A classy bit of Scotland for the familyFiona Bridger, a trusty babyworld moderator, took her family for a 4 day break to a luxury hotel in the Scottish lowlands. Would they be reluctant to leave? We arrived at the Cally Palace hotel in the afternoon of a warm April day that felt much more like July. We arrived an hour or so earlier than planned so we drove around the local area for a little while to investigate all the many possibilities for activities. We had not visited the Scottish lowlands before and thought the local town, Gatehouse of Fleet, was especially picturesque. Turning in through the impressive lodges at the gates of the Cally Palace driveway, we knew we were in for a treat! As the drive moved from the surrounding forest through the greens of a beautifully-manicured private golf course, the Cally Palace itself came into view and was so imposing that even our three children (4, 7 and 9 years old) fell silent for the first time in several hours! I was a little worried at this point as I really could not imagine my rather excitable and enthusiastic children not disturbing the peace of this very sedate and charming hotel… and this was a feeling that persisted throughout most of the weekend. Cally Palace Hotel - what's it like?From looking at the glossy hotel brochure before we left home, I had suspected that we would be given a room in a wing of the hotel at a distance from the main building and as we followed the porter through a rabbit warren of corridors, up and down flights of stairs and through a series of fire doors, my suspicions proved to be correct! However… when we entered what turned out to be a suite of rooms, I realised that this was not entirely designed to maintain the calm of the general atmosphere, but also to allow us and our children some much-needed space and freedom. "I was hugely impressed by the thought that had gone into this arrangement, which allowed my husband and I to relax at the outdoor table and chairs with a glass of wine while the kids worked off their pent-up energy. "The rooms were large and well-appointed (albeit rather dated in decoration) but the real bonus was the French window and private patio area that led directly out onto the edge of the beautiful back lawn of the hotel, where we found a set of swings and a slide right outside our room! I was hugely impressed by the thought that had gone into this arrangement, which allowed my husband and I to relax at the outdoor table and chairs with a glass of wine while the kids worked off their pent-up energy. I was slightly less impressed by the fast-moving open stream that was also right outside our room (which one of the girls managed to fall into by the end of the weekend). Had our children been any younger I would have been seriously worried by this and would have felt unable to allow them outside at all without either me or my husband standing right beside them, even though the slide and swings were very conveniently placed. Interestingly, we discovered that the suite we were staying in had originally been the hotel nursery, which explained the excellent size of the rooms and the positioning of the play equipment.
The leisure facilities were excellent and the girls had a fantastic time going from the pool to the jacuzzi and back again. We had difficulty getting them away from the pool in order to go back to the room and get ready for dinner! Food, glorious foodI must admit that the prospect of taking a 4 year old, 7 year old and 9 year old into a formal dining room, complete with Maitre D' and pianist, had filled me with a certain amount of trepidation. We had, in the end, resorted to bribery in the form of a "who can be the best princess" competition in order to enjoy the evening with a reasonable level of calm! The main problem we encountered was the timing of the meal. The hotel served a children's High Tea at about 5.30pm which would undoubtedly have been a better choice for the girls but would have left us with a dilemma for our own meal as there was no babysitting service, only a baby-listening service involving telephones. These systems are not practical in our view, as we do not believe in leaving children in locked rooms by themselves, either with or without a listening service. Also, the dining room was such a long way from the suite that we would not have been able to get back quickly if we had needed to. This left us with no choice but to bring the girls with us to dinner at the earliest possible time of 6.45pm.The meal was wonderful and the children's menu was well thought-out and the girls all enjoyed the food very much. The stemmed wine glasses that seemed to be the only form of glassware provided for the children proved somewhat tricky, particularly for our youngest, however it was the four course menu that my husband and I enjoyed that proved more difficult, as it was rather too long for the girls to sit through. Our youngest daughter fell asleep at the table after a while, which brought the meal to an early end (she did this on both nights) but we finished the evening with a bottle of wine on our private patio enjoying the view of the gardens, so all was not lost! Bedtime
Bedtime was an exciting experience for the girls as they had their own room with an en-suite bathroom (why does our bath at home not attract the same level of interest?!!) and three single beds with bedside tables, all of which had to have toys and books placed in the drawers and all the wardrobes furnished with little dresses and other cornucopia. "The girls made full use of their room and all its little interests!"Suffice to say that the girls made full use of their room and all its little interests! Breakfast the next day was more relaxed (my husband particularly enjoyed the full English breakfast!) and we headed out for the day to enjoy all the many local attractions, returning to the hotel in the late afternoon with three tired children and an appetite for another wonderful dinner. The limitations of a formal dining experience with three young children once again presented themselves, but the food was marvellous and although our four year old fell asleep at the table again, we nevertheless enjoyed the meal and finished it off by having dessert brought to our suite. A great deal of early morning use was made of the swings and slide, and another spectacular breakfast the following day brought our visit to a reluctant close. Overall verdictThe Cally Palace is an extremely beautiful hotel with its own private, professional-standard golf course. The grounds are stunning and the service impeccable, providing a relaxing environment for a traditional and formal stay in this handsome hotel. As a family, we felt that the hotel was aimed at a slightly older, golf-orientated visitor and although provisions had been made for families, we did not feel completely comfortable as we were very concerned about our children disturbing the quiet and dignified atmosphere. We felt the need to keep a tight rein on the children throughout, which was fine for a weekend but did not make for a completely relaxing holiday. We very much enjoyed the novelty of the weekend but at a cost of £700 for a family of five for two nights (breakfast and dinner included), we felt we would probably spend that money on a week somewhere with a more easy-going, child-friendly environment. If our children were older or if we were very keen golfers then it would have been a wonderful place to visit for an indulgent holiday or weekend break. The Cally Palace is a very beautiful hotel in a stunning location but in the end, we were not convinced that it was truly child-friendly or practical for families. We did have a wonderful time however, and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for helping us to enjoy an interesting and special weekend in the Cally Palace Hotel. Where to next?
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After
an exciting hour investigating the rooms and the swings, we decided to
try out the swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna (the latter being enjoyed
only by me, not being suitable for the children).
