During our two-weeks road trip in Scotland it was difficult to find afordable places to stay. However we managed to find unusual, varied and enjoyable accommodations in Scotland we would like to share our favorites with you.
Historic building in Edinburgh
This charming room in an historic building is well situated, not too far from Edinburgh city center. Moreover, the price is afordable (for Edinburgh’s standard), the host are really nice and the room scored 5 stars on Airbnb. To conclude this is perfect for an authentic and practical stay in a must visit city.
To book : https://www.airbnb.fr/rooms/6733463
Castle stay near St Andrew
To stay in a Scottish castle has always been the dream for us. Therefore we conducted a lot of research but everything was off budget except for the Stravithie Castle. The problem was we found very little information on this castle, except for a page of a rather dodgy looking website. Nonetheless we still called the owner and made our reservation. Huge surprise on the spot, the castle is very imposing and our room turns out to be an entire apartment at the top of a tower. Also the park around the castle is great and in the surrounding woods, on the way to the Dunina Parish Church, there is a very impressive Druids well (more info here).
Chills guaranteed for this place very unusual place to stay! On top of this the family is very welcoming and we had some very interesting discussions in the owner’s colourful lounge (with exotic animals). It was our most expensive stay of the trip but it was well worth it. Plus the location is great, very convenient to visit St Andrew (a city we loved). Finally, there are now comments on Google so it will be much easier to book!
To book: http://www.stravithiecastle.co.uk
A night all alone in Cairngorms National Park
We cannot guarantee you will have the same experience, we were fortunate enough to stay alone in a rather large hostel in the middle of the mountain. This was a first time! It was the end of the season for The Slochd. It is a very nice hostel with good hiking trail starting from the parking lot. Finally the hostel is conveniently located at the end of the Cairngorms National Park, a nice stop after a day or two in the park.
To book: http://slochd.co.uk/
Update 2023 : it seems like the hostel doesn’t exist anymore and has been replace with lodges.
The salmon smokehouse on the banks of Loch Lomond
Strathcarron is a very beautiful village with a magnificent view of Shieldag Island. In addition to eating seafood you can spend the night in a cabin next to an authentic salmon smokehouse just steps from the beach (we did the booking via Airbnb). Therefore we bought their salmon for breakfast and the stay was absolutely perfect. The 5 stars on Airbnb are well deserved. We just had the bad idea to do our laundry that night, the smell stayed with for a few days!
Glamping on the Isle of Skye
Scotland is a perfect destination for glamping, especially for nature lovers who mind sleeping outside under a storm. Consequently we spent two nights at the Skye’s Outdoor Center: Glamping, Wingman and enjoyed wonderful sunsets and sunrises from our bed. The location was good for driving around the island.
To book: http://white-wave.co.uk/wigwams-skye.html
Return to the Victorian Era: a (cheap) night on a train
The most unusual accommodation of our stay was also the best deal. After an afternoon in Glenfinnan sleeping in a historic train at the Glenfinnan Station Museum was a really fun experience. Moreover we had the most interesting encounters of our trip. The front of the train is a common space (with plenty of board games) and the back of the train held the sanitary similarly to a hostel. However each cabin contains a bunk bed, which still allowed us to have our private area.
To book: https://glenfinnanstationmuseum.co.uk/facilities/sleeping-car/
Please leave a comment if you have questions or want to share your favorite unusual accommodations in Scotland. Also check our article on our road trip in Scotland.