Douneside House

We had another lovely lunch at Douneside, whilst staying in the area. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, and the service was excellent. We enjoyed a walk around the gardens beforehand. We only wish we lived nearer and could come more often!

Arrived for a midweek break in March. Lovely entranceway and decor in main building and restaurants and the girl on reception was welcoming and lovely as were almost all staff. Stayed in casa 23: immaculate with lovely log fire, well stocked with logs, has a small bedroom and note the shower is really small. Parking excellent. 4 options on the dinner menu with one daily specialboth nights. The pheasant and pork belly were very difficult to cut but were tasty plates of food. Desserts were average and one in particular i did not like even though I usually love those ingredients. Breakfasts were the not what we expected. Service good on first day, however on the 2nd day was poor. The poorest and most unappetising continental 'buffet' I've ever seen. I pointed out to the waiter the sliced cheese and processed cheese that were curled up and dried at the edges. The waiter was somewhat huffy about that Nd we felt somewhat awkward. There were a couple of unappetising cereals and plain old apples and oranges with mini croissant. Nothing there that I would find a nice treat to eat in a hotel. I tried the eggs benedict...tasteless. Service quite slow eg you will finish a pot of lukewarm tea or weak coffee, the toast arrived 15 minutes later. No offer of fresh coffee or tea. The 2nd day we had to physically go twice looking for a waiter to get sugar. I ordered some egg, tomatoe and acone for breakfast. My pet hate is half raw cold egg running onto my plate and porage with salt in (which wasnt in it the day before). Then the staff seemed to disappear for a while and the breakfast diners eventually saw themselves out. Would be a lovely hotel to visit if they improved the breakfast food in particular. We did mention these comments on checkout. We still cannot find anywhere like for like who can beat the all round service, food, accommodation, staff and grounds at Dumfries House.

Wanting a relaxing night away to explore the area around Aboyne we came across Dounside house & it looked ideal. Good food, congenial surroundings and easy access to some sites we wished to visit. All in all our expectations were met, with one caveat. The hotel is up a long private drive, standing at the top of large private field, surrounded by woods & fields and has some of the best views I've seen from a hotel in many a year. It has various rooms in the main building plus a view lodges a short walk away. The is a Spa & a gym, several bars and two dining rooms. We elected to have the tasting menu which was served in the Library. It is a tasting menu that is expertly cooked and we couldn't fault. A three hour gourmet feast well deserving the three AA rosettes. All the staff were aware of food allergies and menus adjusted accordingly, again without fuss or quibble and with no loss to the experience. It was all very impressive. The bars and lounges in the main house are comfortable, with log fires, books and art to peruse and there are some excellent gardens to wander around. We stayed in a lodge which was sizeable and well equipped, even having a small kitchen. The bed was comfortable & the seating area a good place to relax. There was an issue with noise from the adjacent rooms but we might have been unlucky. Finally the staff. They are the people who make your stay memorable. Absolute troopers. They are friendly and welcoming, knowledgable and helpful. We had a small issues that impacted our stay but they were dealt with swiftly and with good grace. The resolultions went beyond our expectations and we can't praise them highly enough for their kindness, patience and understanding. They turned what could have been a disaster into a situation where we are already planning when we can return for a longer stay