The Old Manse of Blair, Boutique Hotel & Restaurant

From the moment we arrived we were warmly welcomed and Jason (hotel manager) couldn’t have been more helpful at helping resolve a booking issue with the online 3rd party. Nothing was too much trouble and our happiness was paramount meaning that what we expected from our trip was indeed our experience. A well appointed traditional hotel with fantastic atmosphere, food and wine. During dinner service Kayleigh our waitress was very efficient and friendly. We also met the hotel owner which was lovely. The hotel is only 5 minutes from The House of Bruar which is also quite handy. Would definitely recommend.

We had a wonderful time during our 4-nights stay in the Railway Cottages at The Old Manse of Blair. The friendly and helpful staff truly made it feel like a home away from home. Also compliments and a big thank you to the chef who adjusted the delicious menu to meet dietary requirements. We highly recommend this lovely estate and cannot wait to return next year!

We had the pleasure of dining here with friends recently. The food was 1st class as were the staff and the Manse itself is beautiful. The atmosphere was not stuffy at all and very casually friendly but in a very professional manner. We will certainly be back and I can’t wait! Highly recommend this lovely restaurant on every level. *****

lovely stay at the Old Manse. On arrival, it was obvious that everything was at the guests' pace, fluid and flexible. The welcome was warm, the rooms spotless (the Ministers sudy, loved the room names), and the gardens amazing. A point worthy of consideration. We checked with the hotel in advance about the sample menu." Advised that the chef was on holiday and the menu being market led could change and could not be confirmed. This sounded fair enough. On arrival, the menu hadn't changed other than a set three course meal at £75pp. However, this was also flexible. We did, however, find this to be a bit misleading. The service at dinner was first class. The presentation was perfect. The fresh produce was lovely but a bit overwhelmed by all the additional flavours. We were fortunate enough to meet several staff and family members (including Seumas and Seoras). All of them were lovely and went out of their way to make us feel relaxed and welcome. This boutique hotel doesn't give you olives with your drinks. There is no air conditioning, safe in the room, turn down service or fridge to cool your snacks. This boutique hotel provides true Scottish hospitality at its absolute best. 'S math a rinn thu.

So we were looking for a last minute quick get away for a few days with our dog so obviously we needed to find a dog friendly hotel. We arrived at the hotel yesterday late afternoon (Friday 5th July) and on arrival it looked lovely. My husband checked in and was just given a key to our room without any clear instructions. We ended up having to go back and ask where we could exercise our dog, what time breakfast was. The room itself was lovely, high standard but absolutely no instructions at all within the room on any off the facilities. We also realised that we could not take the the in to the hotel and we could not leave him in the room himself as we were told this was not allowed. So that left us with a dilemma as to where we wanted to eat as we could not eat at hotel. The nearest place was a 15 min drive away which was fine and we were able to take Charlie with us. We decided to leave today and not stay another day as it was not convenient for us and the dog. On arriving at breakfast which the surroundings were pleasant and we were offered an assortment of continental breakfast or cooked. I opted for cooked but was not given choice of how I would like my eggs. I ended up with a fried egg and the breakfast was rather greasy which was unexpected. On the way out the owner came up to chat to us and we gave her all the details of our stay. The only thing that annoyed us about this was when we told her about our checkin experience she said her staff had shown us where to exercised our dog etc which was a clear lie on her staffs part. She then said she would check cctv about this which sort of made us out to be lier’s. Nice place but I think it should re think about advertising as dog friendly as we have been to many upmarket dog friendly hotels and unfortunately The Old Manse does not come up to the standard we expected.

We spent three nights at The Old Manse of Blair at the end of three weeks of travel, mostly walking tours. We were tired and a bit road weary. The Old Manse was a wonderful home away from home for us. The staff was exceptionally warm and personable. The food was delicious. But the best part was walking from our little room up to the house for food or for help. We were literally going home. We stayed at some nice hotels on our travels but the combination of cozy and quality is unique at The Old Manse.