Visitor Comments
…from our Visitor book, these are all written by previous guests
Gruinyards has been available for holiday lets since April 2009 and it has been a busy few years with a lot of guests staying and enjoying the comforts, tranquility and, of course, views, that the apartment has to offer.
We have had a Visitor’s book since June 09 and are delighted that all the comments have been very complimentary.
The pictures to the left show some of these (click on one and it will open as a slide show) but they are typed out below (much easier to read) so please see what our previous guests have to say about Gruinyards:
We feel so lucky that this breathtakingly beautiful part of the world is practically at our doorstep. This was a perfect break – a beautiful and luxurious apartment combined with spectacular scenery and so much for us all to do, come rain or shine. Monastery 18 was very comfortable and had everything we needed right down to the games and ideas for the evenings with the kids. This was our second break to the monastery, though our first stay at M18 and we would love to come back. Only probelms? Nessie was elusive as ever and 2: we have to go home now! Thanks for a wonderful stay.
P.S. Staff here are very friendly and helpful – so refreshing!13/10/12, Falkirk, Scotland
We had a great time here, just sitting and looking out of the window of Loch Ness made the big journey up here worth it. Would certainly recommend this apartment to anyone and will probably be back ourselves in the not too distant future. Many thanks!
29/9/12, Lancashire, England
What amazing time we all had – the views from the windows are breathtaking and are always changing. A boat trip on the Loch was great and the food at the boathouse was fantastic. It’s a great base to start exploring bonnie Scotland, highlights for us were visiting Ben Nevis, Fort William, Glencoe mountaints and even visited Ediburgh.
To top off what an amazing apartment with everything you ever need especially with 2 little ones, the roll top bath enabled me to re-create the flake experience. I can’t put in words how fantastic this apartment was!22/9/12, Kent, England
Thank you for a wonderful apartment in such an idyllic setting with amazing views. The whole Highland Club complex offers something for everyong of all ages. We would recommend the Isle of Skye including the Serpentarium (fascinating if you like that sort of thing), Ben Nevis (via cable car!) and Eilean Donan castle. We hope to be back again sometime!
1/8/12, Oftersheim, Germany
Had an absolutely wonderful time. Very comfortable apartment. The cruises on the loch were fantasic. Great for relaxation and water activities. We will be back. I need to look at the view from the window one more time!
24/7/12, Birmingham, UK
This was our first trip to Scotland. Our good friends found this amazing place. The Summer solstice out the window was a highlight! Great day tips, walks, food and relaxation. Thank you.
P.S. Gregorian chant music in the hallways would be awesome.
20/6/12, Chicago, USA
First visit to Scottish Highlands. Thoroughly enjoyed it, very comfortable flat, if a little taxing on the knees! But worth the effort. Good pub grub at The Loch and good fine dining at Lovatt Arms Hotel. Off to Skye now for a week. Many thanks.
2/6/12, Cheltenham, UK
What a privilege it is to stay in such a beautiful location and such an historicand well known landmark which has been wonderfully restored for posterity. Jonathan and Elena have been tremendous hosts and we cannot thank them enough. Hope to come back some day. Thank you.
19/5/12, Homebush, Australia
Second visit after nearly 3 years, fantastic to see all the improvements. The pool is swimming and even made the children get out of bed to go for a 9 o’clock swim! The views out the window are as usual ever changing, definitely had all seasons in 4 days. Meal at Boathouse a must, good to see it open and full. Hope to be back soon. Thank you.
15/4/12, Huntly, UK
Excellent apartment. Hichly recommended. Will come again with some company. May be Summer this time. Thank you.
14/2/12, Stevenage, UK
Our stay here was amazing! Could not have asked for a better apartment. We wish we could stay longer.
03/02/12, Ohio, USA
Best apartment we have stayed in! Views astonishing and great furnishings. We will come again!
18/11/11, Glasgow, Scotland
Wonderful apartment, stunning views, glorious location, will be back.
11/11/11, Berkshire, England
What a marvelous, magical place – the view from the window changed endlessly…We enjoyed a boat trip on the loch, meals at the boathouse, Urquhart Castle, Glencoe, archery – courtesy of Monster Activities and the Jacobite steam train from Fort William to Mallaig – unforgettable. Will recommend to friends, family and total strangers…!
28/10/11, Tyne and Wear, England
Nice accommodation. We enjoyed visit to Urquhart Castle and Falls of Foyers was spectacular! Couldn’t get on boat trips because of adverse weather; wind, snow and hail.
Nice food at the boathouse. It was nice to climb the hills, I enjoyed when it snowed.21/10/11, Falkirk, Scotland
OK, at first, the stairs and chill of the abbey’s hallways made us hesitate…but the radiators soon warmed us up, and the sun rose and we began to appreciate the comforts of the condo & oh my the “view”!! We’ve walked and toured everywhere from Inverness to Oban. Such a good time! Such a beautiful, unspoiled. Hospitable country & village. Scotland forever!! P.S. Foyers Falls on the “Wildside” of the Loch is an astounding site even for Scotland.
15/10/11, Ontario, Canada
Glad we came, sad to leave, just perfect.
5/10/11, Dorset, England
A wonderful week in a terrific environment. This is such a peaceful and inspiring place, we all loved it. We played tennis and table tennis and started our career in croquet and archery. The kids, usually not enthusiastic about hiking tours, really enjoyed our trip to the Ben Nevis range. Our little hiking tour went from the lower falls to the Steall falls. We even enjoyed the typical fish and chips in the local pubs but we probably won’t continue this diet back home. The Loch Inn became our favourite pub, when the locals gathered there for a long evening with live music. We certainly found a home away from home in this wonderful apartment.
30/08/11, Dresden, Germany
What a lovely apartment!! We spent one of our better holidays in Scotland. The walk to Deall Fuar Mhonoidh must be done (marvelous views to the Loch from Fort Augustus to Inverness and sea). Club lounge is perfect for children…and adults too! We’ll travel to the South of Scotland to stay one week more; if one day we have to come back near Loch Ness, surely we will book again this apartment. Thank you for a lovely stay.
5/08/11, Koetzingue, France
Two years on, here we are again. Still a fantastic apartment in a fantastic location. Shame view is gone from bedroom due to extension on back of church. Urquhart Castle still favourite place to visit for boys (12+16 now) with adults recommending afternoon tea at Glen Garry Caste with walks around Grounds & Loch. Missed all the rabbits that were here on last visit but the bat’s aerial displays each night continued to entertain. On our last night we heard some Gregorian Chants but when we went down to the Cloisters to investigate there was no one there?! Still, can’t wait to come back to completed development!
15/4/11, Formby, England
Wow! This place is amazing, fantastic views over the loch, definitely enjoyed my stay here and would recommend it highly.
9/4/11, Strathaven, Scotland
This has been a lovely place to stay and the view certainly can’t be beaten – even if we have had 4 seasons in one day! We enjoyed our cruise on Lock Ness and Urquhart Castle is well worth a visit. The children enjoyed all the facilities and the adults watching all the boats travelling up and down the lochs. Had a fabulous meal at the Lovat Arms (fine dining and fine dining prices!). We thought it was worth it for a “special” night i.e. Granny was letting us go out on our own for a change. The apartment is fabulous – unfortunately we had 2 of the wettest and windiest days in a while so there were a few leaks in the roof – they didn’t stop us having a great time but it is a reminder of what a difficult job it is renovating and maintaining such a spectacular building. Definitely our kind of place! Thanks!
9/4/11, Strathhaven, Scotland
This 80+++ ancient granny had a WOW time. Coped with the 80+ steps to enjoy in considerable comfort views of the habitat of the infamous prehistoric female monster.
3/4/11, Bishopsgate, Scotland
On having visited Fort Augustus and the abbey in February ’97 (whilst Benedictine monks still inhabited the abbey) we ‘declared’ that we would ‘love to stay in such a wonderful building’ if the opportunity ever arose – well it did and we have! What a great apartment – home from home, with fantastic and amazing views from every window – changing all the time! Had the most scenic drive to Anemone, via the B road at the back of the Abbey (left, out of the main gates) especially after a night of snow. Oban is worth a visit too – gorgeous fish and chips! We would all like to return one day in the future and would definitely want to stay in this apartment, if only to see the who gets the fabulous window seat first!!
Thank you for a wonderful place to stay.20/02/10 – Oldham, Manchester
We’ve had a fantastic long weekend here – the view is amazing of course and the apartment is so lovely it will be really hard to go home in the morning! The whole setting is fantastic and our boys aged 3 and 5, have loved every minute – especially since there is so few people here due to the time of year and the found it great fun to race around the cloisters giggling their heads off very loudly. We would love to come back again and would recommend a visit to anyone.
18/1/10 – Heswall, Wirral
Fabulous apartment but overshadowed by the awesome view!!! Heavenly – if we wanted to pick a fault we would recommend more toilet paper supplied and please do something about the ever closing doors – very anti-social and too heavy. We have left print out (coffee table drawer) of our walks, Glen Affric is a MUST, you are transported to the Lord of the Rings filmset! Local hospitality is great, the Lovat Arms is a lovely restaurant but staff exceeded our food expectations! Our stay was magical and weather was so kind – snow and sunshine. Thank you Scotland – we’ll be back! x
3/4/10 – Wales
Fabulous stay. The whole area is awesome. The people are very friendly here. We found the food to be especially delightful (I’ve never eaten such large portions!). Do eat at Dores – the steaks are amazing! The Bothy is great for real ale etc. Do visit Skye – and take the little ferry across Glenelg. Loch Affric walk is a must and try to get down to Glencoe.
Shame about the builders – being woken at 7:30 on bank holiday Monday, was a bit of a drag. Loved the bathroom, but not too sure about no curtains.
Oh well, back to traffic jams, people and the stresses of life – we’ll be back!10/4/10 – West Malling, Kent
Well what an amazing situation and surely the best views in the whole building. First trip to Scotland and most definitely NOT the last. The walks around the loch are the most tranquil I’ve ever experienced. All the local people are really friendly and the staff on the Royal Scot boat cruise were very nice. Fort Augustus is very quaint, food and pub places are more than good. Lovat Arms is fantastic for food. Can recommend the cable cars on Aonoch Mor if you have a head for heights. Amazing views if the weather is good. Can NOT fault the apartment at all – 5 standard with lovely touches. Will definitely want to come back for longer. 1 week is not enough. Even the gulls were friendly, if but a bit noisy at 5am.
1/5/10 – Taunton, Somerset
We don’t long for special places, but for the feelings this place causes.
That is why we always like coming back to Scotland, nice and lovely people, marvellous landscapes and an extraordinary lodge like monastery. Wow!9/5/10 – Koblenz, Germany
We all really enjoyed our stay at Loch Ness and in this wonderful apartment! T he fabulous views and the tasteful interior exceeded our expectations! This idyllic setting was only disrupted by frequent noisy construction work under our bedroom windows. We would love to be back! Thank you for everything!
17/7/2010 – Hanau, Germany
Wonderful!
2/7/10 – Cambridge, England
This apartment was fantastic! Even better than I expected! 🙂 It was well equipped – you provided us with everything we needed (+more!) for a wonderful holiday. We will be back. 🙂 Thank you.
7/10/2010 – USA
Fantastic apartment – just need to do something about the seagulls, only time they seem to make a noise is between 03:00 and 07:00 – they seem to then stop when the workmen start! Lovely part of the world and will definitely be return one day.
4/6/10 – Stockton Heath, Warrington
What a fabulous place and flat!! We had a great stay and will definitely be back! Thank you!
5/27/10 – Seattle, Washington, USA
Lovely apartment and setting, we have had a lovely holiday and would not only recommend the apartment but would love to come back.
14/8/10 – Basingstoke, Hampshire
Just wonderful, just perfect. The wonderful views improved us a lot. It is a nice place, nice people and a brilliant way to relax and forget about all your problems. Our seven nights here were dominated by peace and beauty. We are in Scotland for the second time, but this time we will never forget it only because our stay here was the nicest perfect one. Hope that one day, we’ll be here again.
23/7/10 – Târgu Mureş, Romania
Wonderful views of Loch Ness, surely the best views in the whole building. Liked watching the local rabbit bounce around the grounds.
Fantastic apartment, quiet. Very well equipped, well located for great days out. What can I say about the wonderful views from all rooms, especially the lounge window seat. Thank you for letting us stay in your holiday home, loved the jets flying along Loch Ness.
27/8/10 – Nottingham, England, UK
What a pity that we couldn’t stay for another week!
31/7/10 – Bonn, Germany
Fantastic apartments and views. I really liked looking out at Loch Ness. I would like to come back again soon!
1/9/10 – London
We, too, would like to come back soon. We spent a wonderful and recuperative weekend here after the rush of London. The apartment is well appointed and we appreciate the good kitchen. Views are priceless and peaceful. You need to book, but we had an excellent dinner at the Caledonian Hotel, just opposite the Lovat Arms. Many thanks.
2/10/10 – Melbourne, Australia