Balbirnie House Hotel

I attended a close friends wedding here, and also stayed for the night in the triplex apartment.

The building and grounds themselves are truly stunning. Often with these grand old country houses the initial impression is good, but upon closer inspection things are just under par. This is the case at Balbirnie. Everything was in the finest repair. The only complaint I really have is that during the wedding device the lawns were being cut, this seemed highly inconsiderate as the wedding party had booked out the entire hotel and the hotel were aware there was a wedding taking place.

Aside from that minor niggle, the hors d'oeuvres were fantastic especially the cheese scones, the evening meal was also wonderful and the staff were exceptionally pleasant.

One other small gripe, if I'm paying nearly £7 for a gin (Gordon's at that) I'd hope that it was a double.

We visited Balbirnie, and stayed over, when attending a wedding here in September 2015.

Admittedly, the weather was horrible, so we didn't have a chance to stroll in the garden (darn, lost my chance to run into Mr Darcy there! :)), which presumably is lovely.

The hotel itself as well as the wedding venue was absolutely amazing. The room for the cermony was the perfect setting, so extremely pretty and romantic. In the hotel, I loved the old, wide stairs and our super luxurious room (we had a "normal" double). The room had such a peacefulness and tranquility to it, and it was very well isolated - no noise at all! Had the best night's sleep in ages here!

The venue (ball room) was beautiful and good sized. Loved how they had decorated the room itself, as well as the table decorations. So pretty!

Foodwise, I was pleasantly surprise. To be able to serve around 80 guests that good food, that's impressive. I had the veggie version, which actually might have been better than the meat one - very unusual and I was very happy about it. Breakfast the day after was yummy, loved the scrambles - you could tell they were made with lotsa cream!

The only tiny thing that I was unhappy about was that the party had to close down at midnight (hello Cinderella fantasy!). There was a small bar in the library still open, but then it was more chilling with a few people, rather than partying. Still fun, but not just the same.

If I had the money, I would totally book this for my own future wedding (if there would be one) and fly all guests here from Sweden. It was such a fantastic experience for us (the bride was also really happy), and I'd love to come here again. Note to self: Make friends with some scottish couples, preferably engaged ones.

Had a wonderful experience here at the Chef's Table which I would definitely recommend. You sit in your own room behind 1-way glass and can see the chefs hard at work making your meal! I don't think anywhere else in Scotland offers this. The food is delicious and considering the price is £37 you get a huge amount - 4 courses plus canapés. Also stayed overnight in a nice big room. I would call it if anything a bit tired rather than "dirty" as an earlier reviewer has claimed. It is down sort of listed building so that has to be taken into account. Breakfast was a lot more average than the dinner. Nothing is cooked to order etc. But still perfectly OK.

Recently stayed here for a wedding reception and very impressed, OK not the cheapest hotel but good value and actually the bar prices were not bad!
From check in to check out every part of the experience was good ,friendly and efficient staff, fabulous decor in the hotel, spacious comfortable room .
The wedding reception showcased a great kitchen and for once enough serving staff to ensure everybody was served quickly and with hot food.
Breakfast the next day was so good and copious we were almost two hours at the table
Treat yourself to an away weekend here , I will be coming back for sure

I arrived at noon, hoping the hotel would allow a wedding guest to check in a bit earlier than the 2pm time. The wedding was to begin at 2:30pm and I needed to get dressed and ready. I asked politely to two of the hotel attendants if there was any way I could check in earlier and they kept all of the guests waiting until 2pm. It was clear they could have had some flexibility to allow people to check in earlier, but their arrogance did not allow any of us access to our rooms sooner. The hotel is a very popular wedding venue, but the rooms are dated and not even clean! The bathroom floor was filthy in the corners. The toilet was very old. There was mold in the shower. The extra pillows in the small closet were filthy. The radiator had a musty and dusty old smell when turned on. Most of all, I was disappointed with the hotel service and the arrogance to keep the wedding guests waiting instead of showing consideration and excellent service to the guests given the time of the wedding. Isn't that part of the overall package the bridal couple pays for? Their guests should be treated with courtesy and the hotel should go out of their way to be accommodating on this special day. Instead, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth about this hotel. Arrogance comes above service for the Balbirnie House. I would never pay their standard rate for a room here. It is not worth $300 US dollars. We were granted a wedding guest rate that was 1/3 that cost, and even that was not value for money based on the condition of the room. I posted my review on Tripadvisor as well, where if you read the reviews, you can see as Emma (a reviewer here) noted, Nicholas, the owner has an unprofessional attitude and response to any criticism about the hotel. Instead of taking it as constructive criticism and looking to improve the hotel, he responds with arrogance and sarcasm to every negative review. It is clear where the staff's arrogance stems from, as the upper management appear to instill it in them. The Holiday Inn Express Glenrothes was the same price and the hotel was modern and clean and had much better service than Balbirnie. Like others said, ok for a wedding, but if you want your guests treated right, consider another venue. This kind of arrogant and unapologetic attitude leaves a lasting impression about the wedding and the atmosphere.

We had our wedding reception here in 2006. I can't speak highly enough of the staff and the accommodation.
In our pre-booking meeting the wedding organiser was highly prepared, professional and friendly and we soon came to realise this was true of all Balbirnie staff.
We return regularly to eat in the Bistro. The food is delicious, fresh, well presented and reasonably priced.
I highly recommend Balbirnie for any occasion.

Great hotel set in a beautiful park. The staff are extremely friendly and professional. We visited twice and ate dinner one evening in the 'Bistro' - the lower-priced restaurant in the hotel. The food was excellent with prompt service. The restaurant seems very popular and was full when we visited. The following day we had afternoon tea. First time I've started afternoon tea with a glass of prosecco. Sandwiches were great and the scones perfect. The macaroon's were really interesting. Very nicely done with superb service by Cameron. Seems like this is also a very popular venue for weddings. Bagpipes playing frequently !