The Hilton Dunkeld House hotel is a statuesque country house set in 280 acres of beautiful land, nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Perthshire countryside. Scott and I were invited to stay recently as part of the Rediscover Hilton project - if you search the hashtag #rediscoverhilton on Twitter, you will see some truly lovely pictures from Hilton Hotels across the UK, including some that I live tweeted throughout our visit.
An hour and a half after we set off from Glasgow, we arrived in the town of Dunkeld and approached the majestic castle entrance to the grounds of the hotel estate, which looked truly breath-taking in the afternoon sunlight. About a mile and a half up a winding narrow road (which I navigated with great trepidation!) we arrived at our destination; an imposing, character drenched country house flanked by a powerful river and elegant grounds as far as the eye can see.
The hotel is traditionally Scottish with lots of tartan and deep purple accents and a very homely, welcoming feel despite it's size. Upon arrival, we were offered a complimentary brandy or sherry whilst waiting to check in, and then, to my delight were given an actual key to open the door to our room. To those of you who remember life pre-internet, you will perhaps understand the nostalgia I often feel for the simple times before technology invaded every waking moment of our lives. Amongst the stark, modern hotels I've visited recently for work, and the key fobs or plastic cards you have to swipe in an often futile attempts to gain access at the door, it was a real pleasure to use a good old fashioned key to open the door to our room.
The rooms are bright and airy with very high ceilings, and all the amenities you would expect from a good quality hotel, and a surprisingly modern and sleek bathroom. The only addition I would perhaps make to the room would be a mini fridge - it's one luxury that personally I really do like to have in a hotel.
After enjoying a glass of wine to settle in, we went to explore, and I couldn't help but admire the sweeping grand staircase in the main foyer as well as the very elegant adjacent drawing room. It would be a gorgeous venue for a really traditional wedding and I can just picture how it would look adorned with flowers and bagpipers.
We spent some time having a drink in the bar area, waiting to be seated for dinner and enjoying the friendly atmosphere and the huge windows which offered a moonlit view of the river. A beautiful three course meal in the main dining room followed by a bottle of champagne in front of a roaring fire finished off a truly lovely evening, and we retired to our room with full tummies and a pleasantly fuzzy head, ready to fall asleep in our extremely comfortable and luxuriously spacious bed.
Breakfast in the main dining room the next morning was a lovely affair, with a scrumptious array of pastries to choose from, as well as plenty of healthy options. The sun chose to make a fortuitous and very welcome appearance and I spent some time in the grounds enjoying the feeling of being out of the city and surrounded by nature.
The hotel boasts not only a swimming pool and a spa, but several outdoor activities right within the hotel grounds such as quad biking and off road driving. For me however, the best feature by a country mile is that you are allowed to bring along your furry friends. Had I known this before we set off, little Tyson would most definitely have come along for the experience, and if we do visit again in the future he will certainly be on the invite list!
I have filmed a virtual tour of the hotel which will be live over on my
youtube channel shortly, so if you aren't subscribed already then pop over and take a look!
If you would like to win £100 voucher for any UK Hilton Hotel, all you have to do to enter is be a follower of this blog via bloglovin or GFC, and leave a comment below letting me know which Hilton you would prefer to visit the most and why!
Good luck!
