Fiona 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.
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).
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 food
I 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 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 verdict
The 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?
- Find out more about The Cally Palace Hotel here
- Is
a holiday home abroad for you? - Read more parents stories of their family holidays in Travellers’
Tales - Let’s
go to Cornwall! A mini guide to this great family holiday destination - Holiday
essentials – what can I get when I’m there?
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