What a magical place Glenbervie House Hotel is. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that my…read moreguy plus 4 other couples celebrated New Years Even here together, but this really is a nice place.
Driving up in a taxi, you're able to take in the grandiose castle like house that is the Glenbervie House Hotel. The long road up to the house makes for a magical feel, plus the lights on the house and the gravel road adds to it. We got out and were greeted at the door by the manager. She took our coats and offered us a glass of champagne. A very nice way to start off the evening. Since there were 10 of us in all, we were a bit on the early side as we were only able to transport a few of us at a time from the home we were staying in near by. It was no bother to the staff who were very accommodating from the start. We were left to do our thing and take pictures of everyone in their cocktail attire and kilts. (Those pictures got sent instantly to our families who were awaiting the fancy shots pre-new years eve celebrations).
After a while of mingling we were all escorted in to the dining room to start in on drinks and the 6 course meal we enjoyed!
Slowly the food started rolling out, everyone tucking in at the same time. The staff was friendly enough, all very young and obviously not thrilled to be there on new years eve. Towards to middle of the night, and a few drinks in, we ordered another round of drinks and noticed that my drink, which usually comes in a bottle with a glass of ice on the side, came already poured for me. Typically, with any other drink, that would have been a nice jesture, but we all knew from experience, that there's still a good amount of liquid left in the bottle after pouring a full glass. We asked the server where the bottle was, and suggested that we were getting cheated out of what we paid for. He kind of gave us a shrug of the shoulder and walked off. Later, he brought over a bottle that had a sips worth of booze in it, which I proceeded to push aside. We joked that they all probably spat in the bottle.
Booze issue aside, the food was lovely. The first round was a smoked salmon with a quails egg, beet root and some greens. So delicious. The second round was a thick slice of haggis with mashed potatoes swirled on top with a luscious gravy on top of it all. My guy being a massive lover of haggis was hoping and praying I wouldn't touch my bit of haggis, but it was so beyond good, it too all my might not to lick the plate clean. He was pretty impressed and a bit shocked seeing as how typically I can't stand the stuff. What's even more funny is that he can't stand mashed potatoes (loves potatoes, just not mashed) and he basically licked his plate clean as well. Third round was a chicken soup with mushroom ravioli. We all swore it was mushroom soup with some no name ravioli, but it went down a treat over all. Fourth round was a palette cleanser of a lime sorbet with rose pearls. It really did freshen your mouth up to prepare you for the main course. My guy wasn't a fan at all, but it was ok. Wasn't the greatest tasting of flavours, but it went down easy enough. The main bit, which I literally was too full of booze and pre main bits, was a bit of steak, a ball of fried cows cheek, some rather hard veg shaped in to what one of our friends described as 'hard bullets', more mashed and a confit potato. Lastly, a plate of desserts for each of us came out, which was a treat. Obviously, no matter how full we all were, there's always a small pocket in the belly for dessert.
After the meal, the dancing started and the drinks started flowing. The toilets were mega fancy with a wee chaise lounge in the female toilet. It would have been nice for the price we paid to be there to have a bit of toiletries on offer instead of having to bring our bags to the toilet every time, but it was nice enough either way. I even managed to find a private area to call my family on skype to wish them a happy new year before midnight (they're in the states and five hours behind, so it worked out well). What an amazing time! I even saw someone there with a 'selfie stick', ha!
All in all, aside from the pricey drinks, we all had an amazing time and I would love to go back for a weekend away with my guy.
