"We recently returned to Balbirnie House for an evening meal, having last visited around ten years ago when the bistro was genuinely outstanding. It was difficult not to compare the two experiences.
There is still much to admire. Balbirnie is a beautiful and impressive building in a lovely setting, and the service was generally good, with friendly and helpful staff. Our room was comfortable and had most of the facilities you would expect, although it was beginning to look a little tired, and the Wi-Fi was rather unreliable.
The food was perfectly OK, but sadly not the same as we remembered from ten years ago. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the restaurant itself. It is now in the Orangery, which is a pleasant room and would probably be lovely for weddings, but somehow doesn't feel quite right as a restaurant. The intimate, characterful bistro we remembered has been lost, and with it some of the atmosphere that once made dining here feel special.
It would be unfair to be too critical, as there was nothing seriously wrong with our stay. The room rates were also quite reasonable. Rather, there was a sense that somewhere which was once exceptional is now having to make do with less.
We hope Balbirnie can rediscover some of its former sparkle. It remains a wonderful building with enormous potential, but our visit was tinged with a little sadness at seeing somewhere we remembered so fondly no longer quite what it was."
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