My husband and I and two friends had an overnight at the beautiful Balbirnie House Hotel. The rooms were well equipped and homely feel about them. The grounds of the hotel are well kept and great for walking with a craft shop in the grounds too. The cream tea was delicious with scrummy homemade scone, cream and jam. We had canapes served in the bar with our pre-dinner drinks whilst looking at the menus and then dinner in The Orangery was divine. The fillet steaks were cooked to perfection and the desserts were to die for. Nice setting and very attentive staff. Would certainly recommend it.

We booked rooms for ourselves and my parents-in-law for a couple of nights. Service was outstanding, the staff couldn't have been more helpful. The hotel itself is beautiful whether the public areas or the bedrooms. We enjoyed an enormous room with lovely en suite. Despite the room's size it was warm and cosy. Everywhere is scrupulously clean. We ate in The Bistro both nights and the food was both excellent and very good value, too. Breakfasts in the very elegant surroundings of The Orangery were wonderful. "Best porridge I've ever had" was my wife's verdict.
The downsides? Nothing of any importance. The hotel stands in extensive grounds but these are owned by the local council so jogging/cycling/dog-walking members of the public are continually passing through. There is no gym or other leisure facilities if that sort of thing is important for you. Markinch is close to Glenrothes which is not exactly a hot-ticket tourist destination but it is central Fife, so St Andrews, the East Neuk, Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth are all within striking distance as is the very pretty and historic village of Falkland.

Was taken here as a surprise in Decemeber. I was immediately impressed by the surrounding and how stunning the building was. The staff were very helpful and a porter took us to our room. The rooms were very homely, clean and spacious. They had large, comfortable beds, flatscreen TVs etc.

The food was absolutely amazing- great menu to choose from.The service was top notch.

I really enjoyed my stay here and would reccommend it!

My husband and I live in Edinburgh and when we started looking at wedding venues, never really imagined that we'd end up getting married in Fife - we started our search in the Borders and East Lothian. However, so many venues that we viewed either couldn't accommodate our numbers (110) or were just too over the top - we wanted something special with aspects of gradeur but also something with an intimate feel. Balbirnie had everything we were looking for - the ballroom was grand yet not too over the top plus its huge windows gave a wonderful lightness to the room, even though we got married in November.

We were married on the Saturday in the Orangery, had our reception in the Long Gallery and Bar and our wedding breakfast and evening party in the ballroom. We also had a private dinner for 30 friends and family on the Friday evening. Whilst I initially preferred the Long Gallery as a ceremony venue, it couldn't accommodate our numbers - at first, I was reluctant to have the ceremony in the Orangery, having only ever seen it set up as a restaurant - however, when I went to one of the hotel's wedding open days, it was transformed and so lovely - very classic look. We decorated the room with candles from Ikea - so many guests voluntarily commented on how nice the candles and the room were, many never even realising that it was a restaurant most of the time.

Whilst the venue and the food were fantastic and commented upon by so many of our guests, by far and away the best thing about the venue was the staff. Staff on reception were so helpful and pleasant throughout the wedding and the banqueting manager was superb on the day - so friendly and yet professional; I totally trusted her. The real star, however, was Meghan, our Wedding Co-ordinator - she was great; lovely to deal with, realiable, prompt at responding, happy to be flexible and work to our requirements, happy to meet our ever-changing and last minutes requests and had such attention to detail. Having organised dozens of events at work, I can be a bit of control freak and yet totally trusted Meghan with our wedding. Even when Meghan was out of the office, someone else from the hotel was sure to respond to our emails and help. They really were a pleasure to deal with.

This is my first Trip Advisor review and it probably sounds a bit gushing - however, it really is a great hotel for weddings and would highly recommend it!