Columba House

We were excited to stay at this beautiful, historic property on the edge of Kingussie. The town is charming and the views of the Cairngorms are lovely. Unfortunately, the listing is misleading and contains inaccurate information, including the claim that the property is dog-friendly. The most serious issue happened on arrival. At 7:00 p.m., our room was not ready because it had not been cleaned after the previous guest. There was trash and used linens throughout the room, the bed was unmade, and there was unflushed waste in the toilet. When we contacted off-site staff, they initially did not believe us and demanded photographic proof. We were moved for the night to a much lower-quality ground-floor room overlooking the gravel parking lot. The next day, we were told to vacate that room so it could be cleaned before our original room was even ready, leaving us waiting until around 12:30 p.m. to finally move in. We were later handed the temporary room key again and told to return it ourselves, underscoring the lack of on-site management. Despite notifying the property in advance that we were bringing our dog, management imposed undisclosed restrictions and demanded £60 in pet and cleaning fees. These rules are not stated anywhere in the Orbitz listing. Between the dirty room, misleading information, poor communication, and unprofessional management, this property is not worth the risk or the price. We left a day early and escalated the issue through our booking site.

Lack of hot water. The place is unmanned and wasn’t cleaned throughout our three day stay. The guests in the room next to us kicked off and argued over the lack of hot water and we spent on night listening to them screaming at each other and throwing stuff about. A shame as our room was old but clean on entry. A good area and easy for reaching several sights nearby.

Lovely rooms, everything you need. During winter there are no staff on site so no food. A basic breakfast is available. Great location

There were no staff, room was clean bit rubbish left in bathroom from previous residents. Breakfast room was ideal but bin was not emptied when crammed full of rubbish. Leftover food in bowl left a couple days, disappointing as cleaning/housekeeping staff clearly not taking care of day to day waste. Made for a disappointing stay.

It took me about 40 minutes to get my room key as there was an issue with the key safe, no one available on site and none of the phone numbers worked (I managed to contact the hotel through Expedia...). When I got to my room the window was broken and couldn't be closed (which would've been fine if it wasn't November...). Fortunately Columba House upgraded me to a nice room where I had a comfortable stay. I did see a staff member in the morning and my 'good morning' was met with a frown and a grunt (no exageration). One definite plus was the communal rooms which I was able to use during the day to get some work done (though wifi not optimal).

Good

To access our room was a seamless process. The room was spacious i.e. chairs to sit down. The bed and pillows are in need of an upgrade. Continental breakfast was minimal w few choices and packaged unhealthy croisants and granola bars. Best to make tea in your room as the dispenser in lounge area makes it taste like residue coffee. Bathroom floors were sticky, shower soap empty and no hot water in sink or soaker tub which looked very inviting after a long drive. Shower worked nicely, with plenty of hot water. Room rates were good so l guess you get what you paid for. Lovely century+ home and surrounfing area.

It’s advertised correctly, it’s a bed for the night, clean and a breakfast thrown in. No complaints for price paid.

I don't think it's fair to call this a hotel, more a hostel. Although the property itself was beautiful and had history (being an old manse), it was tired and run-down and needed a serious amount of investment. Upon arrival I found the property was permanently unstaffed and so there was no welcome and obtaining the keys was confusing. The stay felt very bleak and uninspiring. There was no food available at the property. There was a "grab-and-go" breakfast that consisted of a few heavily preserved pastries left in a kitchen area, but I found that other guests had taken most of these, leaving me very little. The room had an adequate amount of furniture but it was generally unclean with copious amounts of dust in the room and the bathroom. Fixtures and furniture were tired and frequently broken, and the bed-linen was torn. I wouldn't stay here again and can't recommend it to other potential guests.

No food service Online check in Very casual

The building is wonderful and unique, it looks like they have let it run down for a few years. The wife found a spider in the bathroom, almost hurt herself getting off the ground, it was a big spider.

Quiet area and comfortable stay. The place had all the necessary amenities for a night’s stay. They offer a nice lounge and provide both a microwave and a refrigerator, which made it convenient to bring and enjoy our own food. Overall, a pleasant experience!

It's functional, but soulless. Lovely location, spacious room, plenty of parking and convenient for exploring the Highlands.

Straightforward with e-mail sent day before with instructions on how to access room key from key safe out of office hours.

No room cleaning or refreshing of towels or teas coffee etc for 4 days. no food.hotel needs updated. No one on duty 24hrs this must be illegal

Very beautiful and comfortable room, after a long day of hiking around and visiting the Highland Folk Museum. Easily accessible, and within easy walking distance from the high street. Very peaceful and quiet, really loved my stay.

The wifi didnt work. When they e-mailed me i didnt get it.

The stay was ok. The room was cleanish and it was fine for a one night stay. The mattresses were horrible. You could feel the springs in them.

Had a lovely two night stay. The corner bath was a deciding factor when deciding where to stay. We found the place to be clean and although we didn’t see staff we also didn’t have a need to see them. The key lock was easy to use to collect the key and return it. They were aware of my wife’s dietary needs as we had enquired about places to eat. When we arrived along with the usual tea/coffee biscuit were some harribo which felt like they cared enough to look into alternatives for gluten free. Once parked our car didn’t move until we left we found the hotel’s location to be great for completing walks. I would recommend the cafe along by train station for amazing gluten free options. Some of the takeaways are cash only, there is an atm located at the back of the coop on the high street only a few minutes walk from the hotel. The bath was a bit of a let down as it creaked so much I worried I would be falling through the ceiling. The shower was separate to the bath and was fine. The decor was as expected loved the lamps.

No frills lodging. It's an older building, and it is showing it's age, but it's sufficient for a night or two. Big tub in the bathroom. Rooms are warm (It's Oct and cold!). Good accommodations for the price. Make sure you check your email ahead of time for the key box code, or you will have to call from the unstaffed reception. Free coffee and snacks at breakfast.