Name: Mountview Hotel
Address: Nethy Bridge Inverness-shire PH25 3EB, Nethy Bridge, Nethy Bridge, Nethy Bridge, NETHY BRID, United Kingdom
Rating: 9

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Abernethy Golf Club

Inverness Airport

Mountview Hotel

Nethy Bridge

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Birding week staying here , room clean tidy and enough storage space . View of bird feeders , staff friendly and helpful . Food  amazing catering for all types of diets. Guides Mark & Adrian excellent , friendly , knowledgeable & explained at all levels as I am not a birder . Saw amazing birds / mammal’s , overall amazing trip , staff and hotel . Definitely be back at some point for another trip

Amazing hotel and guided

This is the headquarters of the Heatherlea Birdwatching Tour company. Its clientele are attendees of one or more of their Scotland tours. They provided both lodgings and meals as part of their package. This review is about both the hotel and the tour company.

Everyone associated with the company and the hotel were first rate. They made us feel comfortable and welcome. Our tour guide was excellent and has a keen knowledge of not only the local birds but all manner of wildlife. Our guide was very skilled at detecting target birds by both sound and sight and the energy with which he pursued the more rare of the target birds was exceptional.

We had our first “Scottish” breakfast which included eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, blood pudding, and toast. It was delicious and filling - perfect for a full day of hiking and looking for birds. They packed us lunches to eat in the field and had two more stops, one in the morning for tea and biscuits (a cross between a sugar cookie and a cracker for us Americans), and one in the afternoon for tea and flapjacks (a kind of oatmeal bar). But the dinners were the highlight of the meals. They were well made and nicely presented. We were seated with our fellow birders at our meals and we discussed what we saw that day or hoped to see the next day. It was very pleasant to be around convivial people with a like-minded hobby.

Our bedroom was nicely appointed. Be aware - there are no screens in the windows in the hotel, actually none in most of the places we visited in the UK. Nor are there any outlets in the bathroom, another UK feature. The bathroom was a bit small. It took awhile to figure out how to use the shower. The communal areas included a bar and two sitting rooms that we used before and after dinner were quite homey and comfortable.

We were picked up at the local train station and whisked away to the hotel, our “base camp” for the week. When the week was over, which was much too soon, they took us back to the train station. We had one overnight trip to the northwest coast, and they made all the arrangements for lodging and meals. It was seamless. We had our first haggis on that part of the trip. It was interesting, not my favorite, but I’m glad I tried it!

We can absolutely recommend Heatherlea Birdwatching Tours and will keep them in mind for our next birding tour.

Great way to go bird watching in Scotland!

I stayed at Mountview/with Heatherlea Birding December 2022/January 2023 for the Hogmanay Birding trip. I was hoping to add some Scottish speciality birds to my year lists, and in this respect was not disappointed. However, the blurb for the holiday said we might search for rarities and vagrants as they turned up, but this was not the case. The guides seemed to have it set in their minds where we were going each day, and even though on one occasion we actually drove within metres of a flock of Waxwings, they refused to stop the minibus to look, even though this was a species some guests had missed. Other species were turning up on Birdguides only a few miles from us, but again the guides would not alter the plans for these (one was heard to say, now she had a few days off at the end of the trip, she'd go to find one of them now...). Birding was mainly done by standing outside the vans, or 'there was once a such and such in this field so lets have a look'.

The hotel itself was comfortable - some guests said it was very cold, and it was a bit chilly to start with, but it had been closed for a few weeks before our trip and I think the boiler had broken or something so that might have affected things. However, as this is a hotel 'run for birders, by birders' I would have thought it would have been better prepared for them. It was necessary to take your boots off at the front door, but there was only a tiny porch within which to do this, and then you had to carry them upstairs, along with all the rest of your daily paraphernalia. At the top of the stairs there was a heavy double door that needed to be opened outwards (tricky with your hands full), pulling towards yourself as you teetered at the top of the stairs, then your room door needed the yale key and the handle turning both at the same time, meaning you had to put everything on the floor. There was no way to hold the door open, so it was an art form trying to get things inside your room one at a time while trying not to get squashed by the heavy door. A boot room or drying room downstairs would be a very good addition.

The food was good, but the portion sizes were off. Sometimes you went to bed hungry, other times you were stuffed. Also, as we were only birding by getting out of the van, looking, getting back in, you really didn't need that much to eat and I actually found myself putting on weight during the trip (as well as getting restless from the lack of exercise). 

Also, seriously, do not eat at this hotel if you have a food allergy. I am gluten intolerant and at one point was told 'this is 10% gluten free, it only has 10% the flour' by the sous chef (so, it therefore contains gluten and I cannot eat it...) and one lunchtime found pastry from a sausage roll on my sandwich/in the tub. I was told someone accidentally put a sausage roll in there but then took it out again. I tried to point out I therefore couldn't eat it due to cross-contamination and was made to feel like I was being fussy. The excuses given were, the chef's weren't British so didn't understand, or 'some people go low gluten at Christmas'. Once I'd quoted UK food allergy regulations to them and pointed out I could sue them and win, the cross contamination and understanding seemed to improve.

All in all, I wouldn't travel with Heatherlea again.

Hogmanay Birding Trip

I spent 7 nights at the Mountview hotel an Edwardian country house in times gone by. I was on a birdwatching week with Heatherlea who are based in this hotel. Very comfortable room, great bed , plenty of hot water and heating system very good. Food throughout the week was very good , breakfast particularly so. Nice lounge ,comfortable seating , log fire. Good selection of malt whisky and local beer. There are glorious views of 3 mountain ranges including the peaks of Cairn Gorm and Bynack More. The River Nethy is just 200 metres away. The hotel has a bird feeding station where we saw  Crested Tit , Sparrowhawk , coal tits and Goldfinches. The birdwatching was fantastic , 92 species in 6 days , highlights were Golden Eagle,  Capercallie  , Created tit, Whitetailed Eagle and Black Grouse at a lek.  This hotel and the bird watching highly recommended.

Hogmanay birdwatching

We always visit here, quite a quaint little place that you might miss if you didn’t know it was here. They are a key venue for birdwatchers but joe public can eat, drink and stay here too! It’s very cosy on cold nights with an excellent selection of fresh local food. The service is always very good and friendly!

Lovely meal

Lovely location and the restaurant had a very inviting atmosphere. Our waitress was very welcoming and helpful as was the chef.. The menu offered a nice range of dishes and it was hard to decide what to choose. The food was delicious. On our next trip to Scotland we will definitely eat here again.

Evening meal on 24 June 2019

Just returned from an amazing trip with guide Mark. The whole process from booking to leavening was excellent. Jolene in the office was really helpful arranging extra nights before and after trip. Mark was an awesome, knowledgable guide and shared a wealth of information with us. We saw everything and more we wished for and the experience was unbelievable. Hotels and meals were fantastic and Skye a memorable place. We will be visiting Heatherlea tours again and really hope Mark will be our guide!

Wild Skye wildlife tour

The staff were very friendly the room very comfortable. The evening meal was very good, but surpassed by the excellent breakfast. The only gripe was the shower - it seemed to alternate between scalding and freezing every 30 seconds. I should have said something but I was exhausted after a long day and had a snooze before dinner instead. When I woke up I had forgotten about it and only remembered now when writing review. Oh, and there was little hassle when it came to paying - something to do with debit vs credit cards and the card machine they have. Hence very good, not excellent.

Comfortable and friendly

Eight of us visited for a family gathering and evening meal. The staff coped wonderfully with the eight more mature persons who all wanted different drinks and we were amazed at their knowledge. The ordering of the meal was easier as 6 had twice baked souffle which I gather was excellent the other two had different starters. Steak cooked to taste for 5 of the company, rump of lamb and chicken schnitzel for mains was again excellent and ample. Four of us managed to share two puddings (panacotta), again excellent while others had coffee. Excellent wine accompanied the meal.We were seated at a window table from which  some of us had magnificent views. It was an evening to remember and certainly to be recommended. Thank you to all the wonderful staff.

Excellent Food and Wonderful Staff

This hotel is a large, comfortable country house with elegant public rooms (lounge, library, bar and dining room) and pleasant gardens. The bedrooms are excellent with very comfortable beds, tv, hair dryer, tea and coffee, extra blankets, ensuite bathrooms and good quality furnishings. 
Breakfasts are plentiful and delicious, with lots of options catering for all diets and appetites. Dinner was equally good with a choice of options for each course and excellent service throughout. 
The hotel mainly caters for Heatherlea guests and provides a comfortable, homely retreat after a hard day's birding. Highly recommended. 

Mountview Hotel

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