Harmony Cottage - Harmony Gardens

30 Customer Reviews

• "I had a great few days at Harmony Cottage, what a joy to be in the centre of the town in easy reach of shops and restaurants."

  It was important for me to have dog friendly accommodation and my dog settled in very well, great walks round and about. Everywhere is dog friendly and I ate at a few of the hotels, and would particularly like to recommend the George and Abbotsford Hotel who have a very welcoming team. It was nice to see the old features retained in the cottage, it was comfortable and warm. The central heating was very responsive. The only thing I would comment on are the single beds in both rooms, I personally found them narrow but then I am accustomed to a double. If I am every staying in the area I would definitely book this property again.

  Reviewed by Elizabeth4.7★Oct 2024

• "Cottage was lovely,however freezer compartment door fell off as soon as we opened fridge door washing machine was very noisy and wasn’t very stable."

  I feel it should be pointed out that the stairs might be difficult for some people particularly the elderly and those people with mobility issues.Apart from these issues the cottage was overall good

  Thank you for your feedback. We have replaced the fridge with a new one. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Gilbert4.4★Jun 2024

• "Excellent in every respect."

  Reviewed by Menza5.0★Jun 2024

• "Dog friendly house but not dog safe garden no gate, overgrown garden had ..."

  Dog friendly house but not dog safe garden no gate, overgrown garden had difficulty accessing the patio, hand rail needed to negotiate garden steps

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that the gate caused a problem for you. We have several restrictions and permissions to consider getting the iron gate fixed to the historic building plus health & safety factors with it being directly next to a pavement. We now have Scottish Borders Council permission to go ahead with no further measures required and are waiting on the ironmonger to fit a new gate. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Chris3.4★Jun 2024

• "Comfortable, well located cottage."

  Everything you would need to visit a beautiful area.

  Reviewed by Colin4.4★Jun 2024

• "This cottage was very pretty and in an excellent central location in Melrose."

  It had everything we were looking for with one major exception - the shower was totally inadequate. There was insufficient hot water for one shower, never mind 4. The best any of our party could manage was lukewarm water about 3" deep in the bath. We had a minor problem with the bins, which was dealt with very promptly and courteously; our thanks for that.

  Many thanks for your feedback and lovely to read that you enjoyed your stay in Melrose. We have proposed that Harmony Cottage is on the next phase of NTS cottage refurbishments. We will ask the local team if anything can be done in the interim. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Helen3.4★May 2024

• "Amazing cottage absolutely beautiful had a great holiday"

  Reviewed by Myra5.0★May 2024

• "In general we were very happy in Harmony Cottage and would return to it should the opportunity arise."

  The positives were the well equipped kitchen, the comfortable sitting room with good wifi connection, the efficient heating system and the lovely courtyard - I enjoyed sitting out in the sun! Some other comments: 1. The gate to the property was difficult to open. I think this might be an original feature that can't be altered. By the end of our stay we had the knack of opening it (it needs lifting slightly). I think it would be worth pointing this out to the owners. 2. The stairs are not straight (ie they have a bit of a spiral) and have quite narrow treads and it was a challenge to get the suitcases up them! Otherwise I was fine with them but it was difficult for my friend who has some mobility restrictions to get up or down them, other than very slowly. This wouldn't stop us coming back through! But maybe potential clients should know about them. 3. The bathroom has restricted space because of the sloping ceiling. Also the shower screen doesn't move so the space for getting into the bath is not very big - I could do it as I'm very petite but others could struggle. And the shower which was an attachment was very feeble. I ended up with using the bath but a power shower would be much better. However again it may not be possible to change this. 4. We found a couple of slugs in the kitchen. They didn't bother us and we put them outside but others may be bothered by this. Again it wouldn't put us off returning! All in all we had an excellent holiday and I found Sykes Cottages to be an extremely efficient organisation to deal with. The emails sent were very helpful and we were clear about instructions. Well done!

  Many thanks for your feedback. Good to read that overall you enjoyed your stay. The gate has been reported and we are looking to have it repaired, it may take a little while as it isn't attached to wood but stone. Thank you for your comment about the shower over the bath. When we come around to refurbishing Harmony Cottage we do look at all the feedback we have received to try and improve what we offer. The Holidays Team at NTS Property Owner

  Reviewed by Valentina4.4★Apr 2024

• "Cottage is super cosy and has everything you need for a stay in the borders."

  Melrose is a great base and we managed to visit the four Abbeys in our stay. Parking was abit of a hit and miss during the day but parked outside cottage at night ok.Little courtyard garden was lovely in the sunshine.Our two Scottie dogs had great fun on the walk along the river and it became a morning must.Definitely on our list for a return visit.

  Reviewed by Louise5.0★Mar 2024

• "Use it regularly so know what to expect."

  Basic but clean, cosy and comfortable. Ideal if you don't have a car available as it's in town with plenty public transport.

  Reviewed by Alvys4.7★Mar 2024

• "We had a great stay here."

  Well equipped cottage. Brilliant location. For very tall males using the toilet/shower facilities required some adjustments (feedback from someone 1.9m tall). Perhaps difficult to warn people about this. Hence why I rated a bit lower for comfort.

  Reviewed by Roxana4.7★Feb 2024

• "Harmony Cottage is such a pretty cottage by the Abbey."

  The cottage was beautiful and clean, with everything you could possibly need. Lovely and warm and with stunning views to the Abbey. Gordon the National Trust for Scotland manager was really friendly and welcoming. Lovely stay. Thank you to everyone.

  Reviewed by Samantha5.0★Sep 2023

• "We enjoyed our holiday."

  I think the carpets could do with a clean as rather dirty. I think it would have been nice if milk was out especially when you travel for 6 hours. The national trust misses a trick by not doing basic things like Leaving milk for guests. Thanks

  Thank you very much for your feedback and we are glad you enjoyed your holiday. We have noted your comment about the carpets. Our apologies we think the housekeeping team have just forgotten to put the milk in as our standard setup includes a pint of milk as well as shortbread. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Cicera3.8★Jul 2023

• "We had read some negative comments about the cottage but it seems all the concerns had been addressed."

  It was spotless throughout, the kitchen was well equipped, there was no problem with the hot water upstairs. Games, some book and tourist information were provided. It was very quirky as some of the old features had been retained, As it was the Borders Book Festival we had to park in the public car park for most of the time, but there was on street parking nearby which would probably be available at other times.

  Many thanks for your feedback, we do endeavour to respond to any problems that are highlighted and it is great to read that you found any issues to have been dealt with. We look forward to welcoming you back anytime. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Derek3.1★Jun 2023

• "We use this cottage every year and know that it is basic but warm clean and comfortable."

  It is a perfect base for the Borders and within easy walking distance of shops and buses. 5 o'clock entry is a bit late. It would be better if it could be 3 or 4.

  From the property managers in Melrose - We can always be contacted prior to arrival to check and see if an earlier check-in will be available; if the property is clean and weekly compliance checks have been completed, then more than happy to give early access. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alvys4.4★Mar 2023

• "Beautiful cottage in a fantastic location with a nice garden."

  Fixtures and fittings a little basic Hot water fine from kitchen downstairs but water from shower upstairs not hot enough.

  Reviewed by Ronald4.4★Dec 2022

• "Everything was great, we had a very enjoyable stay at Harmony Cottage."

  Kitchen was very well equipped. It's in a super location so close to town and right across the road from the abbey.

  Reviewed by Howard5.0★Dec 2022

• "Harmony Cottage was handsome, comfortable and well-appointed, with a good range of kitchen and other equipment."

  Excellent value for this very high-quality accommodation.

  Reviewed by Mark5.0★Oct 2022

• "An excellent stay in lovely Melrose which has a train station nearby and great independent shops on the high street."

  The accommodation was excellent, warm, clean, and comfortable, and it felt great to be assisting a heritage organisation by renting it. Everything was as described and the communication with Sykes excellent. A few minor maintenance issues, maybe they should leave a form for this. These were, a bulb out in a kitchen display unit, a drooping curtain rail letting a bit of light in, and a wobbly loo seat. Otherwise, great!

  Reviewed by Marie4.4★Oct 2022

• "We thoroughly enjoyed our stay."

  The location of the cottage is excellent. It is very comfortable, and it was absolutely spotless.The beds are really comfy and the bedding is extremely good quality. Should you want to cook, the kitchen is well equipped, but there are also numerous eating places in Melrose. The wee garden area is a real sun trap. After dark, the views of the floodlit abbey are spectacular.

  Thank you very much .your kind words about Harmony Cottage. We hope to welcome you back to Melrose. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Robert5.0★Aug 2022

• "I love this cottage and have visited it several times over the years."

  It is a quirky place that may not be the most luxurious but it has an ambience all of its own. It is in a wonderful location with views of the abbey and the hills, within walking distance of restaurants, pubs and shops, has its own little garden, and still has many of its original features. Parking can be a problem during the day but we always managed to park close to the cottage in the evening. The cottage now has Wi-Fi which, nowadays, is becoming necessary and is helpful. I can recommend this cottage and will be back again.

  Thank you very much for the positive feedback. Lovely to read that you enjoyed your return visit to Harmony Cottage and we look forward to welcoming you back. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Aileen5.0★Aug 2022

• "We spent three nights at Harmony Cottage in Melrose and had an amazing time but the cottage is not perfect."

  Pros: - Amazing location. Right next to Melrose Abbey and all of the lovely shops. The river Tweed is five minutes walk away. Two beautiful walled gardens within a minute's walk. A stone's throw from amazing ice cream shop :o) - Everything works. So far as I'm aware! The hot water is plentiful, the dishwasher works, the shower is okay, the beds are comfy etc. There is now working Wifi, although it cuts out occasionally but it comes back soon. - Great for dogs. The outside space is limited and all paved but its a pleasant sun trap and there are loads of grassy spaces a minute's walk away. Lots of really beautiful long walks on your doorstep. Lots of the cafes and shops in Melrose allow dogs on leads. Cons: - Parking is tricky. There is a paid car park two minutes walk away but its a bit far to lug all the stuff you need for a self catering holiday. There is parking within about 15 metres of the cottage but there are no spaces until about 5.30pm or first thing in the morning. We parked in the car park then re-parked nearer the cottage in the evenings. - In our opinion, this cottage is overpriced. Its fairly expensive but not luxurious. Furniture is functional but pretty basic. There is new seating furniture in the living room which is okay but the room is still arranged badly. Carpets are brown and drab. The hallway is dark and pretty depressing. Think a small step up from a good youth hostel and you get the idea. So £500 for three nights is, in our opinion, too expensive. - This cottage isn't loved. There is no visitors book, there are no fun extras like jigsaws or board games. Its obvious that it is owned by an organisation. It ticks the boxes it needs too, but that's it. For example; it can sleep four people and there are four mugs. Bare minimum, functional but not exciting. If you are looking for a dog friendly, town centre, functional place to stay - go for it. We had loads of fun at Harmony Cottage.

  Thank you for taking the time to share your valued feedback. We are delighted that you found the cottage to be an excellent location with many surrounding options on it’s doorstep; also that the cottage delivered with comfy beds, good hot water and the required facilities. We do also acknowledge your comments on where we could have enhanced the property to match all of your expectations and we are sorry not to meet them on this occasion; we do value and take on board all your comments and will review where possible. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Eileen2.8★Aug 2022

• "As an NTS property it keeps its historical features so its quirky but clean, cosy and comfortable."

  The new lounge furniture is a big improvement. We have been using the property for 7 years now and love it. Its so central for the Borders. When the wifi is fitted which I believe is happening it will be even better. Looking forward to our next visit already. The NTS staff are very pleasant and helpful.

  Thank you very much for your feedback and we are pleased to read that you acknowledge the changes we have made in Harmony Cottage. We look forward to welcoming you back. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alvys4.7★Mar 2022

• "This could be a really lovely holiday cottage."

  Sadly it isn't. Pros: warm with comfortable beds, opposite the Abbey and very close to the centre of Melrose. Cons: the sitting room must be the most charmless room I have encountered in a holiday cottage for 35 years. The furniture looks like Auction house rejects, is badly arranged and the chairs and sofa are very uncomfortable. There is no WiFi and consequently no TV streaming service. I think people do expect WiFi these days. The kitchen only has the lights under the kitchen units and one table lamp. Not enough light for a kitchen. The stairs are steep and narrow which can't be helped. One of the bedrooms has the radiator behind the wardrobe. The windows are painted shut so it's impossible to air the rooms. The drawers are stiff so it would be easy to pull the whole drawer unit over. This gets annoying as the week goes on. The bathroom is the worst room. The shower screen doesn't move so it's really difficult to get in and out of the bath while also avoiding the low ceiling. It would be impossible to bath a young child. The towel rail/radiator doesn't heat up and obviously needs bleeding. The air extractor doesn't work and condensation drips on your head when you get out of the bath. The shower is integral to the taps and these never work properly. The toilet seat is loose and the toilet roll holder is badly placed. The taps drip. No handle on inside of door. Outside there is a small terrace which would be perfect for a picnic table and there is room for a bench beside the front door. There are steps up to the gate but no handrail. The gate is sometimes fiddly to open. There was no visitors book. This might be a Covid restriction but the information people leave about nice places to visit and eat is always useful. If the cottage belonged to a person, they would look after it and love it, but clearly no one from the Scottish National Trust has looked at it from the customers point of view. I understand that they want to preserve its heritage but comfortable furniture wouldn't interfere with that.

  Reviewed by Janice2.8★Mar 2022

• "Well situated quirky cottage in a great location for Melrose and neighbouring towns and villages."

  The chairs in the living room (club chairs) are really uncomfortable with the springs broken in one of the chairs. The beds were however comfortable so did have a good nights sleep. Few light bulbs out including the outside front door one which we went away and replaced prior to a visit from a member of the National Trust who came to see us on the Monday ( we arrived on the Saturday) could do with main lights in the kitchen and living room being replaced as the side lamps do not provide enough light for reading especially on an evening. Shower was black with mould but was easily cleaned with 5 minutes time and effort. Given the previous feedback about this maybe the cleaners/owners need to make sure this is sorted. Parking was not a real issue for us and only once during our weekly stay we were unable to park outside the property. This is clear in the booking so that was fine. We did put some adaptation to the gate as we have a wee dog that easily would have got out onto the road. Just mesh and a few strip ties did the trick and enabled us to let her out without worrying about her getting out. This said, we absolutely loved our stay and would if changes regarding the living room chairs were changed we would happily love to come and stay again.

  Reviewed by Michelle4.1★Oct 2021

• "The cottage was fairly clean and it was warm."

  The beds were comfortable but the seating in the living room was not. Lighting was dim in the downstairs rooms and it was difficult to read even with all of the lights on. I stayed at the cottage 12 months ago and was disappointed to notice a lack of basic maintenance eg painting the badly scuffed kitchen door and filling in the gaping holes in the cement around the Kitchen stoned floor. The property now needs some attention to reflect the increase in price.

  Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We have submitted our budget requirement to carry out maintenance to Harmony Cottage over the winter 21/22 and are awaiting confirmation. We have just recently changed our cleaning company and explained to them our expectation for standards of cleanliness and they are going to attend to scuff marks during a deep clean they are carrying out. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alison2.8★Oct 2021

• "An historic property but showing its age in all the wrong places."

  Black mold in the shower, leaking taps in the bath. Crumbling flooring the kitchen. Ice box in fridge was icebound and as usual needed defrosting before it could be used. Fantastic location and a brave attempt to preserve the historical features. Parking is a nightmare. I have been going to Harmony cottage on a yearly basis for the last 15 years but I may now look elsewhere if it is not updated.

  Thank you for your feedback and I am sorry to hear that you were unhappy with some aspects of the property on this occasion. I can confirm that we now have a new cleaning company in place and the issued raised have been addressed or are in the process of being addressed. There are no main ceiling light fittings in the living room or kitchen, only the original gas light fittings - all other lights are currently in working order. Thank you again for your feedback and we do hope that you will visit again in 2022. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Kenneth4.1★Oct 2021

• "The cottage was excellent, the staff from National Scottish trust was really helpful and friendly."

  Excellent place and we would recommend to all friends and family

  Many thanks for your kind words about the cottage and the staff in Melrose. Property Owner

  Reviewed by David5.0★Sep 2021

• "Good central location in pleasant accommodation."

  Reviewed by Lars4.7★Aug 2021

• "Given that a dish-washer was provided, there were insufficient dishes etc provided to properly and efficiently use the dish-washer."

  There were only 4 of some items, and we, as a group of only two in the cottage, soon ran out of clean dishes. The cottage has a capacity of 4 people. Only 3 dish-washer tablets were provided, and these crumbled when you took the protective film off. We had to consult the instruction manual for the dishwasher, but operating it was fine. We have never come across such a badly-designed fridge in our lives before - you couldn't store much in it. The stone-flagged floor of the kitchen needs cementing repairs at the junctions - we even found an old bread crust in one of the gaps! The paintwork throughout is very knocked about, although the place was clean. The oven was not clean, but they never are in self-catering places - our ovens don't get dirty at home because we don't cook or eat meat. There was no vacuum cleaner provided. There was no comfortable place to sit in the lounge, and if you sat back in one of the armchairs in the lounge, you experienced two springs in your bottom. There was nowhere to sit in the lounge and have good light to read by, except in the daytime. There was only one bedroom with an armchair - both need one. Having said all that, we appreciated how warm the cottage was - and there was plenty of hot water. The views of the Abbey and the Eildon Hills from the upstairs windows (the Abbey is floodlit at night) were superb, and the centrality of the cottage in Melrose was good. You could park freely on the roadside very close to the cottage, and if you went out in the car for the day, you could find room in the same place later on when you returned. We never had to pay anything to park. There did seem to be a lot of passing pedestrians throughout the day, so we had to watch safe distancing a bit as we came and went to and from the cottage.

  Reviewed by Ian3.4★May 2021

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