First (toddler) holiday: Crieff Hydro, Gleneagles, Auchrannie Resort?

[talkingpaperclip]

We are planning our first family holiday in September. We hope to travel from Edinburgh by train/bus. Traveling with DC (3.5 and 2 years) for four nights, and as we haven't traveled since 2018, we've got a bigger holiday budget than we're likely to have again!

Three options keep popping up: Crieff Hydro, Auchrannie and Gleneagles.

Our ideal situation:

• Excellent restaurant and babysitting so adults can have romantic dinner while kids snooze (this is my husband's priority)
• Plenty of fun on grounds or within walking distance/bus for little kids
• I love beautiful/characterful properties but this isn't as important as the above (photos I've seen of Auchrannie don't appeal)
• A creche could be nice but DC quite shy and I won't make them use it if they don't enjoy it

We could afford Gleneagles but some recent reviews have been negative. Since this will be the most I will spend on a hotel ever, I feel I might be annoyed if service isn't fabulous!

If we didn't have kids, I'd want to stay in Monachyle Mhor or a country hotel with a Michelin style restaurant. With kids -- we don't have the experience to know what works best for a relaxed, pampering holiday for everyone.

Any ideas of which option could be best, and if there is a lesser known hotel that would suit us better? Thank you!

We did Crieff for 6 years running!!

DC were 5 and 2 when we first went.
They'd grown out of it by 8 and 11, then we had lockdown, so we havn't been since August 2019, but it fits your bill beautifully.

Thank you so much! Yes, Crieff looks very appealing in terms of the hotel's charm, activities and tons of stuff for kids.

The only downfall is that the restaurants at Crieff don't look great to me -- this is the one bit where Gleneagles stands above the rest (but you pay for it!).

Can either of you drive ? Because with two toddlers and all their associated stuff, it would be so much easier to drive to Gleneagles or Crieff from Edinburgh than go by bus / train. It’s only about an hours drive to Gleneagles and 1.5 hour to Crieff.

We can drive, just thought for environmental reasons would be nice to take public transport (if it was possible and not a nightmare).

Well yes of course you can do it by public transport and without using taxis if you wish.

For Crieff, you can get the train from Waverley to Stirling which takes about 50 mins , then get the bus to Crieff, which takes over an hour. Then walk up the hill to the hotel, another 15 mins.

Thats about 2.5 hours plus whatever it takes from your home to Waverley.

Personally Id find a 3 hour journeys with suitcases, a buggy and two toddlers a bit of a hassle . But you may feel its worth it.

I agree that the food at Crieff isn’t amazing. And Im not sure how great the romantic aspect of the holiday will be when you are sharing a bedroom with your children.

I guess Im saying that Im not sure that one place is going to deliver on all your objectives. Most romantic hotels with amazing food, luxury rooms and privacy for couples don't major on toddler friendly Activities.

Most other guests at these venues ( where they are paying high prices ) don't want small screaming children running around.

Most luxury country house hotels are in the country and not that accessible by public transport.

You say you wont make your children go to the creche if they don't like it. But most luxury hotels will not let you take small children into the main restaurant in the evening, it’s usually high tea for the under 5s or even the under 12s.

So where will your children “ snooze “ while you have your wonderful romantic dinner?

And Im not sure how great the romantic aspect of the holiday will be when you are sharing a bedroom with your children.

All of these hotels offer family suites -- adjoining bedrooms with cots.

Most romantic hotels with amazing food, luxury rooms and privacy for couples don't major on toddler friendly Activities.

This exactly describes Gleneagles marketing materials for family suites, as well as some other hotels that don't get as good ratings (Fairmont St Andrews, for example, or Calcot if we were in England). I didn't say anything about wanting "privacy" -- just that we'd have an adult dinner or two alone whilst using the babysitting service.

So where will your children “ snooze “ while you have your wonderful romantic dinner?

In the hotel room with a babysitter, as it says in my post? I had already looked into public transport -- this actually doesn't sound so bad to me given that we almost exclusively use trains/buses now. Thank you for your post.

We love Crieff. We go every year, but if fantastic food is a priority then you're not going to find that at Crieff.

Also it used to be that there was a dress code in the meikle restaurant at Crieff, but last time we were there there were people in walking boots and muddy clothes which kind of spoiled it for us.

Crieff Hydro 100%. We go every year. It's lovely and has excellent childcare provision so you can have some child free time. Just make sure you book the slots you want in advance, particularly if you're going in school hols or at a weekend

Also if you do choose Crieff Auchengarrich Wildlife Park nearby is a really good place to visit, but you will need a car to do so.

I found Gleneagles lovely, but not really for young kids.

I understand your desire to travel by public transport, but once you're out with the cities, and the central belt in particular it becomes challenging and time consuming

Love gleneagles for exactly what you describe, it has got considerably more expensive over the last 2-3 years though which think is driving up the negative reviews. Less of the personal touches we’ve had in years gone by at a much higher cost. It’s still exceptional though.

based on my inbox they seem to have some pretty good deals for the next few months if you could go sooner.

Having been to all 3, I would suggest Crieff hydro first, followed by Auchrannie & lastly Gleneagles.

I've also heard good things about Morton's of Pitmilly.near St Andrews as a family resort, but not sure about accessibility by public transport.

Defo Crieff Hydro. You get free childcare built in and can even do an early evening session for your romantic dinner. If you had a babysitter I would also consider eating somewhere off-site in Crieff or Comrie.

The lodges/self catering at Crieff is good too. You'll get more space - still get the childcare/facilities - but also have takeaway options.

Crieff hydro with kids. I have friends who go back every year because of the facilities.

Both Crieff and Gleneagles requires transport from Gleneagles Station. Gleneagles do have guest shuttle buses and it's only a few minutes. Crieff you'd probably be best organising a taxi as I don't think there's a direct bus - you'd probably have to get the (hourly) bus from the station to Auchterarder then wait on the (hourly) bus to Crieff.

We recently ate in the Deil's Cauldron in Comrie near to Crieff and the food and ambience was lovely. Booking essential as it's tiny inside.

Crieff Hydro also own the Murray Park hotel, which is literally 2 mins walk away. We've had some very good meals there.
The DC like the "Hub" diner and the in house Italian pizza/pasta place isn't too bad. Had rubbish service in the Brasserie though. I've never actually eaten in the Meikle restaurant. When we first started going, they did a children's high tea in a side room off the Meikle from 4.30-6 pm - serve yourself fish fingers, shepherds pie etc type food, puddings and squash and milk. It was marvellous.

It's a short and very attractive walk across the hill from the Hydro to the Glenturret Distillery, which has a Michelin starred restaurant.

Crieff offer a good babysitting service ( or did pre-Covid) so a non hydro restaurant a short walk away might be perfect. We love Crieff hydro and go most years with differing combos of family and love it. Not the place for a romantic dinner though!

we had a great time at Gleneagles with a 4 year old last year. He loved the kids club (little Glen?) and the pool. There is also a babysitting service offered by Little Royals.

sadly wouldn’t risk the Arran ferries at the moment- especially with no car if there was a total cancellation

Easiest way to get to Crieff from Edinburgh is train to Perth and bus to Crieff. Then I’d get one of the local taxi companies to run your stuff from the village centre to the hydro.

Crieff Hydro.

Hi, we are close to St Andrews and on the bus route, just a short walk into the countryside or taxi from town. Acres and acres of relaxing countryside to explore and a private heated swimming pool to amuse the children in. Feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Agree that Crieff is your best bet. Children’s facilities are second to none. Adult food is acceptable but not fine dining.
Can also highly recommend Morton of Pitmilly if you don’t mind self catering.

We have been to all three.

Glenagles: fabulous restaurants, good activities for children. Have not used childcare so can't comment on that. But very expensive.

Crieff: very average restaurants but great activities. Good restaurants nearby. Some rooms are a bit tired. Getting a lodge and using hotel facilities gives you more flexibility about eating. Kids club is good. Things to do within walking distance. Nice spa.

Auchrannie: restaurants ok - the tapas style one quite nice. Not exactly Michelin star quality. Not really any other upmarket dining options nearby. Activities ok - pools are nice. Spa is good. Walking distance to Brodick. Arran itself is beautiful.

DH and I think there is a gap in the market for something between Crieff and Glenagles price wise!

Crieff. It’s more relaxed.

I would be on edge with toddlers at Gleneagles. It’s amazing, we’ve just been. But people spend a lot of money to go and it’s more hushed and upmarket. Certainly my kids are older and I wouldn’t have been happy with screaming toddlers at breakfast/in the pool. I liked the fact it was more grown up. There are not many little kids there.

Why not split your time? Couple of nights at Gleneagles, fir the fancy meals then a couple of nights at Crieff? You’d need to go by car then.
you could then feed back to us regarding your experiences.

i can’t comment on Gleneagles(unfortunately) but stayed at Crieff a few times. Their babysitting service 5 years back was superb, kids club (nit sure minimum age) was brilliant, pool, pony treks loads to do. Food was unmemorable, I think it was okay! Not been for a few years but we stayed in a signature suite with a separate living room which was amazing.