We stayed in the self catering house next to the B&B. It is just a basic suburban house in which the rooms are let out. You have full use of the kitchen, so with the Sainsbury’s across the street that is very handy. There were other people staying in the house, which could have been weird, but we did not see them in our comings and goings. It is an easy walk into the city center (15 minutes or so). There are lots of taxis that are inexpensive to go to the train station or town, if walking is not an option. Train to Edinburgh was a short trip and only about 8 pounds or so. Mandy was perfectly pleasant and very helpful with directions and suggestions for dinner, etc. Breakfast was cooked to order and very good. It is a perfectly acceptable B&B and we would stay there again.

This was our worst experience every. Tiny room, first floor, could hear all conversations our host had with anyone. No chair in the room, TV on the same wall as the head of the bed. Our Host, Mandi, did nothing but complain about previous guests every time we spoke to her, really disgusting stories. It was the bed and breakfast from hell. The bed was against the wall and if you moved it away, it hit the bathroom door. The mattress was hard, pillows hard and there were people screaming in the back parking lot. She has been doing this for 10 years and really needs to find another line of work. we were not told until the second day that we could use the lounge in the annex.

We have 14 and 10 year old boys, and stayed two nights at Auchyle Guest House. There were 2 rooms empty in the self-catering house next door, and we stayed there rather than in the main house. This worked well as there is a Sainsbury's (groceries, gasoline, etc.) just across the road and we got dinner and brought it back. The beds were comfortable and breakfast good. Mandi had a number of suggestions in addition to the Sainsbury's. Another was a restaurant, the RiverHouse www.riverhouserestaurant.co.uk/ . The restaurant looked lovely, but we learned t hat it is very popular on the weekends and we should have reserved.

We stumbled upon Auchyle House by accident which was to our good fortune. Mandi and Tom were very welcoming hosts, the accommodation was superb all the ensuite rooms are of a very high standard. The guest house had a very homely ambience, all aspects of our stay were enjoyable. The Scottish breakfast was the best we had experienced in our adventures around the United kingdom. The proprietors definately have the winning formula for success. CONGRATULATION'S.

Joan and Bruce Cutler. Goolwa, South Australia.