards to our tour, this establishment has the BEST, most comfortable bed and softest towels. A+ in that regard. Yes, there are some minor cosmetic improvements that could go a long way but, overall, the rooms felt comfortable and safe. Dining at the restaurant was typically good although there were instances of not having certain items, and some inconsistency in what we expected (a la carte versus a specific menu). In one instance, we were told they were out of caesar salad so one of the ladies asked what the vegetables were - and was told 'mixed'. Instead of getting what we thought of as mixed vegetables, we got salad. :-) I guess that a salad is mixed vegetables but not what was expected. Staff was a mixture of personalities. Some very helpful and pleasant with a couple more stoic non-personable type personalities. The spa folks did a great job on the services but were definitely ready to head out at 4. Note that the nearby town of Dullstrom seems enjoyable to explore - shop and visit the restaurants. All this said, I would go there again with specific expectations; if looking to relax and unwind with a book, to go for walks, and just disconnect from everyday life.

The property as a whole is beautiful with lots of amenities, the accommodation is tired and in serious need of an upgrade, we paid extra for a lake view room, our unit was next to a busy road, which had little privacy and constant noise disturbances. Rather disappointing considering the units next to us were all empty for the duration of our stay. Check-in time is 16:00 which is extremely late and not in line with industry standards. We booked two different units as family joined us for the later part of our stay, on the booking platform the second unit was listed as a villa, which turned out to be an upstairs apartment. Management did change us from an upstairs apartment to a downstairs apartment, which was appreciated but we felt mislead as the price point was in line with a villa and our reservation made no indication we had booked an apartment. The animals overturned multiple dustbins throughout the property, making it look like a giant trash dump every morning. Something that could easily be addressed with animal proof dustbins, overall we were disappointed with the property and its lack of much needed maintenance.