Clients' Comments 2005

We much appreciate the many complimentary remarks made by our clients since 2000. Here are some from last year.

Alastair,
We still can't quite believe we were in Scotland. Thank you for an incredible three days. I will never forget the beauty of the country nor the humor & welcome we received from you & those we met along the way.

Mary Lou McConnell Millett
(27 - 29 September 2005

Selma Arnold
(21 August – 3 September 2005)

Dear Alastair, 
Thank you for a very memorable trip to Scotland.  I started my vacation with a good friend on a CIE Coach Tour of the central area - all of the famous and usual spots.  It was a nice overview.  However, when my husband joined me and we embarked on the portion of the trip that you planned for us, the real fun began!  We were thrilled with every minute.  Needless to say, our nights at Castle Stuart and Traquair were superb.  All of the B and B's and hotels were fabulous.  We especially enjoyed Braemore.  Ed and Wendy were so lovely and sent us on a drive to Applecross and lunch overlooking the Isle of Skye - a memorable drive and meal.  David and Rosie Jones at Eildon were also just wonderful.  I got to talk gardening with Rosie and saw the before pictures and the after results of her labors.  Our breakfast there had to be the best one that we had.  The Forss House Hotel was also one of our favorite places.  We arrived early and were able to really enjoy the lovely setting.  Our dinner was delicious.  If the French president had dined at The Forss House Hotel, he never would have made his remarks about UK food.  I am quite surprised that my husband didn't stay.  He fell under the spell of our hostess, Annie. We remain the honored benefactors of you considerable travel expertise.  Again, many thanks!

Mary and Robert Purcell
(21 July - 2nd August 2005)

Dear Alastair,
We have just returned from our vacation in Scotland and wanted to let you know that we enjoyed every minute of it.  Your choice of accommodations was superb. All of the hotels were great, with the Isle Ornsay on Skye and the castle being the highlights. 
Your country is just lovely - the scenery is beautiful and the castles were great!  Everywhere we went we found the people to be friendly and very helpful. And to top it off the weather that week turned out to be great - we had plenty of sunshine and nice weather - until the very last.  But we felt that just one bad day out of nine was pretty good!  
So again thanks for your help.  We would certainly recommend your services to any of our friends that might be considering a trip to Scotland.

Marjorie and Peter Grebow
(22 – 30 July 2005).

Alastair,
Just a quick note to let you know how things went.
1) The car was perfect. It was big enough to handle our luggage and the 4 people. And also big enough to make me feel comfortable, considering we "Yanks" are not used to the wee cars that are so common in the UK.
2) Traquair House was a tremendous experience that I would recommend to anyone. The hospitality was tremendous and the grounds were perfect for the kids and the adults.
3) Skye was breathtaking! We took the ferry across to Skye and the bridge when we left. The accommodations were top notch and a wonderful location. I will definitely return to Skye again.
Thank you very much for all of your work and insight in making our trip a success.

Gerard O’Neil
(20 – 24 July 2005)

Alastair,
We were very, very pleased with all accommodations.  Each was entirely different from the others -- which was exactly what we were hoping for!  Also, we ran into very few tourists (very few other people, actually) allowing us the chance to enjoy a very slow pace of touring and really get a chance to speak with people in a relaxed manner. At the Lodge They made every effort to set us up for sporting activities, and Kelby got to catch three brown trout in the lake there! 
I have to say that this trip really exceeded our expectations.  It allowed us to see the various sides of Scotland without any bustle of other tourists, and the different atmospheres of the lodgings kept everything really interesting.  Sure, the weather could have been sunnier, but we expected that to be the case and it really only rained hard on one day.  
Thanks for arranging this -- hopefully we can do it again someday!!   (I am so glad we didn't go to Ireland or England...      : )

Annie Schiavetta
(13 – 21 July 2005)

Alastair,
We had a wonderful time in Scotland with some exceptions.  We were at Waverly Station in Edinburgh on Thursday morning, July 7. As the horror of the morning’s events became clearer to us we decided to skip London entirely and return home on Friday. 
You spoiled us by putting us with the Taylors first.  Gail’s food was exquisite, their home was beautiful, and their company wonderful.  We saw many beautiful sights in the Trossachs and around Loch Lomond, and riding with Gail was a perfect way for John to ease into driving Scottish style.  All in all, Gail and Dick made us feel like friends welcomed into their lovely home.
We also loved Skye.  The food in the dining room and in the pub was excellent.  Lots of opportunity to talk with other hotel guests and residents, especially in the pub.  On Thursday night college students played traditional Scottish music in the pub.  Fun.  We would love to return to Eilean Iarmain and Skye.
The pacing of the itinerary you planned for us was excellent, and the accommodations were all fine.  Some were just wonderful—the Taylors, Eilean Iarmain, and Kildrummy.   We saw so many beautiful places and enjoyed the people we met very much.  We really did have a wonderful trip despite the disruptions.  Thank you for all you did to make such a wonderful trip happen.  We do hope to return to Scotland before long and would go through Clans and Castles again.

Jo Ann Rushing
(27 June - 7 July 2005)

Hi Alastair - we had a wonderful time. Borthwick was phenomenal. We had a great time at the farm and the people were wonderful. Skye was wonderful. A long trek but worth it.
As far as your service - it was good knowing you were out there. I think you pulled together a great trip, understanding our particular interests. You are welcome to use my comments. I have already recommended you to many here in Maine.
Thank you again!

Abby Holman
(21 – 28 September 2005)

Alastair:
The trip was fabulous! We enjoyed each and every one of the B&B's you arranged for us. They did what we had hoped, giving us a chance to meet and talk with the local people in the places we visited. I would recommend any of them to friends who might be going to Scotland.
Castle Stuart was, without a doubt, the highlight of our trip. Happily, we survived the night in the haunted honeymoon suite. The ambience was more than we had hoped for, the food was wonderful, and the hospitality exceptional. It was very uncrowded which added to the intimacy of the experience.
All in all, a fabulous trip and one which we will long remember. We will need to come back and spend more time in the future.
Feel free to use me as a reference should that be of use to you.

Alan Salisbury
( 4– 9 September 2005)

Greetings Alastair,
Just wanted to repeat myself in telling you what a JOB WELL DONE for our family's first sojourn to Scotland. Despite having to dive back into work and school rather quickly, we are still flying high from all the sights, sounds, tastes, flora, fauna. And the PEOPLE!! So kind, so interesting, so willing to talk and share information. I still can't get over the jaw-dropping scenery as we headed towards Ft William from Stirling. And we met Hamish the Highland Bull along the way. The Isle of Skye and Eileen Iarminn were beyond description and Archie and family the perfect hosts. We LOVED that place. The view, the food, the silence. I want to move there.
We were so captivated by castles that not a day went by without one-- we did 10 in all. The Wallace Monument was truly a treat. We felt so Scottish! We ate that night in a sweet place and stumbled upon a Hen Party. The women were so adoring of my girls that soon we were part of it-- hubby was allowed to stay-- and we were treated to Scottish songs. "Oh you can't throw your granny off the bus....." . I hope you can tell by this email how much we adored your homeland. I have to say our room at the Raemoir defied description; that 17th century bed! Ed, my husband, swears he heard a ghost and the staff did tell us a tale or two. I felt like royalty there.
We shall return! We can't wait!
Thanks Alastair!

Hi Alastair,
We had a fantastic time. We were so glad that we decided to go to Edinburgh. It was our favourite European city (and we live in Europe). Fantastic.
Getting to the Ballachulish was easy and a beautiful drive. We went to Doune first, then through a small winding road near Loch Lomond for the great scenery then connected up with A82 near Balloch to head up north. We stopped in Luss on the way up for another great view.
Dinner at Ballachulish was one of the best dining experiences we have ever had. VERY fancy and what a view ! The location was perfect as we were able to drive north to Ft. William and then to Skye (via the bridge, not via Mallaig) and see the most fantastic scenery either of us had ever seen along the way. Skye was absolutely gorgeous and our favorite part of the trip. No midges to be seen either. Not a one on the entire trip. We had mostly sunshine the entire time too.
Thanks again for all your suggestions and your help. We will recommend your service to friends traveling to Scotland in the future. Great trip.

Allison Brown
(30 June – 4 July 2005)

We both wanted to let you know that having you arrange our itinerary for us was the best thing we could have done.  We each commented that our last week in Scotland, on our own, following your itinerary was one of the best vacations that we ever had.  We didn't have to worry about where we would be stopping each night and knew when we had to think about dinner and when we didn't.  The distance between each of our stops was manageable and we didn't have to spend too much time in the car but still saw the country - it gave us plenty of time to settle into our accommodations and explore a bit before dinner.  You made the entire experience enjoyable.  Here are some specific comments on our stops:
Besides our stops along the way, we really appreciated your map and suggested routing.  We stopped at many of the sites you suggested along the way and a few that we found on our own.  One of our favourite stops was at Castle Campbell (in Dollar, I think).  We also found Castle Doune and others.
Thanks again for making the last week of our vacation so memorable.  We would not hesitate recommending your services to others and making another booking through you in the future.

David Thompson
(1-7 May 2005)

The accommodation was wonderful. We enjoyed the location, the graciousness of our host and hostess (as well as their daughter), and the fine dining. Sue and Patrick went out of their way to help us in every way they could. We hope we adequately conveyed that to them, but if not, please feel free to share with them our very positive impressions of them and their home.
The car rental also was very satisfactory. The folks at Arnold Clark were very efficient and helpful. Thanks so much for all you did to make the necessary arrangements.
We hope some day to return to Scotland--with our luggage--and continue our unfinished Graham clan quest.

John Sobieski
(1 – 4 May 2005)

Good morning Alastair,
We had a lovely trip. We were happy that we took two weeks to see the country. It gave us time to see all the suggestions on your itinerary and stop at some extras. The people were wonderful and the accommodations were fantastic. We have already recommended your company to some acquaintances as they are going to be booking a trip to London and Scotland this summer
I hope they contact you. I think our best time was at the castle. We enjoyed the castle accommodations and met some nice guests that were staying there also.
I am ready to go to Scotland again. :).
Once again, thank you for all your help setting up our trip.

Kathryn Scheinert
(27 March to 8 April 2005)