Solas, BROADFORD

Rated 4/50 by FL09876 on 19th September 2016

Rated 5/50 by CJV8 on 19th October 2015

"We stayed at Solas for a week to celebrate our wedding anniversary, having been married just along the road in the nearby hotel. The property was superb, and certainly exceeded our expectations. Very well appointed, very well finished and very well located. When we arrived the first thing we did was open up the bi-fold doors in the living room and just sat and soaked in the stunning views over to Knoydart. There's a lovely big stove in the living room, however we only used it twice, and even then it was more for the comfort of a fire rather than needing the heat. Solas is well insulated and is a very toasty property, we had all but one of the radiators turned off during our stay. I think even on the coldest wintery day you'd not need all of the radiators on. The only criticism I could really level at the property would be that the trees in the neighbouring garden obstruct a little bit of the view, however the views are still stunning, and to get the full vista all you have to do is go a few steps down to the bottom of the garden. We'll certainly be back, it was fantastic value for money and was a genuinely lovely place to stay for a week, we were sorry to leave."

Rated 3/50 by PixieCat72 on 13th September 2015

"Great views without a doubt. Can't deny that. On the surface, a well furnished comfortable cottage. A few things irked us - as seasoned self caterers, its the little things that make the difference, and big showy extravagance or claims make no odds if the basics aren't there. Comfy beds. Great views. Nicely furnished. Good bath (bath only - shower not so much). Kitchen reasonably kitted out although a couple of things in the saucepan cupboard have seen better days... looked like a good music/tv set up although we didn't touch any of this during our stay so can't comment more. DVDs and Books clearly very personal to the owners - an odd mix. I'd suggest taking your own!! Downsides for us were the overly personal nature of the accessories particularly on the walls and in the lounge. Didn't want to see depressing arty photos of political type rallies, nor photos of one of the owners in 'the war torn Sudan' clad in kevlar. The personal letters from the Prince of Wales and 'Del boy and Rodney' are all very impressive if that is your thing but maybe better placed in the owners home rather than a as a showy holiday rental. 'look who we got a letter from' ... Personally we found it a little misplaced and it certainly didn't add anything to the experience. I appreciate the owners may use the cottage themselves but even so - it is a rental which people pay good money for. Maybe views of the local area on the walls rather than photos of rallies against the government in London would be better suited. Shower is at the wrong end of the bath so you can't stand under the (small, weak) shower head. The bath is comfy as a bath as the back has a good slope on it, but this is also where the shower falls, which makes standing under the shower a contortion act and a little dangerous. So be prepared to stand holding the shower head over your own head. Towels provided are on the small side for wrapping up in post bath/shower... glad we took our own bath sheets. No toilet paper provided other than what was left on the roll. The 'fuel pack' stated in the description as part of the rent was clearly lacking. And although we had wall to wall sunshine for most of our stay the first night and day was chilly and the storage heaters hadn't been on so we had no heat. We opted for the stove but with the 'fuel' left if was a pointless task. Tiny coal pieces suited to a BBQ not a real fire. A few sticks of kindling in a pretty much empty bag. A few sheets of paper. No matches. There was fire lighters but I hate the smell of those. Oh, and a chunk of wood that was too big to fit in the pit. Once the storage heaters did get going, you couldn't control the temperature and then we got lucky with the sun so didn't need them anyway. Fridge was on an average setting but it froze all of our food stuffs, rendering some of them destined for the bin. Think we had it on the lowest setting thereafter but too late for most of our fresh salad stuff and meats which weren't suitable for freezing! Due to the great weather, after the first night/day/night the place really warmed up - to the point we found sleep very uncomfortable as up in the eaves it was very warm after the sun being on the cottage all day but due to lack of midge screens, no windows could be opened even a little. So regardless of the "no expense spared solid oak folding doors" - we would have been eaten alive if we'd open them. Which is a shame ... some simple additions to the doors/windows would make it much nicer in the warmer months!!! Beware that even late midge season the cottage was surrounded. Walk a few hundred metres down the hill, not a midge to be seen ... You get nothing over and above the bare essentials - every other self catering place I've stayed I've got wee welcome packs with a pint of milk, loaf of bread and a few eggs. We didn't even see the lady who looks after the place for the owners - I believe she lived next door but she might as well be on Mars. Surely a brief 'hello, hope all is ok for you' would be nice, if even in passing over the garden fence. I also had to chase her for how to get the keys - took two days for her to get back to me on the evening before we were leaving for Skye. Oh and half the view is obscured by trees next door which is a real shame ... the best of the sunrise is behind these trees. So ... would I stay here again. No. Was it worth the money? probably not. Would I stay here with six people - absolutely not - not enough room to comfortably seat six at the kitchen table (two would be on small fold up chairs), one small bathroom, no clothes storage other than two small ikea wooden frames with canvas covers in the 'bunk room'. On the directions, you need to turn left at the second red post box a good way up the single track road ... the first post box (as directed on the instructions) one takes you into someones driveway..."