My family and I (a total of 10) stayed at Auchyle House in Stirling for a full week in early September 2007. Whatever was "under construction" in 2005, more than meets expectations now in 2007.

Yes, the rooms were a little small, but as far as hospitality goes, we couldn't have asked for a better hostess. Mandi more than exceeded any of our expectations as a B&B host. She did laundry, drove our kids around, arranged taxis, babysat, knew the area well and allowed us to host small gatherings of friends in the breakfast room in the evenings, or for breakfast.

The breakfasts were just what we liked. Continental during the week, with cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal bars and toasts. The weekend was a full Scottish Fry up.

Thanks, Mandi for making our stay so wonderful. The Aucyle House is tops in our book, and we hope to be back.

Hi There,
Just wanted to let people know that we booked into Auchyle House B&B in Stirling, and were very disappointed. We had booked an ensuite room sleeping three, (two adults, one child) at a rate of 55 pounds per day, for a total of 165 pounds for three nights. When we arrived, the owner, Mandi wasen't there, but we were shown to our room by a young boy. It was a tiny room, obviously meant for one person, which had only a sink in it. It was so full of furniture that we had absolutely no room for our cases, except on the bed. When the owner arrived, we were told that the room we booked, (room 6 on her website) had "workmen in it" We never did find out if they were staying in it or working on it, but we never did see it. We mentioned that we had paid for an ensuite room, and she offered us another room for the next night after someone else had checked out, but she warned us that the room might be " a bit noisy", as it was in the front.!
We were already quite disappointed in the surrounding neighbourhood, as it is quite run down, and doesn't look as if walking around it is safe. We agreed to try the new room, as we really didn't have much choice. In the meantime, we shared a bathroom with two other rooms, (three people), which was clearly still under construction, and rather dingy, and certainly NOT ready for guests! The towels we received to use were very old and worn, and were definitely not the kind of linens one should offer to guests. We got through the first night, and after breakfast, spent the day exploring Stirling. I must mention, that although we were very unhappy with the service and many other things about the house, the breakfast room and kitchen are finished and quite nice, and food selection was very good. That evening, we settled into the new room, which was clearly in a more fininshed condition with more space and a very tiny ensuite, but was far noisier than described. Whenever a car or truck went by, the whole house shook! I do not exaggerate! I got virtually no sleep at all, nor did my husband. We decided that morning that we would not complete our stay there, as there were no other rooms available, and trying to sightsee on no sleep was ruining our holiday. This house is clearly a work in progress, and the prices far too high for what one receives in return. As one might expect, the news of our early departure was not very well received, but even after listing what we felt were very ligitimate complaints, Mandi was unmoved, saying that "she warned us that the room was noisy!" The mention of the fact that we never got the room we booked, and charged full price for a much lesser accommodation didn't phase her one bit. She then said that the price she quoted us was 65 pounds per night, and when I showed her my comfirmation by e-mail that I had printed out a month earlier stating the original price, she still didn't back down! We finally had to agree to a slight reduction of 30 pounds, which she described as her "taking off all her stuff"! We have stayed in B&Bs all over the world, and we are quite weel aquainted with the system. At this price level, and based on the pictures of her website, we certainly were expecting something far better than this. Her last words as we left were "Well, that's B&B's" Not in my book, and certainly not at that price! A word to fellow B&B travellers out there....Auchyle house is not fully ready for visitors, and is extremely noisy. Be advised.