Torloisk House

Firstly, this is an amazing house and location. With so many rooms to explore, you can keep out of each others hair when needed! The house was clean and tidy. The caretaker supported us getting access a bit earlier, due to the cold weather and much being closed on the island, emptying the rubbish daily (and due to the festive period, there was a lot!). Vast grounds to explore and lovely walks/drives. The island has much to offer. The beds all had electric blankets on which was appreciated. All the rooms were lovely and decorated really nicely. Towels etc provided.

Do be aware that the caretakers live on site and come and go through the house throughout the holiday (which was fine, just wasn't aware this would be the case) There are also dogs on site so be prepared for barking each morning. Unfortunately there was also dog poo in the grounds and by the entrance (unsure if from previous holiday makers or onsite dogs) but with kids running around the grounds, it's quite hard to miss it The house can get quite cold, which is understandable with the size but with only one open fire being in use, we did tend to have to keep this room shut off to keep warm. Would be nice to be able to use some of the other open fires in the property. Due to the cold, we did use up the wood rather quickly so take this into account you need to buy this yourself once basket used, which can be an added expense/good hours round trip, if the weather is cold. The guide book could do with being updated as things were no longer available. Although this house is advertised for family use, there were concerns that the 'games room' had the one item in it with such history and strict instructions not to touch (an original harp) that this did leave us on tenterhooks all holiday, when the kids where playing /watching TV. This room also has comfy sofas/chairs on the advert photos but have since been exchanged to smaller chairs so a bit hard to relax (it wasn't really the best room for games /TV) in the end, we set up a projector in the kitchen for Xmas movie night which was loved by all but having some beanbags or moveable cushions would be a great asset. Overall this is a wonderful house, with a lot of wonderful history but do think some of the stuff could do with being moved off sides /tables etc to make it more family friendly. Although there were signs saying not to move furniture, we did have to move antiques off a table from the middle of one of the main rooms for fear of them getting knocked over.