Rowan Brae Historic Guesthouse

Great character and very comfortable it was very clean the bedding was luxe.

Self-serve breakfast was generous and a selection of cakes for afternoon tea was very good. On site parking was only just adequate, it is very tight if all 8 rooms require a parking space. The location is within walking distance to cafes, pubs and shops. Our room overlooked the lovely gardens and we had enclosed verandah access - which only applies to rooms 4,6, & 8.

The room set up for breakfast has 3 tables and 6 chairs - totally inadequate for 8 guest rooms and especially if you are traveling in a group. Bringing a chair from our room was frowned upon, communicated by text message! There is no common lounge area which is disappointing for an accomodation that calls themselves a guesthouse. Security is non existent as the main entrance is unlocked 24hrs. Communication re booking & check-in was poor and confused from the host, leaving the 2 ladies on staff to sort it out, full credit to them!

It’s a beautiful old guesthouse but well appointed and very comfortable. The breakfast goodies were delicious, so was cake for afternoon tea.

It was all good.

I would rate this property as just okay. Great if you want to pack some boiled egg sandwiches and apples for lunch as breakfast was available all day.

I was expecting access to the beautiful grounds shown in the main photo but this is apparently not part of the accomodation so it was misleading on that front. In fact, we entered through a back door accessed through a lane rather than through the grand entrance shown on the advertising. The room was the smallest they had and admittedly as it was a long weekend and the only room left, but also a significant birthday for me so kind of disappointing. The pokey room was clearly not reflected in the price which was excessive for what we got. The mattress was too soft and the small room became quite stuffy and uncomfortable to stay in for too long. The bathroom was cramped and the dining room was tiny and uninviting, not somewhere to linger over a coffee. The breakfast was basic (boiled eggs, toast, cereal...). Other guests who praised this accomodation must have stayed in the bigger rooms and sat on beautiful balconies overlooking greenery, but not us. I don't like leaving negative reviews but I feel like I was duped by the beautiful photos in the advertising and would have preferred to pay less and stay in a motel.