Barony Castle, Peebles

I was recently going to visit Edinburgh with Little Miss and since we wanted to visit theBorder area, we opted to stay outside the centre of the city.

LOCATION...

With the satnav set, we found the hotel easily and it took about half an hour from the centre of Edinburgh. It is located just outside Eddlestone which is a small village with plenty of shops for travellers needing provisions. There are A roads but the hotel is situated off a small winding road and surrounded by fields and beautiful scenery.

THE HOTEL...

There is a long driveway up to the hotel flanked by fields with horses at the fences so already Little Miss was liking the place. When we reached the top of the incline, we saw the hotel and were immediately impressed. In the front of the hotel is a car park which apparently has space for 100 cars. Because of the layout it seemed much smaller than this. The hotel itself is a large and impressive whitish castle with pointed roof areas and lots of windows. Its all very romantic looking and because of the surrounding area very pretty and peaceful.
Inside the hotel, this peaceful and calming feeling continues with the entrance area being tastefully decorated with a small reception desk and plenty of comfy sofas dotted around. It's a very attractive mix of modern comforts with an olde worlde feel but with none of the darkness or oppressiveness which can happen with this type of style. One of the reasons I think for this is the fact that in all of the communal areas there are tall wide windows so always plenty of light filtering into the rooms.

Inside the hotel there is also a swimming and spa, the former being open from 7am until 10pm. We didn't try it out but it was certainly very clean and modern looking.
Free wifi is also available in all areas in the hotel, and I did try this out, and it worked very quickly and easily.

BEDROOM...

There are 78 bedrooms in total. Our bedroom was situated up a flight of wide winding stairs and along a short corridor- we took the stairs although a lift is available. Inside the room we actually had two double beds because we had previously booked a family room. Even with these two beds there was plenty of room to move around. There was also a wardrobe with hanging space, a desk and table and some drawers as well as television with sky channels (which we couldn't get to work!) and tea and coffee making facilities. All of the bedding was clean and the mattresses and pillows comfortable, so a good night sleep was had by all.

The bathroom had the usual amenities, all white and clean, with a small mountain of towels which can apparently be replenished at any time even if guests use them for a visit to the pool. The toiletries were plentiful and good quality.

EATING...

There is a restaurant but we chose to eat in the bar area as we didn't want a full and very large meal. Here in the bar there were plenty of small tables and chairs and sofas and tables set over two leverls, one level being close to the bar area and the lower level being close to the exit doors which in turn led to some large manicured gardens at the back of the hotel. There are 25 acres of gardens so this was probably only a small part of what we could have walked around. We ordered a soup which came served with crusty bread and also some sandwiches. The two meals were clearly freshly prepared and tasty and plentiful, just right for how hungry we were, and with drinks included it all came to about £15. There is an ample selection of food available in the bar area,mostly lighter meals and snacks and the staff are friendly and helpful.

OTHER INFORMATION...

* Inside the hotel there is also a swimming and spa, the former being open from 7am until 10pm. We didn't try it out but it was certainly very clean and modern looking.
* Free wifi is also available in all areas in the hotel, and I did try this out, and it worked very quickly and easily.
* There are 7 meeting rooms & 7 syndicate rooms with main rooms having a maximum capacity of 200
* There is a mini-gym, spa bath and sauna, 5-a-side football pitch, croquet, rope course, and fishing available.
* Refreshment stations are situated in communal areas where guests can help themselves to lattes, coffee, tea, and water.

VERDICT...

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, even though it snowed so heavily overnight that we were unable to visit The Borders. The roads around the hotel can be a bit scary if the weather is bad but the location is beautiful, so well worth it.
The staff are friendly and professional, the whole place clean and well decorated.

For anyone in the area I would certainly recommend a visit here.
Thanks for reading

Daniela xx