self catering in edinburgh
 

My family will be traveling to Scotland in May. We are looking at a self catering cottage in the town of Carlops near Edinburgh. Has anyone stayed there before? We are requested to pay 50 per cent now and the final 50 per cent 4 weeks before we get there. This means we are paying in full for a place that we have never seen before. Am I being a paranoid American or should we ask them to accept final payment after we have seen the place? Any one with prior experience with these things? Please let me know.

ladysmith

We booked a self-catering place through an agency (MacKays). It was on the outskirts of Edinburgh (about a 10 minute car or bus ride to the city center).

We paid in advance, similar to your outline (I don't remember the exact timing), and it worked out great.

If you haven't settled on the place in Carlops, take a look at the one we used - Peffermill House. 17th century fortified house. We had the entire ground floor - two full bedrooms/bathrooms (one with tub/shower, one with shower only), tiny kitchen (with everything we needed) and huge living/dining room. Gorgeous garden (several acres) that made us feel as if we were way out in the country somewhere.

Check my trip report from Scotland, September 2004 (by clicking on my screen name) if you'd like more information.

But, yes, paying in advance is often expected. I also did it for a flat in London last summer (through vrbo.com) and everything was fine.

Have fun. (We'll be in Scotland in May, too - perhaps we'll wave to each other!)

Gayle

ladysmith, you may be interested to know that Americans owners who rent self-catering condos/houses in the US also expect full payment at least 4 weeks,and often longer, before you arrive. I have seen no self catering unit anywhere where you can pay the balance after you get there. I have personally rented condos in Hawaii and flats in Edinburgh and have been very pleased each time.

Do you have a particular reason for staying in Carlops ? Do you realise it is a *very* small village, not especially charming, about 20-30 minutes' drive from Edinburgh ? I don't know what you're planning on doing while you're here; but if you're planning on spending a lot of time in Edinburgh, you'd be better off staying *in* Edinburgh. Buses from Carlops are very few & far between & driving into the city is no fun.

Look at vrbo.com for a place IN Edinburgh. Driving in Edinburgh is neither easy nor swift, and I'm guessing you're staying near Edinburgh precisely because you want to visit Edinburgh (and if you don't, rethink that -- great city). Scottish roads are narrow and the Scots drive like Europeans (natch) but unlike you, they're accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road. This isn't a big deal on highways but is awful in a city (which itself has narrow streets and few grid-plan areas).

As for full payment in advance -- this is standard practice for owner-rented facilities so your choice is limited. The market for these properties is small, therefore the owners cannot put themselves in a situation where they do not get full payment and leave the option of payment to you if you get to the place and find it acceptable -- there is no way for the owner to re-let the property on short notice. Therefore, the owner would have to both swallow the loss you caused and could not re-let to other folks who may have been interested in the property you decided to rent before them. If you're a fussy American whose expectations are not reasonable to them (and we'll assume the owner complied with his/her representations regarding quality and condition), but you refuse to pay, the owner suffers. That's a bad business decision for the owner. The hotel model does not apply for these transactions.

If there are no reviews for the place, then look for some apartment or house with glowing visitor feedback. If there are no pictures for the one you're about to rent, back out now because it may be a dump. Owner-rented vacation properties thrive on word-of-mouth and positive feedback, therefore the owners will likely try to ensure that the place at worst will meet their lovely description.

And we've stayed at no fewer than four places we dug up on vrbo.com and have had no problems.

All that said, why the heck would you stay in some random village instead of Edinburgh itself?

Carlops is in the "boonies" as they say in my part of the world. As Caroline says, it has not much going for it as far as a tourist centre is concerned. I would recommend changing your plans.

OK, I just checked this out on Google maps. You're barking if you want to stay there and haul yourself in to Edinburgh to sightsee. At least in a western or eastern suburb you could take a train to the city. And it's not like Carlops is easily accessible to other nearby attractions by road.

This post is three years old, guys, and the topping email is suspect, I think

Big Russ - you are talking to someone who went on the trip two years ago. Jamesline topped it to flog his flat. it's been reported to the eds . . . . .

oops - didn't see sheila's post . . . . .

Must have been. It's gone