This was a disappointing stay to say the least! the place itself is magnificent but the service and quality of the stay is poor. As a young couple, we were looking forward to a relaxing stay. On the first night we had followed our tom tom- we came to the lodge in the middle of winter and the roads were in a terrible condition we found it almost impossible to find the place and had been given no directions on the phone. We ended up skidding on black ice. Luckily some locals stopped and helped us get the car on the road but told us that the roads we had chosen to drive on were extremely dangerous! Surely the owner should point these things out to her guests- its only a small family run business! They proceeded to tell me that they themselves would not normally use that particular road as the conditions were so bad but that the main road had been closed for an hour or so earlier. The kind men helped us get to Leithen lodge in a state of shock- only to be greeted by a very angry owner who first of all stated that it was very late (11pm) and then told us that there was no way that the lodge was for four of us!!! She didn't bother to ask us how we were or if we had managed to get there safely considering That the weather conditions were so bad i thought she might have been a bit more concerned! The two men kindly left at this point and we explained what happened! The dishwasher did not work and neither did the DVD player. We were told by the owner that she did not know how to work the dishwasher! If you have facilities there then you should know how to use them especially if they are being advertised to your guests as being included in the package. In the end we washed everything by hand! Not the luxury stay we envisioned!! On the second day of our stay the toilet had become blocked and my partner was handed a stick and told to put hot water down the toilet!! The woman seemed very angry at us for something which clearly was outwith our control. She even seemed annoyed that we had brought this to her attention proclaiming that 'she had been on the Internet speaking to her partner'!!! I felt very unwelcome to say the least as though I had interrupted something. This is meant to be a holiday and guests should be made to feel welcome!! The tank is a sceptic tank and therefore easily blocked (my dad has them in his hotels as they are listed buildings) We had to use the Gardners toilet for that day and night and had to wait until the plumber arrived until we could use the toilet again! We also only had 2 towels for the whole stay (four nights and five days). Which is not sufficient but after the way we had been treated were very reluctant to ask for anything considering that she had already told us that she didn't know how to work the DVD player or dishwasher. It was a nightmare! I would expect more from the Stay as the setting is so beautiful That the service really let it down greatly! I wanted to enjoy the beauty treatments, but this was mixed up with the wrong massage and I was offered 'hot stones' for my back offered by the beautician, I accepted. Once dressed and wanting to know the price of the treatment I went to see the owner who told me that they did not do 'half treatments' and only did 'full treatments' and I had to go back to the beauty room to have the rest of my body done! Not ideal. After reading the other reviews I would also agree that the heating only came on in the Morning and night and the hot water did run out quickly but to be honest this was the least of our worries while we were there. Check out time we were told was 10am which I thought was unreasonable considering that the check in time was so late (after 6pm). Lastly on the 4th night of our stay by which point I couldnt wait to get home there was a power cut- at the time I didn't complain as these things happen but the owner of Leithen lodge stated that she would return my DVD which was trapped in the DVD player while trying to get it to work. For a start the lady asked me to collect it from the shop she owns in Edinburgh which I thought was redicilous considering that the power cut was not my fault. I then Went to the shop to be told that the lady still hadnt bothered to return it as she said she would. The woman at the shop told me to keep trying to get the woman on the phone- this should not have been my job! It should have been the owners duty to try and get the DVD back to me as quickly as possible considering there had been a power cut and no electricity available! I didnt get my DVD back and if there is an inbetweeners DVD in any of the lodges then that belongs to me! The settting is beautiful but the service is terrible and lets it down greatly! My dad has his own family run hotel business in centre of Edinburgh (4 hotels located in and around haymarket) and I know exactly what sort of standard to expect. This came no where close. We didn't enjoy the welcome that the people above did. Do not go here. We were looking for a relaxing read more

I have today returned from a 4 day break at Leithen Lodge. Me, my partner & 2 friends. On arrival Monday morning, we where greeted by a young girl who showed us to the stables. It was a 2 bedroom apartment with fully equipped kitchen, large lounge area, separate dining area and was spotless. It was very homely and spacious. The grounds of the lodge are beautiful.. There are plenty of walks in the grounds of the lodge. We discovered a little summer house at the back of the house a 5 minute walk away. We asked the owner of the house if we could have a BBQ one night up at the summer house next to a pond, it was great. The owners of the lodge have 2 beautiful dogs, a chocolate lab & a king charles spaniel, they follow u everywhere!! We went for walks in a morning and of an evening and they followed us all over. A few reviews say how there was noone about. We did speak to the owners who where lovely, they just seem to leave it to you & don't want to intrude on your break although it would have been nice for a little welcome pack. As the owners live in the main house they prefer you not to go in the courtyard but did say, when we arrived, to knock in the main door if we needed anything and we did. They were very pleasant & said goodbye when we left. The house itself is literally in the middle of nowhere, you travel through a golf course and up a private road to the house, it's about 4 mile from Innerleithen itself. I can recommend the ice cream shop for homemade ice creams & volcano fish bar in Innerleithen! Melrose is about 45 minutes drive through Galashiels and is a stunning little village. It is also about 40 minutes to Edinburgh from the lodge and easy to get to if you catch the park and ride from Dalkeith. Overall it was a great break away, if your going away for a relaxing stay with a few walks in the beautiful countryside this is the place.. There are spa treatments available if you pre-book them. Probably advisable to do so by email as we struggled to get through on the phone. It is not a spa resort, but they have a spa room for treatments. The reason you need to prebook is because the owners have a shop in Edinburgh & have to travel between the two! Finally one review also said that the stables where cold & the hot water ran out after one person had a shower, we didn't find this to be true!! The water was constantly hot & all 4 of us showered each morning after one another. The heating was managed through the thermometers on each radiator & once on for half an hour the place was toasty. You will enjoy very much!! read more

Just back from an overnight spa stay with 3 friends after the birth of my son. We arrived about half an hour early as our treatments where booked for 12noon but was greeted by an angry owner because we where early. Was told our room was not ready and was ordered to get back in our car and wait till it was ready. The owner was speaking to us as if we where 5 year olds and with a raised voice. We where then shown to another room and told our treatments where now 1pm. We queried what was exactly the treatments included and this wasn't what we where originally told. Also in our email it said breakfast was included, the owner actually argued with us that this was not right and we should have read our email properly. She was very aggressive and customer service was no where to be seen. We received out afternoon tea at 5pm with no tea, we had to make our own. We where then told that our nail treatment would be done the next day at 9pm as the beauty therapist had another 4 people to massage. The next day Emma arrived at 9am to do our nails and finished about 11.30, 10 minutes later the owner appeared and asked when we where leaving as we should have been out by 11am, we explained our nails had only just finished. She then said to us that she needed to get the room ready and that the apartment was a tip and filthy and would take her ages to clean it up. We where absolutely gobsmacked as the place was near enough as we found it apart from the dishes we had just used and our bags not packed. She then accused us off upsetting the beauty therapist with our negativity the night before (argument about breakfast and treatments) and that she didn't want to return to us the night before. Although when speaking to Emma when she was doing our nails she told us she had 4 other women to massage and never finished till 9.30pm. Julie the owner said we upset her again in the morning even though Emma was laughing and joking with us while doing our nails. This was advertised as a spa break even tho there was no spa to be found at all. There was no towels provided for showering and we where told we should have brought our own and we where not getting any. The whole experience was awful, we went for a relaxing break and we left more stressed and upset then when we arrived. The owner Julie certainly lacks in communication skills and is certainly in the wrong job. The whole day was a disaster and not planned properly. Certainly won't be recommending to anyone and won't be back read more

We had booked our stay at Leithen Lodge with a kgb voucher for 6-8 July and travelled from Oban to Innerleithen, prepared for a special weekend with my mother in law in celebration of her 90th birthday. On arrival at Leithen Lodge we discovered that Mrs Martin, the owner, had booked us in to the two people apartment. We were devastated. She admitted her fault, that despite discussions twice on the phone, and submission of our voucher code for a 4 person stay, we had wrongly been written in the booking records as occupying the two person apartment. The other two apartments were booked, though we were the first people to arrive. She apologised and said there was nothing she could do!! She did offer to put a 'put you up' bed in the kitchen of the apartment (health and safety?!!) but we hardly thought that would suit our 90 year old mum or constitute luxury!! However, after a lot of heated discussion she got hold of her gardener and asked him to locate a bed and breakfast for us, which she would pay for. She said we would also receive a full refund from kgb of our £199. She said she tried to phone kgb but they were not answering the phone. We were very disappointed as we had anticipated a special 'luxury' stay and had prepared food for the evening meals which we brought in a cool box. Obviously this all had to be thrown away and we had to purchase evening meals in Innerleithen and Peebles instead. Although the B&B was very nice, it was not the weekend we anticipated and I was not happy with Mrs Martin's initial reaction that she was sorry but could do nothing about it!! I was also disappointed that the voucher code indicated a 50% discount on beauty treatments. However, when I phoned I was told beauty treatments could onbly be booked if the treatments amounted to more than £200, because they had to bring someone from Edinburgh (the owner's Beauty Spa). This was not mentioned in the voucher or accompanying information. It was academic anyway!! (We did have very lovely, reasonably priced treatments at Peebles Hydro instead!!) I am still awaiting my refund!! read more

September 2012 We booked in January 2012 using a KGB Deal to coincide with our wedding anniversary and arrived after a 4 hour drive to be told that we had the wrong date!! We only been married 24 years but apparently it was our mistake and we were not expected to arrive until Friday for a 3 night stay. We were met by a young girl who didn't know what to do about the situation and said the owner may pay for a B&B so we were sent away to get a coffee in Innerleithen(which is a miserable town) 1 hours later the lady owner telephoned and said there was nothing that could be done. Her attitude was very offhand and when I said about a b&b she made it sound like I was trying to rip her off by running a bill up somewhere else like some other people did! What is she on! After that lengthy, heated conversation there was no way I wanted to stay there anyway and would seriously recommend anyone to stay well away! Voucher value was £560 for 4 nights. I didn't get to see the rooms but I really cant imagine how that can be justified. She finally agreed not to block a KGB refund and this has now happened. We ended up in a lovely self catering farmhouse just outside Peebles which I couldn't fault and was run by lovely people. It cost me a little more than the voucher but worth every penny extra!! read more

We arrived during a period of drifting snow and very cold winds. The first challenge is to find the lodge. Sat nav is of limited help. There are no signs to direct you to the house. We arrived in heavy snow and only the presence of a taxi driver and his elderly passenger enabled us to discover how to locate the owner. After banging on the unmarked door we were eventually greeted and told that because of the weather we had not been expected. The flat was however mostly prepared though the previous occupants dirty dishes were in the dishwasher unwashed and there were no dishwasher tablets to set it going. All attempts to knock on the owners door to get tablets were unanswered. The flat was not especially warm but the heating was on , at least it was until 9.00 pm when it went off. It did not come on again until gone 9.00 the following morning. We were frozen on a very cold night and there were no heating controls we could find to get the heating back on. Faced with drifting snow and freezing winds we cut our losses and rather than stay the three nights quit and went to a hotel. I have no doubt that in summer this could be a glorious hidden away retreat in beautiful countryside but in the poor winter weather we faced it was bleak and made more so by the lack of heating. read more

We have been regular visitors to the Lodge ever since it opened for business. The house itself is marvelous. You first get a glimpse of the lodge through the trees and then you are hit with it splendor. the grounds are immaculately kept and are home to various wildlife. We've seen the odd deer in the morning! The accomodation itself is inviting filled with beautiful antiques and has a charming feel. it is well equipt with everything one may need. we have always opted for the homemade hamper which was filled with delights from the estate including jams and pickles! The owners of the property are of equal charm. Every time we visit we are invited for drinks in the courtyard or in the main house itself and were given a tour on our very first visit. the house truely is magnificent! There is plenty to do in the local area. There are beautiful local walks, bike riding and other activities. Edinburgh is not far however there are some beautiful restaurants in the local area! the last time we stayed we decided to take advantage of the beauty services which was a fantastic addition. we both had a joint massage in the splendor of the ballroom which truely was an experience! We would highly recommend the lodge to anyone. see you next year! read more

Having read the reviews prior to our visit we were a little apprehensive about what it would be like. Having just returned from our visit- I have to say that it was a great wee place. We stayed in the Stables and were really pleased with the accommodation. It is a spacious and well furnished apartment full of charm and character. The whole place was really cosy- in fact we ended up having to turn some of the radiators off as it was too warm. There was also plenty hot water all day. The kitchen was well equiped and we easily cooked meals for four people during our stay. The grounds and surroundings are beautiful and we enjoyed the company of the dogs on our walks in the hills. The estate staff were really friendly and helpful. There is no mobile or internet signal but this suited us just fine. We enjoyed reading the books and playing the games from the library that we had in the apartment. Great wee place. Would agree about the lack of signage but a bit of internet research prior to our stay meant we found the place no problem. read more

My 3 Sisters and I have just returned from a 3 day break at Leithen Lodge which was wonderful yet bizarre. The place itself is lovely the stables accommodation is of a very high standard. A very tight steep staircase from the kitchen to the upstairs so not suitable for anyone unsteady on their feet. There is everything you could want except a tray !! when carrying things from the kitchen upstairs this would be really useful. We were greeted and shown round by a very nice lady however this was the only time we saw anyone. The door to the main house was always locked, there was nobody to ask about any beauty treatments and believe me 4 Sisters away together we would definately have used this service if offered. There was no information sheets inside the accommodation regarding anything we might be able to book or indeed how to contact anyone if we had a problem. This said, we would love to return read more

Unfortunately we didn't know about qype and see the previous reviews until after we had returned home from our long weekend booked in this 'luxurious apartment'. I could go into details and agree with nearly all of the negative comments that have already been listed (and add a couple more!) but will just say that we enjoyed our stay so much that, er, we didn't stay. After arriving and spending half an hour trying to persuade ourselves that things weren't as bad as they seemed, we realised that, actually, they really were. We re-packed our bags and went to stay at the Macdonald Cardrona Hotel (AA 4*, very nice!) near Peebles to rescue our weekend. These people at Leithen Lodge really should not be in the hospitality business, callously taking peoples money and expectations only to provide such a very, very disappointing and upsetting product. read more

Your first challenge is to find the place as there are no signs to guide you. On arrival I mentioned this to the owner who just said ' yes I know'. We stayed in The Stables which was very nice but absolutely freezing, especially the Kitchen. The heating only comes on for a couple of hours in the evening and morning. If it was not for a little electric heater in the Lounge we would have come home next morning. On the up side the beds are very comfortable and once under the covers you can keep warm. There was only enough hot water each day for two people to have a quick shower after that its boiling kettles to wash, thats if you can stand the cold in the kitchen and bathroom. Not as advertised on thier website. Sorry we will not be returning. read more

Just returned from a lovely stay at Leithen Lodge. Lovely house on beautiful grounds. After reading other reviews I was unsure of what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised at the accomodation. We were in the two bedroom apartment. It had every thing that you could wish for. Just a couple of points that could improve the stay would be firstly have the house signposted on the road from Innerleithen and also when you reach the private road sign. And lighting on the outside of the house for when you come in at night. We found it difficult to find our way to the back of the house from where you park to car. read more