Hope your car has a good suspension. To reach the accomadation you have to travel along a farm track with many many potholes for about 1 mile.

When I arrived I was greeted with a friendly welcome by the owner Rob and his 2 dogs. Rob took me into the main building the old lighthouse keeper cottages, built in 1892. As I enterered the building things did not look that great. The stairwell up had bits of old plaster paint on the floor and just looked a bit grubby. It got worse as I entered the landing. Walls badly in need of a lick of paint, as did the skirting boards and some of the doors. This is obviously a very old building and to some this may be part of the character of the building. Some new hostel buildings are just to clinical.

On entering the first of the common rest areas there is a lovely big stain on the floor where someone has spilt perhaps a cup of coffee. This area has a sink, cooker, fridge fridge freezer, 4 comfy chairs as well as a table with 6 chairs around the table which have seen better days. There was also an old microwave but this did not work. A TV with video and about 40 VHS video tapes as well as a radio, with some games and books completed the room. The room is heated by central heating as well as a wood burning stove. The window frames, again original looked like they had been stripped back and were ready to be painted.

Rob has clearly done a lot of work in the hostel and I believe that the painting could be in hand as some other areas were fine. The place just looked a bit grubby and I think the building is very much work in progress. To be honest the painting is just a minor detail and did not concern me greatly, otheres may have different ideas

Bathrooms were clean and and had new sinks and taps fitted as well as a decent shower

On the first floor were 3 bedrooms each with 2 bunk beds, (4 beds in total) and a room with a large double bed. Rooms were central heated and very warm. Bedding is supplied and is warm. The bed was vey comfortable and I had several good nights sleep

In addition there is also another communal area which is much better than the first one. It looked cleaner and had better furniture as well as a much larger TV but with no video but plenty of video tapes. There was no aerial in either room so no TV picture

The lighthouse is about 200 metres away through the sand dunes. The beach here is fabulous and runs for about 10 miles. The beach was deserted most of the time, I think I saw about 4 people in 2 days on the beach. Plenty of birds and even some seals near the shore

Rob was very friendly during my stay but not intrusive and overall I would recommend this hostel. With a lick of paint here and there and the stunning location this could be a truly fantastic hostel

Did not see the famous Rattray elephants, ask Rob

If you are looking for a holiday that embraces nature, quirky accommodation and outstanding natural beauty, where kids and dogs are welcome, this is for you.
We had a family room for a week in August. There are two of these downstairs in the old lighthouse keepers house. Both rooms have their own bathroom. The accommodation is basic as it's a hostel, but its clean and fun as it's quirky, you can see the lighthouse from the back windows and are on the dunes.
The first day we went immediately to the sea, 5 minutes and saw 4 seals, this continued, every time. The children 11and 7 couldn't believe their luck, we saw a seal pup on the beach and an adult seal on the lighthouse platform, who had missed the tide.
The dunes were covered with wild pansies, and at night we sat there watching the rabbits, diving into burrows before nightfall.
There are loads of second world war, bunkers to explore, within minutes.
We saw frogs and toads, bats circle the hostel at night, we also saw foxes and loads of birds of prey, including sparrow hawks that we watched from the garden diving for their supper.
The children swan and learned to surf, we bought a dingy it was fabulous!
Rob the owner, was there any time we needed him, a lovely chap, extremely knowledgeable about the area and happy to help in any way. As soon as he realised that our children loved wildlife, he can over anytime he had something to share.
Once to tell us that the seals were howling on the beach, so we took a glass of wine and sat outside to listen to them, sitting at the picnic table, another time it was to see the bats.
This sounds like there was nothing else but the beach, but there was so much else.
Go to Gardenstown and pick buckets of sea washed glass off the beach, catch fish, shrimps and hermit crabs.
On our way back ( 11 hour drive ) we asked our children, how did it compare to all our holidays in Greece etc, they were categoric this one was the best ever!

Dogs are allowed on all beaches, only one asked you to keep to one side, and that was the best side!

The road to the hostel is wild and as some huge potholes, but Rob drives a tiny car, so it is manageable!

There is a huge Tesco within a few miles, so even though you are in the wilds, there is somewhere to get supplies. Though come with the basics and anything special, no M&S or Waitrose.

No where to eat out really but a good chippy not too far away, so bring your dine in for £10.00 with you and enjoy it with the seals howling in the distance and dine outside by the light of your own lighthouse!

We'll be back as soon as we can!

The hostel/B&B is in a very cool location, surrounded by the coastal nature! Very friendly place for a weekend with great walking on the beautiful beach with the lighthouse in the middle of the sea (amazing on the night!) !...just at half hour from Aberdeen!

Stayed here one night to visit the nearby RSPB site. Excellent hostel accomodation in a stunning beach location. The Bird watching is excellent too. Hostel was warm and cosy and the owners was very welcoming and helpful.