Carters Rest Shert Term lets, Glendale, Isle of Skye — Hotel in Skye

I have perused only the first page of reviews of Carters Rest, and would like to assure potential future visitors that there's no hype involved. I emailed Jonathan shortly after my tour of the Hebrides ended to tell him that of all the very nice and often high end places I had stayed at during that two-week period, Jonathan and Simone won the awards for best all-round B&B experience and best breakfast. My strategy in Scotland is to load up at breakfast so that I can just tour all day without having to stop for lunch. So my breakfast orders for the next morning were always quite prodigious. But Simone didn't bat an eye, and just kept serving course after delicious course. It was truly amazing (her granola alone is fantastic). Her dinners are also great (and ample!). The jacuzzi bath in my room was so large that I could float in it, and I'm over six feet tall (there was also a separate shower stall in my bathroom). Simone and Jonathan are also very helpful at recommending good places to visit on the island, and Jonathan can give you very accurate advice about navigability. What's especially nice about the place is that if the weather is inclement or you just want to relax, you aren't forced out of the house by a certain hour--I was told I was welcome to stay in during the day if I chose to.||I was particularly grateful to Jonathan because even in July, I was having serious trouble booking accommodation for two particular adjacent dates in September on Skye (be forewarned and PLAN AHEAd). Jonathan was able to offer me three dates in a row, I think because the self-contained "Emma's" flat happened to be available then, so I took it. In the course of our correspondence, I inquired whether the flat had laundry capability, because I knew that by that time on my trip, I would be needing to do laundry. Jonathan wrote back to tell me not to worry about it, that they would take care of it for me--and they in fact did, for which I was extremely grateful. He also asked if I would mind taking an upstairs room instead, as they were going to need the downstairs flat for a guest who couldn't navigate the stairs easily, and I said sure, that was fine with me.||The night before I was to travel to Upper Miloveig to stay with them, however, I had booked a room at the Sligachan Hotel -- or so I thought. They had botched my reservation (through no fault of my own, though they tried to convince me that it was), were full up, and basically voted me off the island, cheerily telling me that I should head back to the mainland to look for a place to spend the night (feel free to consult my scathing review of the Sligachan Hotel; if I were you, I would avoid it at all costs). ||I called Jonathan in a panic to see if there was any way they could take me a day early, and Jonathan said that it would be very difficult (I found out only later that this was because he and Simone had to move furniture around in the house overnight to accommodate the room switch that moved me upstairs and other guests into the flat), but that if I was unable to find anything else, to call him back. Even that much made me feel better, I have to say, as Jonathan's was the only sympathetic ear I had encountered so far that day. In the end, I was mercifully able to book the one remaining free bed on the island for a male at the youth hostel in Broadford, so at least I had a place to sleep, albeit with three other grown men stacked in bunk beds in a tiny room. ||I mention all this only to emphasize the lengths to which Jonathan and Simone will go to ensure that your stay with them is comfortable and pleasant, and that you get the most out of it. They're happy and willing to go way out of their way to accommodate you.||The only downside to staying at Carters Rest is the seven-mile single track road you have to traverse to get there, which Jonathan does his ample best to warn you about ahead of time. Heed his warnings carefully. I was there at the end of the season, so the asphalt was in utterly terrible shape. My favorite crossing was a section where the one-lane road, essentially the width of a narrow driveway, had chunks of asphalt missing on both shoulders, with a deep pothole in between them. Based on prior experience in Scotland, I had purposely rented the smallest and narrowest vehicle possible, so I was able to thread my way through this particular gauntlet while staying on the pavement. Perhaps the roads are in better shape earlier in the season, but my advice would be: rent the smallest vehicle available. Either...

It’s hard to know where to begin with all the good things to say about staying at Carter’s Rest. The hospitality from Jonathan and Simone, the idyllic location of the cottage, the quality of the room and the food — in every category, the stay at Carter’s Rest was exceptional.

The full story: My wife and I honeymooned in Scotland in June 2022, and among stays at other accommodations on Skye, we spent three nights at Carter’s Rest. Out of all the places we stayed on our trip, Carter’s Rest was the only place where we experienced genuine hospitality. Upon arriving at the cottage, we were immediately welcomed by Jonathan and Simone and made to feel right at home. They made clear to us to ask if we needed anything at all, and throughout the rest of our stay they continued to check in and ask if there was anything they could do to ensure our stay was comfortable and relaxing.

As advertised, the cottage is located in a remote part of Skye, but the extra time spent traveling on single-lane roads is worth it, as the cottage is in a more peaceful environment than one might experience elsewhere on the island. The main room where guests sit and dine has a view of the tranquil loch, a waterfall on craggy cliffs, and the rolling hills, and it’s exactly the view that I wanted to see when I thought of Skye. (We were also told that on a clear day one can see the far western isles, though the weather during our stay prevented that!) The roads around the cottage are not heavily traveled by cars, so it felt safe to take a walk on them, and nearby (within walking distance, if desired) is the Neist Point lighthouse, which was one of my favorite spots on the Skye.

The food at Carter’s Rest is the real deal. Everywhere we stayed in Scotland came with a breakfast, but my wife and I agreed that Carter’s Rest served the best tasting one—fresh and made to order every morning! Regarding dinner, on the evening of our first night we were tired from the drive, so we figured we’d try out dinner at the cottage. Wow, were we surprised! The salmon meal was super tasty, and in my opinion as good as a meal at any restaurant we might have booked. This led us to have dinner the remaining nights as well, and all of the meals we had were just as good. The option to eat dinner at the cottage is very nice because it means you can stay in and continue to relax at the cottage. (Also, a special shout-out to Simone’s music choice, which was the perfect ambiance for both the morning and evening meals.)

The room was excellent and had everything we could have needed. Water bottles (still and bubbling), tea and coffee, snacks, satellite television, a king-sized bed with big pillows, and even a flashlight on each nightstand in case someone needs to get up in the night—a seemingly insignificant thing but one which, in my mind, goes to show that Jonathan and Simone have spent time thinking about even the small things they can do to add to their guests’ comfort.

Lastly, even with respect to things not at Carter’s Rest—that is, our excursions and sightseeing during the day—Jonathan was ever helpful in providing suggestions for our day, even going so far as to plot out proposed itineraries around the island. Through a combination of less-than-perfect trip planning and even poorer weather, our own outlines for activities did not work out for us, but when we let Jonathan know, he stepped in to help us figure out what we could spend our days doing. Needless to say, this was much appreciated.

I know I’ve written quite a long review, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible for anyone who might be on the fence about staying here. As mentioned from the beginning, Carter’s Rest is, above all else, a place where you will experience true hospitality, thanks to Jonathan and Simone. Add to that the cottage’s idyllic location, and I can think of fewer places on earth where I would...

We have already stayed in many hotels and B&B's and some of them were really good; at least we thought. Then we arrived there....And one could not stop wondering!!! We ate our breakfast in a great room with unbelievably beautiful views. There was also a fireplace was the extra for us cheered. The bedroom with bathroom was extremely large and had everything to offer what you can imagine: a huge bed, fridge, i-pad, snacks, free Wi-Fi, bathrobes, hair dryer, flat iron, a shower and a separate !!!whirlpool!!! and much more, even a toilet brush, which is not common for scotland, but about which Germans are very happy ;-)... It was paid attention to so many subtleties and details. The hosts were also incredibly friendly and polite. They also spoke for German very well understood English and you could communicate well with them. We had already guessed that the breakfast would be good, but what came next exceeded all our expectations by a multiple! We had already tasted porridge in a previous b & b and feared that the Scottish original just did not taste good, but it was so tasty made by Julie. You could choose so many great things that the food was enough for the whole day. On a scale of one to ten, I would have given other hotels up to now an eight or nine, but after we were in Carter's rest, I can give other hotels only a maximum of three stars and Carter's rest fourteen!

Thanks a lot Julie and Steve!

P.S.:next time we are in scotland we will surely stay...