This review is from 30th April 2023. I wanted to review about this place for quite some time but didn’t get enough time to write one.
Finally I get time to give a detailed review of my experience with this place.
To start off - It was our friends Wedding Day and there were around 30 close friends from different part of the country to come celebrate her biggest day of her life.
My stay at MacDonald Pittodrie House Hotel left me quite underwhelmed, and I regret to say that it fell far short of my expectations. Despite its charming exterior and promising first impression, my experience revealed a number of disappointing aspects.
To begin with, the service (Not the wedding) at the hotel was inconsistent and disappointing. Long waits at the bar to get drinks, card machine not working properly and above all the prices of the drinks were extortionate. Young staff members were friendly and accommodating, but there were instances where the level of professionalism and attentiveness was severely lacking. It seemed as though the staff was overwhelmed and not adequately trained to handle guest needs efficiently.
The condition of the rooms was a major letdown. The furnishings and decor appeared outdated or I don’t know if it was deliberately given that kind of looks for the added atmosphere. It lacked the expected comfort and elegance for the price we paid. The bed mattress had seem some better days and overall the room left much to be desired for. To add to the experience the Groundskeeper started mowing the lawn at 8am when you had slept at 2 in the morning.
The food provided in the Wedding was very good. The service was fantastic and the staff was very polite. The morning breakfast was also good and the staff who were working in the night were there in the Morning too!
In conclusion, my stay at MacDonald Pittodrie House Hotel was far from satisfactory. The lack of consistent service, dated rooms, extortionate prices especially alcohol (£14.50 for a double Captain Morgan and £2.50 for a 250 ml coke zero) and inadequate amenities left a sour taste in my mouth. For the price paid, I had expected a much more comfortable and enjoyable stay. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this hotel to others based on my disappointing experience.
Stayed at the hotel for a wedding reception, warmly welcomed by the staff on reception. Allocated room, then a bit of a trek to find it. Unfortunately, there was no remote for the TV but a quick call to reception, and this was sorted. Then we realised the toilet would not flush and there was no hot water , phoned reception again and within 15 minutes we were upgraded to a different room for free. Hotel is a beautiful place set in ab amazing location, staff are very good and breakfast was fine. The only downside was the cost of drinks at the bar £20.90 for a pint of peroni and a glass of red house wine ( peroni was 7.90)
![5]( "Recensione")
We greatly enjoyed our time at Pittodrie House. The hotel is set in stunning grounds and the management is to be commended for the effort they put into maintaining around 2,400 acres. How many other hotels can compete with that? It was a joy to explore them.
Overall the staff were professional and friendly. We were especially impressed by the young woman on reception on the first and last day of our stay who was extremely attentive and polite. Our room (a suite) was well-appointed and freshly decorated. We had views to Bennachie. It is just what you want a "fairlytale castle" as the Pittodrie house sells itself to have.
The breakfast and dinner were very good quality. The food and drink is certainly on the expensive side (£27 for fish and chips...) but is understandable given the small dining capacity (we only saw one other table eating that night) and the chance to dine in opulent surroundings both inside and outside of the hotel. It would be a perfect place for a memorable meal or a place to take guests for a special event. We do harbour as small niggle about a charge for our child's breakfast. We notified the hotel ahead of time that we had a child but weren't told there would be an additional charge for her breakfast. We did ask the waitresses on both days if breakfast was included for her and we were told yes of course, but we saw on the bill one day's breakfast was added. It was only when looking over the bill later we realized the charge. I see from a review below this might be a recurring issue. If we had known we'd incur an additional £15 charge we'd have just shared a meal. The other niggle is that our two dogs cost £15 per dog, per night (£60 total). I suppose Pittodrie is not alone in setting fees in this range, but it feels a bit steep. We so much enjoyed our stay we were going to return for my wife's birthday later this year for a three nights stay, but an additional £90 on top is a bit prohibitive. For less than that I know other hotels give a perfunctory attempt to give something back for the fee (e.g. a few weeks ago a hotel in Perthshire included a dog bowl, ball, chew-sticks and waste-bags when we paid nothing like £60. Just a thought...)
Very, very minor niggles aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the hotel. It is obviously run well and deserves to have success. It's become one of our favourite in the MacDonald chain of hotels.
Beautiful place for a getaway. Lovely old house in magnificent grounds with great views of the hills. Red squirrels and deer are often seen in the estate.
Enjoyed a lovely, peaceful getaway to Pittodrie House as part of a birthday celebration. The staff were exceptionally friendly and the house was very comfortable and quiet. The food was great at breakfast and dinner for each night we stayed. During our stay we enjoyed some walks in the local area and caught some gorgeous weather in amongst snowfall
Anti Wedding Wedding DJs
+5
A great space for an evening reception party. Friendly staff and great venue.
Was there for my cousins wedding. What an amazing venue. Absolutely stunning scenery 😊😊
Like a fairytale. The hotel is a beautiful old building, and you have the feeling as if you are staying in a castle. The staff is super friendly and reads all your wishes. The rooms are tidy and really nicely decorated, and to complete the experience, the breakfast was on point and delicious. Nothing else to say, than definitely a 5 star hotel.
I stayed the night after my nephew's wedding. The staff could not have been more accomodating. Lovely old house with original features and beautiful surroundings. Food was good, drinks are pricey but we had a wonderful stay.
![5]( "Recensione")
We held our wedding at Pittodrie House and cannot fault the hotel or its staff. Yes it's an old building and there are a lot of corridors to navigate, but the rooms are of a good standard. However, what makes this hotel so special is its spectacular location and views and it has retained a lot of period charm especially in the communal areas, which have a lovely atmosphere.
For weddings, you almost feel like the hotel is your own as you are totally separate from the rest of the hotel due to the location of the ballroom which has its own small bar. This is a bonus for regular residents as well as wedding guests, who also enjoy a separate evening entrance.
We hadn't really wanted a hotel wedding as we'd have ideally chosen to be somewhere more personal, so it was a compromise for us due to elderly relatives. However the hotel was very happy to support the individual touches we wanted to give our wedding a personal, informal, family festival-style feel, so we feel we got the best of both worlds.
We chose to hold our ceremony outside under one of the many mature trees. Our elderly guests were able to go back to their rooms easily between the ceremony and meal, while the lawns provided plenty of space for the children to run around (with young children of our own, we also had many children among our guests). There was plenty of space for our storytelling tent, bouncy castle and ice cream stall and the whole day felt relaxed and fun.
The hotel staff were lovely and welcoming and the food was excellent, all special dietary requirements were expertly catered for, with especially good options for vegan and vegetarian guests. The hotel and its staff also deserve special recognition for how they handled the uncertainties cause by Covid - our wedding had to be rescheduled twice, and with continually changing rules , their flexibility and understanding were much appreciated.
Fantastic stay in beautiful surroundings. We attended a wedding here in July and the staff were extremely helpful. Food was very good. My daughter has bad allergies and the staff were excellent in helping us keep her safe.
![5]( "Recensione")
Delightful Baronial style hotel in beautiful surroundings. On a clear sunny day, it really is a lovely setting.
We've been coming to this hotel for short breaks over the last 35 years. Although the staff change the service has always been excellent. There is a certain grandeur about Pittodrie House, especially the drawing-room, dining room & snug bar. Ok, a little bit of TLC is starting to be needed if you look closely but that doesn't hide the elegance of the property. We've stayed in many different rooms, the latest a deluxe, which was a large, warm room, with a large screen TV, bathroom, shower in bath. If being pernickety the corners of the bath had a bit of mould as did the ceiling but overall a very pleasant room.
I should mention the excellent dinners we enjoyed in the dining room with an open fire.
One point to note, I don't think the hotel is suitable if you can't climb the stairs to the bedrooms.
Overall we always enjoy our short stays at Pittodrie & look forward to our next visit.
Stayed her for 3 nights with my mum for a girls holiday.
Love the hotel and the staff can't do enough to be helpful. They are amazing.
I really like the inside with all the features.
Our room is amazing
Yes our room was made into a twin.
The views over to Bennachie is nice to see first thing in the morning.
Not forgetting the actual gardens of Pittodrie House. I can see how many weddings are held outside.
We also enjoyed walks round the estate I don't think we have explored it all yet.
Sadly it seems the walk garden was closed as I would have liked to have seen it.
We have had enjoyable stay and wish we could stay longer.
My only issue is the stairs up to the rooms. I have a fear of falling down stairs so they are not good for me.
Stayed here as it was the venue for my friends wedding.
Room was superb, breakfast was amazing, and the way they looked after my friend and her wedding was absolutely first class.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny.
Beautiful old stone building with splendid backdrop. Comfortable bed and plenty hot water. Came for wedding which was well organised. Room prices bit steep even after modest discount. Evening meals were charged at higher price than on the menu and over priced for what we got.
Except for an incompetent receptionist the staff were efficient, polite and helpful
Very good stay in August 2020. We stayed on the top floor in room 10, good for 2 parents and 1 child and had fabulous views. The dining is excellent, we stayed half board. No swimming pool. Note, the bedroom is on the same side of the building as the ballroom, so can be affected by noise if there is a wedding (as can room 9, and the same 2 rooms on the floor below). Due to the current situation there were no weddings when we were there for a week - in fact the hotel was very quiet.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes