I surprised my partner for their birthday with a one night stay in Dalhousie Castle and we loved every minute of it.

On arrival the Receptionist was very friendly and professional and the gentleman who carried our luggage to our room was just as nice.

Our room was gorgeous, spacious, very clean, had a lovely view and had a very comfortable four poster bed.

We had dinner in the Dungeon Restaurant where the food was probably the best I have ever had and the service was very personable and friendly, the staff really went out their way to help us and ensure that we were having a pleasant evening.

We went to the Library after our dinner for a drink where a member of staff told us he was going to conduct a ghost tour which we decided to go on. The tour was very entertaining and all of us on it had a good time and loved all of his stories!

I would definitely stay at Dalhousie Castle again!

I am planning my wedding for the summer of 2009- as I am originally from Scotland, I chose the country of my birth as the place where I would like to marry the man of my dreams. This will NOT be in Dalhousie!

I was originally attracted by the outside view- it looked spectacular. As we have guests who will be flying in from many parts of the globe, we are looking for an exclusive use country house/castle, and at least on paper, Dalhousie seemed to fit the bill.

However, when we turned up for our booked appointment to look around the venue, the lack of professionalism started almost immediately. Firstly, they had double booked our appointment- the wedding coordinator for the hotel was already showing around another couple, so the tour fell to the duty manager. I can't blame her for the poor showing as this wasn't really her job, but still, if you can't handle a simple appointment when we're preparing to drop a significant amount of money, that's not exactly starting on the right foot.

The decor was pathetic. It was as if a Californian in 1962 had decided that they were going to build a castle and fill it with tacky tourist and historical accessories. The third rate mural, the lack of any attempt at interior decoration since 1978, the half hearted attempt at even looking at the rooms or spa, not to mention the poor general upkeep of the place, including but not limited to dirty carpets, broken mirrors, tacky thrones ala Posh and Becks for the bridal couple, the fake painted bricks on the walls of the chapel... it was all just a little sad.

The Dungeon, the location of their "fine dining" restaurant, was simply not up to the task- about 40 people would fit in there, and only if they were divided into three groups. Plus, quite frankly, it smelled as if someone had died down there. For all I know, someone had, but it's been a few hundred years, so shall we try to get a fan down there?

The next bit was a little strange- the duty manager/ substitute then asked me which room I would be staying in when I came. One, I'm planning on booking out the entire place, so I'll figure that out at a later date. Two, I've never been to your castle before, so how in the world will I know which room I plan on staying in? If I wanted themed suites, I'd be marrying in Vegas, not Scotland.

I know that I wanted fireworks- but no dice at Dalhousie. Apparently, it'll worry the sheep. And the birds in the aviary at the entrance to the Castle. Not very nuptual.

Now we come to the staff. I know that she was not supposed to be the person showing me around the property, but the duty manager started the press me about the booking. I mean really pushing. It took all my power not to snap at her that her hotel was not adequate. Sales and customer service are obviously not this place's forte.

The rest of the staff (except for the real wedding coordinator) seemed to have been only recently out of school, and utterly clueless. Seriously, there were only two members of staff whom I saw who were above the legal drinking age in America (21 for those wondering).

For those who cannot live without their Harry Potter/owls flying their rings down the aisle moment for their wedding (a speciality of Dalhousie), I'm sure there are other arrangements you can make at a far better venue. This place simply isn't worth it. The food looked and smelled nasty. The staff was unprofessional. The smell was impressive, and not in a good way. The decor was wonderful for a wedding- my parents wedding in 1968.

For me, after I made my excuses not wanting to waste any more of this poor woman's time, I was happy to the see Dalhousie in my rear view mirror. If you're planning a wedding in Scotland, you can do a lot better.

We like to get away and stay in a hotel with real atmosphere - Having wanted to stay in Edinbugh for some while, we decided on Dalhousie - We were not dissapointed.
The room was comfortable and well set out without being spectacular. The Restaurant was great - A realy good meal and the service was spot on - breakfast was even better - We enjoyed exploring Edinburgh - then back to the Castle for an afternoon tea - a very pleasant stay

We booked direct with the hotel by phone. There are a number of unique rooms and the the staff were not particularly helpful in helping u choose a room over the phone. We chose the Robert the bruce room in the end.

the room itself was pretty impressive. an amazing bed with an true grandeur feeling about it. It is a room i would recommend.

To get to the castle you probably need to rent a car really. I dont think public transport is an option.

We paid 250 pounds plus for this room so had a reasonable amount of expectation. Which was partially met.

The dinner at the dungeon was not great. The crab salad had a few shells in, the monkfish was raw and had to be sent back,. They brought us the wrong wine and while staff were friendly, seemed clueless.

At night we had a false fire alarm where all the guest had to congregate outside in the cold at 2am while the firebrigade had to come and clear the scene. Apparently it was due to an over sensitive fire alarm. I accept the hotel had our safety at interest but i didnt feel they were particularly applogetic about the inconvienience. Overall the whole event seemed poorly managed.

The reason why people come here is for the castle theme. My wife and I loved the atmosphere that comes with it, but for the price we were hoping for a better service.