Outstanding! A beautiful house, in an idyllic setting, with everything you could need for a few days away. Spotlessly clean and welcoming hosts. Easy driving distance to lots of attractions and activities, and plenty of lovely places to walk and hike right on the doorstep. I honestly can't recommend Betula Chalet highly enough!
Marta Janowska209 days ago
What a lovely place this is, we had the most relaxing 3 nights in there. Place is in a great location, in the woods. Great for bird watching. Near a lake that you can go fish. Beach in Nairn is amazing, we had great weather so that was a bonus. Highly recommend.
Andy Brown1 year ago
When I discovered Betula Chalet, I was really excited about booking a stay – as it looked like a great place and had favourable reviews. The property itself – a detached building in a peaceful rural setting – certainly lived up to expectations. What seriously let this place down is the unprofessional manner in which it’s managed.
As I was looking to stay in the chalet for several months, I went to meet the owner, prior to booking, and she seemed really nice. Her invitation to simply ask if there was anything I needed during my stay felt reassuring and implied she was keen to ensure I'd be comfortable. Sadly, this was far from the reality that transpired.
I’ll focus on some key examples which highlight the sort of issues I encountered:
When viewing the chalet, there were two single beds in the main sleeping area and I’d seen online these can be set up as a double. Asking if this could be done for me, I was told it wouldn’t be a problem. On arrival, I saw they’d literally just pushed the two single beds together and there was one single duvet cover on top. Both beds had single sheets on and there was a gap between the two mattresses. I didn’t consider this to be a double bed, and, in a nice way, explained to the owner this wasn’t going to work for me. She responded by stating: ‘This is how the chalet is always set up for any kind of guest (single, couples, friends) and how it's described and shown on pictures and when you came to see it.’ As a compromise, she agreed to purchase double sheets and a bed-bridge (to fill the gap between the mattresses) but was unwilling to provide a double duvet. She also advised me there were two single duvets at the laundry which would be back the following week. In the meantime, I had to make do with one single duvet and a blanket.
There were also issues with the heating/hot water. When I arrived, I was told they didn’t know how to set up the timers for the heaters and underfloor heating (6 separate timers) but I was left with instruction manuals to work it out for myself. It rather surprised me a host wouldn't have these ready set up and functioning. I then discovered that the bath water didn't get very hot, although they did arrange for a plumber to come and fix this. I also realised one of the heaters in the main living area wasn’t working properly and I asked if this could be sorted. After two weeks of not getting a response, it became apparent I needed to have a chat with the owner to establish if she was going to be willing to address issues which arise in the property during my stay. Again, I tried to do this in a gentle, non-threatening way, but was met with a rather acerbic response. She told me that it's a holiday let and it is what it is – making clear she wasn't happy about spending money on repairs. After this conversation, I decided to leave and gave notice.
When giving notice, I told her not to worry about fixing the faulty radiator, but, bizarrely, she now sprung into action and called the radiator company. They provided a sequence of buttons which needed pressing to sort the problem and this took me around 30 seconds, after which the radiator worked fine. It’s a pity this had become such an 'event' for the owner, when it ended up costing no more than a little of her time.
Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, she informed me she'd found some blood stains (small specks) on my bedding, and told me I should wear plasters if I’m going to bleed in bed. This is a personal boundary no accommodation host should be crossing. If indeed the blood was mine, I certainly wasn't aware that I had any cuts, and I clearly can't cover my whole body in plasters as a precautionary measure.
I’m actually left in disbelief at my experience with Betula Chalet and am relieved to have now found alternative accommodation at a professionally run holiday let.
N.B. The owners response to my Google review demonstrates their unwillingness to take responsibility when they get things wrong. That's the very reason I left their holiday let.
Ryan Lowry2 years ago
Betula was a beautiful secluded base to explore the surrounding coast and country. Highly recommended!
As I was looking to stay in the chalet for several months, I went to meet the owner, prior to booking, and she seemed really nice. Her invitation to simply ask if there was anything I needed during my stay felt reassuring and implied she was keen to ensure I'd be comfortable. Sadly, this was far from the reality that transpired.
I’ll focus on some key examples which highlight the sort of issues I encountered:
When viewing the chalet, there were two single beds in the main sleeping area and I’d seen online these can be set up as a double. Asking if this could be done for me, I was told it wouldn’t be a problem. On arrival, I saw they’d literally just pushed the two single beds together and there was one single duvet cover on top. Both beds had single sheets on and there was a gap between the two mattresses. I didn’t consider this to be a double bed, and, in a nice way, explained to the owner this wasn’t going to work for me. She responded by stating: ‘This is how the chalet is always set up for any kind of guest (single, couples, friends) and how it's described and shown on pictures and when you came to see it.’ As a compromise, she agreed to purchase double sheets and a bed-bridge (to fill the gap between the mattresses) but was unwilling to provide a double duvet. She also advised me there were two single duvets at the laundry which would be back the following week. In the meantime, I had to make do with one single duvet and a blanket.
There were also issues with the heating/hot water. When I arrived, I was told they didn’t know how to set up the timers for the heaters and underfloor heating (6 separate timers) but I was left with instruction manuals to work it out for myself. It rather surprised me a host wouldn't have these ready set up and functioning. I then discovered that the bath water didn't get very hot, although they did arrange for a plumber to come and fix this. I also realised one of the heaters in the main living area wasn’t working properly and I asked if this could be sorted. After two weeks of not getting a response, it became apparent I needed to have a chat with the owner to establish if she was going to be willing to address issues which arise in the property during my stay. Again, I tried to do this in a gentle, non-threatening way, but was met with a rather acerbic response. She told me that it's a holiday let and it is what it is – making clear she wasn't happy about spending money on repairs. After this conversation, I decided to leave and gave notice.
When giving notice, I told her not to worry about fixing the faulty radiator, but, bizarrely, she now sprung into action and called the radiator company. They provided a sequence of buttons which needed pressing to sort the problem and this took me around 30 seconds, after which the radiator worked fine. It’s a pity this had become such an 'event' for the owner, when it ended up costing no more than a little of her time.
Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, she informed me she'd found some blood stains (small specks) on my bedding, and told me I should wear plasters if I’m going to bleed in bed. This is a personal boundary no accommodation host should be crossing. If indeed the blood was mine, I certainly wasn't aware that I had any cuts, and I clearly can't cover my whole body in plasters as a precautionary measure.
I’m actually left in disbelief at my experience with Betula Chalet and am relieved to have now found alternative accommodation at a professionally run holiday let.
N.B. The owners response to my Google review demonstrates their unwillingness to take responsibility when they get things wrong. That's the very reason I left their holiday let.