“We have over 30 years experience of staying in self catering accommodation in the UK and overseas and have always gone to great lengths when selecting a holiday home.”
We have been very fortunate, therefore, to have stayed in some of the most amazing apartments, houses and villas over the years - although it has to be said that there HAS been the occasion when on arrival at the holiday house it didn't quite live up to our expectations (but this unfortunately is the risk we all have to take).
And so to this year's holiday and our decision to rent Loch Cottage in Dalbeg. The description and information provided in the LHH brochure sounded ideal - the photographs looked fabulous and the reviews were glowing. When we arrived at Loch Cottage we quickly realised that no description, photograph or review could prepare you for just how exceptional this property is and for the first time ever our expectations of our holiday home were entirely surpassed. Loch Cottage is, without a doubt, the best property we have ever stayed in and we are grateful to the lovely owners - Lesley and Alistair - who did absolutely everything they possibly could to ensure our comfort at Loch Cottage and for providing us with so many lovely 'touches' that have been missing from other holiday homes we have rented.
On our arrival at Dalbeg we were given a very warm welcome by Lesley and Alisdair who presented us with a delicious, freshly-baked loaf of bread (and offered to bake more if required!), homemade shortbread and a generous selection of gifts from their Beach House Gallery. We were shown around the cottage which was immaculately clean (and we are very particular!) and beautifully presented: every room was tastefully decorated and all the soft furnishings were perfectly coordinated with the owners own artwork adorning the walls. Loch Cottage is also the best equipped holiday home we have ever stayed in and it was impossible to come up with a single thing that hadn't been thought of or provided.
We appreciate that there are many beautiful holiday homes to choose from but Loch Cottage ticked all the right boxes for us (and more!) and was just that extra bit special than anywhere else we have stayed. Lesley and Alisdair were the most wonderful of hosts - one of the highlights of our week being Alisdair's tour of the croft - no spoilers but please go if you get the chance!
Before we left Northumberland to head off on holiday to Dalbeg we had already decided that with so many other destinations to think about this would probably be our last trip to the Outer Hebrides. We had an absolutely fantastic week staying at Loch Cottage and though our days were spent out walking and enjoying all those things that attract us all to Lewis, we always looked forward to returning to beautiful Loch Cottage, Dalbeg beach and to the croft. We really felt quite sad, therefore, when our week was over and it was time to leave.
Since getting back from holiday there's been lots of discussion about our holiday plans for next year and - despite us thinking this year's visit to the Outer Hebrides would be our last - it didn't take us very long to decide on a return to Dalbeg in 2020 and to book up Loch Cottage once again - yes, it really was THAT good!
- Angela & John Forester, Jun 2019
