After checking in we headed to the Riverside Building which is a short walk from the main building and it has views over the River Tay. We were on the first floor with a small private balcony.
The decor of our room wasn't to my taste, but the room itself was lovely and spacious. It was a bit tired in places which was disappointing but it was clean which is the most important thing. I regret now not taking the room in the main building which was available when I made my booking. Anyway, here are the photos I captured of our room:
After unpacking my bits and bobs, I got cosy and watched some TV with a cuppa. It was lovely to get a chance to relax without feeling pressurised to do housework or laundry which always seems to happen when I'm at home!
Our room had lovely fluffy robes and I was super excited about having a nice hot bath to relax before going to dinner...
But if you were seeing my tweets on the day, then you'll possibly remember that there was no hot water! I was gutted. So I got dressed for dinner without washing and we headed to the main building for dinner...
We started our meal with an amuse bouche which was a haggis ball if I remember correctly. We then had warm bread brought to our table with smoked butter. The smoked butter was absolutely to die for. Delicious!! All the food was presented beautifully and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
After the most amazing meal ever, we retired to one of the sitting rooms for coffee & petite fours in front of the fire. It was bliss.
Unfortunately the next day there was still no hot water which did put a dampener (!) on things. Thankfully I wasn't too cold during the night (which is usually the case with me and my Raynauds!). We got up & dressed and headed back to the main building for breakfast. I had a fabulous breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bacon. Yum!
The customer service at the hotel was absolutely fantastic; knowing that we were disappointed with regard the hot water/heating situation we were given money off our stay without even having to ask. I felt a bit awkward about it all and don't like having to complain, so I was pleased with the way that this was dealt with.
So, my closing thoughts on Ballathie... the dinner definitely was the selling point for me - can't stress enough what an amazing experience it was. I'd happily recommend the hotel for a weekend getaway and I will go back, but next time I'll go for a room in the main building.
(This wasn't a sponsored post; I just wanted to share my experiences with you as I loved the food so much!)