Taigh Ailean Hotel — Hotel in Skye

We loved our stay here so much! This is our first B&B experience, but I think it will stay our favorite one regardless. You can really see all the love, personality, and thoughtful touches in the entire place when you stay here - the painted vines on the wood, string lights, eclectic trinkets clearly collected over time, books thoughtfully arranged everywhere, and the stick figure family painted in the dining room corner featuring the cutest family dog, Fritz!

Katie is a fantastic host - full of personality and charm. She made us feel so welcome, sitting us down right when we came in to ask us about our plans and go over the details of our accommodations. She helped me acquire bday candles (along with setting the mood with music and lighting the candles with a cooking blow torch lol) to celebrate my husband’s bday in the intimate way that he wanted! She also gave us a card and keychain (of a passing place sign referencing my husband’s first time driving in Scotland and his initial fear over it - he loves it lol).

The BREAKFAST is delicious. I was so sorry that I couldn’t finish one morning’s breakfast because it was so filling, but genuinely the breakfasts here were the best breakfasts we’ve had in Scotland - a 1.5 week long trip for us. Well-seasoned and perfect textures (we thought haggis was supposed to be glue-y until we had haggis here, it was deliciously fluffy!), there was also delicious toast made from homemade bread every morning my god.

Our room was incredibly cozy - just as filled with personalized touches as every other inch in the building. This is the PERFECT place for a peaceful retreat or getaway - we almost regretted not having enough time to take it all in, instead of driving out all around Skye every day. Alas, our time in Scotland was limited, but we would absolutely come back for a longer stay if we traveled back here!

It is a bit out of the way, so there are limited dinner options out here (the Old Inn was the only option close by, but because of that it was crowded and booked out every night) - so plan accordingly, have early dinner in Portree (make reservations there too, most Skye places need them lol or get takeaway) I promise you, this B&B is worth it!

Each room has an antique old-fashioned key and cute customized keyring - it felt like we stepped into a storybook every time we used it! We did forget to give it back though..and ended up more than 3 hours away before we realized - oh boy, the combined heart attack we had. We managed to find a private post office that operated early on Sundays and mailed it back before our flight. Don’t be us - please remember to give hotel keys back, especially special personalized ones - Katie was a good sport about it though haha.

Again, highly recommend staying here for the most peaceful, magical...

SMASHINGLY BRILLIANT!!!!! I can not say enough wonderful things about Katie, Johnnie (plus their furry companion Fritz!) and their accommodations. This beautiful location is near the end of the road in Portnalong (which literally ends at the sea) with gorgeous views of the water and surrounding hills/cliffs. Seemingly immune from the chaotic world, it is a true respite for the soul. Very inspiring for the artistic type, definitely the road less traveled by tourists. Our stay far exceeded the expectations of a countryside getaway. We arrived late at night but the place was well lit for us to find. Johnnie started a fire for us in the main lodge room while Katie showed us to our room which was in a closely adjacent building. We could tell hospitality runs through Katie's veins as she was always available but never intrusive. There were snacks and a full self serve bar (honor system, the trust was very refreshing) to enjoy as we basked in the comfort and glow of the fire. Plenty of whiskeys from which to select and discover without any undue influence. We were lucky to get to enjoy the Talisker 57°North, a bottle no longer produced. In a possible episode of fate, we then walked to our room in view of the northern lights. The included breakfasts had all the traditional Scots selection plus daily specials. Johnnie's expertise with the spurtle was evident in the perfect porridge (the whiskey, brown sugar and cream toppings were delicious!). Perfectly cooked dippy soldiers with deep orange yolks. Fun, whimsical tea cozies and French press coffee with homemade bread all felt like breakfast at home. Katie has a local events board to let her guests know what's available to do nearby. We opted to watch a local game of Shinty in nearby Portree with some local music after. I would highly recommend catching a match of this very unique sport if possible. Apparently we were the only guests to do and the locals embraced us with open arms. Just what were looking for, a non-commercialized and traditional sport. Blue Skye routed the visiting team so the locals were quite excited and proud. It couldn't have been a more authentic experience. Our room had the most comfortable bed on our trip. We stayed in 5 different hotels on our vacation through Ireland and Scotland, including a proper 5 star in Edinburgh but got the best sleep at this place. The room and water heaters were exceptionally efficient and easy to operate. The soaps were very high quality. While at first I was bit unsure at the remoteness, it turns out it really had all we needed to get the authentic experiences we had traveled so far to enjoy. Thank you Taigh Aileen for living your dream so we...

Absolutely awful. (See below for details)

At first the Taigh seemed like a great hotel. Images from Google looked fantastic and with a brief chat on the phone the hosts seemed polite and helpful.

Upon arrival to the hotel we discovered that the available WiFi is limited to one chair within the lounge, and unavailable in our room which was a shed type of accommodation at the end of the garden.

The room was extremely basic with a double bed + bunk beds and a wet room style bathroom.

We politely requested to leave the hotel and have a refund as these things did not match the advertised description on Google. The hosts then told us to leave and that they would not be providing a refund. After a short back n forth with an explaination as to why we were unsatisfied and requesting to leave with a full refund, the promptly told us to exit the property and that they would handle the refund in a very abrupt manner. This was only after informing us that they could and may happily charge us the full amount for the room, despite us asking to leave.

I then re entered the property around 5 minutes later to confirm the refund before leaving. It was then that I overheard both hosts speaking disgustingly about myself and my guest. They made comments on our weight and appearance stating that we need help and are extremely fat. This was apologised for after I confronted one of the hosts, however they still wished to charge a £5 administrative fee for cancelling despite what they had done...

This, combined with the poor mannerism when asking for a refund is why this is an awful hotel and that I would not recommend it.

I also spoke to some staff at the Talisker distillery. It turns out this isn't the first time they've heard stories of people having a poor experience at the...