Still looking for Isle of Skye romantic B&B
 

Hoping to be on the Isle of Skye in mid-October. We promised my late mother and uncle to visit there as my family came from the Isle of Skye. We really want a quaint, romantic B&B but can't afford to splurge due to also going to Paris on this trip. So far we've only found contemporary lodgings.
Any ideas?

travelrene;
It's true that I haven't been to the Isle of Skye since... well let's just say 20 years. However, we did stay at Mrs. MacGregor's B+B. It was cozy. In fact, as I recall accomodations were almost all B+B's and they were all sweet and romantic. I've heard that TIGH-NA-MARA
is lovely. They all average about 20 pounds per persons includes Breakfast which is hardy. Try this web site:
http://tinyurl.com/zha95

Best Regards, Jane

To be honest - there really aren't all that many "quaint, romantic B&B's" on Skye. There MANY in great locations w/ amazing views - but most of them are modern houses.

If you want to keep to a budget - I'd select one w/ the location/food/views you want, and accept less than "period/quaint"

Hi travelrene,

As noted, Skye has lots more modern type properties than it does quaint ones but I think you might find something you like in Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay (website) at www.specialplacestostay.com

We stayed at Swordale House near Broadford this Spring. I will say that the website http://www.isleofskye.net/swordalehouse/ doesn't really give a lot of information, but it was a nice comfortable place, nicely furnished, with a good breakfast in the morning. I'm not sure what you mean by 'contemporary', but I would have considered this to be a well-kept farmhouse. It is a little out of the way - a couple of miles maybe from Broadford on the road to Elgol - but not really any problem if you have a car.

You might want to look at Kinloch Lodge, a small hotel in Sleat: http://www.claire-macdonald.com/kinloch-lodge/. The owner, Claire Macdonald, is a famous cook and cookery writer, and her husband is The MacDonald, the head of Clan MacDonald, if I recall correctly.

I thought sleat was a little out of the way. If you are going for 2 days to tour the island...what area is the best to stay at?

any input on the Stein Inn near Portree?

We stayed in a B&B near Elgol for three nights and I really wish we hadn't. It takes a lot longer to get from point A to point B on Skye then you'd think, just looking at the mileage, and we spent a lot of time driving back and forth to the B&B. The scenery on the road between Broadford & Elgol is gorgeous, though, and not to be missed.

Unless you are going to hike in the Cuillins, the best thing to do there is just drive around the Island, there is such a wide variety of beautiful scenery. If you stay in one place the whole time you spend half your time backtracking. If I had it to do again I would stay a different place each night in a different part of the Island - for instance, Staffin 1 night and Broadford or Kyleakin the next.

lawoman, any other recommendations on what to do while in skye?

Kinloch Lodge is wonderful - but IMHO it isn't terribly helpful to recommend a place that charges well over £100 per person to someone who doesn't want to splurge.

And while Sleat is lovely - it is too far from most of the isle for convenient touring.

steviegene -

We really enjoyed this.

http://www.bellajane.co.uk/

What are your interests?

Oh - missed the question about the Stein Inn. It is out on the Waternish penninsula. Not quite as inconvenient a base as Sleat or Elgol, and fairly close to Dunvegan. But again - being pretty far from other points of interest.

Places near Portree/Sligachan/Sconser would be more central and easy to get to any part of the island.

LAwoman, thanks!
That is actually the second recommendation I have gotten for that boating tour. And my husband LOVES boats, so that is definetly on the to-do list. Which tour did you take?
Our interests are seeing beautiful scenery, spending time in towns to get the feel of the place, pubs!, the feeling of "discovering", touring sites - like cathedrals, castles, etc...and the occasional more adventurous activity like boating, hiking, riding, etc.
I would just love to know what you did while there.
Also, janisj....what would your rec. be for skye. And, how out of the way would stein be? It just looks so nice! And it seems more "out of the way" which we like.

wow! duh, I just realized ive overused "out of the way"!
I mean, will it be really inconvenient, because we do like the idea of staying in an unconventional//small village type places. We would like to be around locals, and not feel like we are staying in a super touristy location.

It depends on what you want to see/do on Skye. The entire island is "out of the way" in a sense so you don't have to go to the far corners of the island to get away from it all. But if you want to be able to get around to lots of the scenic bits it is better to be a bit more centrally located.

Somewhere between Broadford and Portree (Sligachan, Sconser, Luib and so on) makes it a lot easier to get to anywhere on the island. Being in a more remote location means it is pretty likely you will be on single track roads.

Now, for a week's cottage rental when you have all the time in the world to tour the island - then stay anywhere. But for a short 1 or 2 night visit it is better to be in a more central area.

any specific place you can recommend?

Can't recommend a specific property - except for the Sligachan Inn which is great but maybe not the type of place you are looking for. Otherwise I've either rented self catering cottages or stayed in a B&B that has since been sold and is now a private residence.

But googling bed and breakfast and any of the places I mentioned (Portree, Sligachan, Sconser, Luib, Broadford, etc) will get you a TON of hits . . . .

Hi travelrene

My husband and I toured the Isle of Skye in September 2003 and stayed in 3 different locations.

The first was the Rosedale Hotel in Portree which we liked very much. It is right on the harbour and we had one of the rooms overlooking the harbour. We ate dinner there one night and it was very good. Their breakfasts were also quite good. Had an excellent meal in a small seafood restaurant at the top of the town can't remember the name but may be able to look it up. We enjoyed Portree's pubs & many shops. A very nice town.

We then went on to Dunvegan and stayed at the Dunvegan hotel. Pleasant but nothing special - had a lovely room though overlooking the loch.

Our last spot was the Flodigarry Hotel in Staffin. This place was very special - lovely romantic rooms, good dining room and outstanding location & views.

Sorry I can't recommend anything else but we did notice many B&B's in Portree and at that time of year you can easily arrive without reservations and choose what you like.

Have a wonderful trip. Scotland is special!

I'm going to check out some of the recommendations and websites. I'd love to stay at Kinloch Lodge, but must save the money for Paris. However, do they have a restaurant or pub open to the public? Maybe we could at least eat there. Also, I've thought about staying in a hostel for a couple of nights and then one night in a special spot. We've not stayed in hostels since college, and believe me that's ages ago . . .so if anyone has tried one lately I'd appreciate the feeback.

steviegene -

sorry for the late response.

We did the "standard return trip" on the Bella Jane. It's a pretty basic trip - they take you out on a small boat with about 12 people, stop by a rock where there are lots of sea lions (or seals? I forget!) then drop you off at a very scenic lake and come back & get you. Everybody gets a shot of whisky and you head home. Not for the seasick, but fun & scenic.

The pub at the Sligachan Inn is fun on a Saturday Night, live music, dancing, lots of general frolic. It's not small, tho.

Other than that we just drove around. Like janis says, all the towns are quite small & "villagey". You might want to arrange a hike in the Cuillins or rent bikes for a few hours.

Dunvegan Castle is cool - the fairy flag is there - but it's probably not up there among the top 10 amazing castles in Scotland, or anything. Just be prepared for nasty weather at any moment when you're near the mountains, even in summer, weather on Skye is notoriously changeable.

Anyone have an opinion on the location of Carbost for 2 nights?

We stayed at Tigh an Dochais in Broadford. And while it was more comtemporary it is beautiful!!! It's immaculately clean the views are stunning and the breakfast was the best of our trip. It has wonderful touches such as heated floors and high quality bath products. What made it great was that it was great for two night. We took the ferry in and explored sleat the first day and then did not have to drive too far to get to our accomodations. It was also closer to Elgol where the BellaJane and the Misty Isles boat trip heads out than Portree would be. Another advantage, for us, was that it is only 15 or so minutes from Plockton where we ate the best dinner of our trip.

About the boat trip -- I'm not sure what the difference is, but, we were told to take the Misty Isle trip because it was run by locals and was significantly cheaper than the Bella Jane. We loved it!!!

Carbost?- off the beaten track, but central

Anyone ever stayed at the Pier hotel? Overlooks Portree harbor.

You might want to consider the Eilean-Iarmain B&B, Isle of Ornsay on Skye; quite secluded, the food was wonderful and has great views.

The Eilean Iarmain is wonderful but is one of Skye's more expensive places. And, as has been mentioned before, the Sleat peninsula is not a central location if that's important.

Well we were considering Carbost, because it is central but as Sheila said-- "off the beaten path". However, I think the tourist season is really winding down...so now im thinking staying IN portree would be really nice. That way we are very central and also convenient to going out in the evening.

There is availability at the Rosedale Inn.
I am looking at the Peir house...which has gorgeous photos of their views, but none of their rooms.
Any other suggestions for staying in portree?

Actually its called Pier Hotel.

It may be different in tourist season. But, I have to say I was greatful we did not stay in Portree when we were in Skye. It was so dense (in buildings and population) compared to other places. Just my opinion.

misha, does portree seem touristy?
The place you stayed is booked, and we are struggling about where to stay.

I hate to say it, but compared to Broadford it was. One more thing -- my husband and I thought that Oban was awful -- don't waste your time there. Perhaps Neil Hope, the owner of Tigh an Dochais, could give you advice. He was so helpful. If you want to do a boat ride the second day and leave by the bridge on your way out -- I think, not that I am an expert, that you can't go wrong with looking around Broadford. We passed all sorts of wonderful looking B&B's on the road to Elgol too. But, I would be worried about driving those narrow roads late -- after dinner.

thanks misha, i'll keep looking.
Anyone else have an opinion.

Portree is a very nice little town - not touristy in the &quot;touristy&quot; sense. It does have hotels and restaurants - but that is because it is the <u>only</u> town on the island. Broadford isn't really a town - and not even much of a village. It is houses and businesses stretched along the main road. There are nice B&amp;Bs around Broadford - but it certainly doesn't have any &quot;charm&quot; as a village.

Be careful about Carbost - there are TWO Carbost's on Skye. One is NE of Portree near Skeabost. The other Carbost is W of Sligachan over on Loch Harport. This one is where Talisker Distillery is.

If you like the look of the hotel in Portree - it is very nice little town.

Portree is picured on postcards from Skye as well as in ads for Skye. It is, as janis has already stated, the only town on Skye but certainly a pleasant place and IMO not touristy.

If it's between Broadford and Portree, I'd choose Portree.

thanks everyone!
I still havent heard back from the place in portree...but Im thinking that staying in-town might be nice.

Well, since you're looking in Portree, I'llpoint you to the Royal http://www.royal-hotel-skye.com/. We stayed there two years ago for three nights. Our room overlooked the harbor quite pleasant. They also have a small parking lot around the corner, which is convenient. 91&pound; after September 29.

The Lower Deck restaurant, down on the quay, has very good seafood for a reasonable price. The Chandlery restaurant at the Bosville Hotel, up the road from the Royal, has great seafood at really high prices (Paris will seem a bargain). Lively pub with locals down on the quay, too. Quieter one at the Royal.

There are two very good hikes a few miles north of Portree -- the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. You can buy maps or guides at the outdoor store in Portree. Loney Planet's Walking in Scotland also describes them. I really encourage you to take at least one of these hikes. They are among my fondest memories of Scotland.

thanks Pausanias,
I think we would really like portree. My husband loves boats and the water. also, we are always up for a walk!

Does anyone have any information or opinions on the Rosedale Hotel or the Pier Hotel (both in portree)?

Didn't stay at them, but the Rosedale is directly below the Royal. You look over its roof to the harbor.

The Pier houses the lively -- not to say piratical -- pub I mentioned.

Your husband will love the harbor, which is full of working boats.

was it a very rowdy pub? Or rowdy in a good way?
Do you remember what the pierhouse looked like? Or what the views were like?