Cairngorms Self Catering cottage, Hillside East, Kingussie, sleeps 4

A comfy house in a good position for going out from each day to explore the Highlands for the first time. I was happy to stay there and would stay there again. The town itself had good enough food shopping for our needs. The station had frequent enough trains to go visit Aviemore steam station and Inverness, and lots of nature was within easy reach. I've seen dolphins red kites, osprey, red squirrels and woodpeckers for first time this week! It was awesome.
Mrs Wright
2015-06-21

Not the cosy Highland Hide-away we dreamed of
This cottage was a very mixed experience for us and whether you like it will depend on when you go and what you want. There were many positives: affordable, great central location with a decent pub/restaurant five minutes walk away, cleanly and freshly decorated, and importantly for us, enough space in the hallway for walking kit and a good covered area at the rear for the mountain bike, and the boiler cupboard off the kitchen did excellent service as a dry-room on a few days. The rooms are a decent size for spreading out suitcases etc and we always easily got parked right across the street. There's a double bed in one room and a single in the other ? we only used the single room for storage. The double bed will suit people who like a soft, flexible mattress. Sadly not us ? We went in a stormy week in mid October. One of our big treats is an open fire and we deliberately booked this cottage because of its open fireplace. The first night we bought some wood and coal, poured a glass of wine and prepared to chill out. It was a good thing we had the open fire as the central heating was unpredictable, a couple of the thermostatic valves were broken and the living room was quite cold. However, as the fire got going, we suddenly noticed billows of what initially looked like smoke coming out of the cupboard next to the fire. This turned out to be steam from the former back boiler which had not been drained and capped when the system was cut off previously. There was a strange smell from the steam that caught your throat. We phoned the landlord who promised a plumber the next day but despite a visit from the housekeeper a couple of days later the fire remained un-repaired all week, which did really disappoint us. In the meantime, having lived with a few boilers over the years I had found an obscure over-ride button on the new boiler and managed to gain control of the heating system (there were no instructions or guides), resulting in us being decently warm for the rest of the week. Our other challenge was the lack of WIFI. The phone signal was very patchy around the house and so our plan of using our phones didn't always work out for us. We had some great activities and visits around Kingussie, including some wonderful short walks, and we did have a relaxing time. It was a real pity though that the cottage never lived up to our hopes of a cosy, comfortable Highland hide-away.
floralUk
2014-11-20

We had a lovely time at Hillside East Cottage. We used it as a base for our trips to different places in the Highlands and we enjoyed coming home every evening. The whole house was very clean, well furnished and we felt very comfortable.
Mrs Frew
2014-08-18

Fabulous Kingussie
Lovely house, very confortable, everything you could need for a holiday. Very close to the shops & local amenities. Great base for travelling around. The only problem was the rear garden, although it did state it was a steep rear garden I don't think it makes it clear enough it is EXTREMELY steep & unsuitable for anyone unfit, disabled or your children so there is really no outside sitting area.
A FlipKey verified reviewer
2014-08-17

The house was in a lovely central location & was very handy for all the local amenities. It was very cosy & homely & we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.
Ms Harvey
2014-06-30