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Cairnbaan House

Cairnbaan House

4.8
out of 5
Ratings from 15 reviews
93% of guests
recommend
Cleanliness
4.9
Comfort
4.7
Condition
4.8
Location
4.9
Value
4.5
Customer
Service
4.7

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Cairnbaan House is an inviting, newly renovated holiday home full of history, character and charm, set in a superb location overlooking the Crinan Canal in the peaceful village of Cairnbaan. This traditional stone cottage has a charm of it’s own, originally built in the 1800's.

Lovey characterful house

Review submitted on Sun, 01 Jun 2025
4.8
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
4.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Lovely characterful house next to lock 8 on the Crinan Canal. The house used to be the local shop and the living room retains some of those features. The house is very comfortable, well equipped and very clean. You can sit at the front of the house and watch the boats travel up and down the canal. Lots of walks from the house. The owners live next door and are very friendly and helpful.

Guest from dunbar stayed at Cairnbaan House for 10 nights in May 2025


Fantastic stay at cairnbaan cottage

Review submitted on Mon, 19 May 2025
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Had an amazing time during our stay at Cairnbaan cottage, very well equipped and super comfy beds. We were so lucky with the weather, sunshine for the whole week. Perfect location for touring the area. Enjoyed our trip to Jura on the passenger ferry from Tayvillach. Also toured the Mull of Kintyre. Some beautiful beaches in the area. Enjoyed our daily walk along the Canal, even managed to walk to the end of Canal in Crinan. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay, lovely places to eat including The Horseshoe Inn in nearby Kilmichael, The Smiddy in Lochgilphead, Lucy’s in Ardfern. Definitely recommend Cairnbaan House, loved watching the boats/ yachts moving along the Canal. Hope to come back again

Helen from Peterhead stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in May 2025


Lock 8

Review submitted on Mon, 12 May 2025
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Lovely sunny week looking out over Lock 8 and exploring local sights. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Cairnbaan House.

Jon from Crieff stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in May 2025


I guarantee you will not be disappointed in Cairnbaan House

Review submitted on Tue, 08 Apr 2025
4.8
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
4.0
Customer
Service
5.0
When you have nothing at all bad to say about an accommodation then it must be the perfect place, right? Well, Cairnbaan House has to come very close to perfection because we can't find anything bad to say about it. Well... maybe the water pressure in the shower was a little low, but the bed linen was gorgeously soft yet crisp at the same time, the beds were very comfy, the heating was great, and the cottage was spotlessly clean. There were also many small interesting touches of interior decorating showing that at a previous point in time the cottage was actually a sort of general store for this part of the canal, plus the whole feel of the place from the moment we walked made us feel at home. Shout out to Katrina, who lives next door. She and her husband have a family connection to the cottage and she was very helpful, with lots of tips and knowledge about the local area. And the location? Front and centre to the Crinan Canal which not only provided an amazing view from the cottage but also a lovely place to walk along.

There is heaps to do in the area. Our highlights from our four nights and three full days were: climbing Dunadd Hillfort and doing the Moine Mhor walk followed by lunch at Smiddy's Bistro in the beautiful Lochgilphead, and then a second, very long, walk in the Taynish National Nature Reserve in the afternoon; Inveraray Castle and Gardens and the village of Inveraray especially lunch at the George Hotel; and a trip over to the Isle of Arran for the day especially the gardens of Brodick Castle. We just wish we had been able to stay at least one more night (although longer would have been even better), so we could have also driven down to the Mull of Kintyre, but the rest of Scotland beckons...

I highly recommend Cairnbaan Cottage to anyone wanting to stay in the Lochgilphead area. You won't be disappointed.



Linda from Carindale stayed at Cairnbaan House for 4 nights in April 2025


Magical Setting

Review submitted on Sun, 22 Sep 2024
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Superb, well equipped and comfortable cottage in the most magical setting. We were blessed with wonderful weather, but with the Crinan Canal at your front door any weather front would have been a delight. With Tayvallich, Crinan, Skipness and Kilberry Sands within striking distance there’s no shortage of places to visit and great places to eat.

David from Bideford stayed at Cairnbaan House for 3 nights in September 2024


Lovely historic cottage

Review submitted on Tue, 10 Sep 2024
4.2
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
4.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
3.0
Customer
Service
3.0
Great location, close to Knapdale and Crinan. Nice cottage, very comfortable… Lovely sounds of water rushing into locks…

Martin from Matlock stayed at Cairnbaan House for 2 nights in September 2024


Lovely cottage

Review submitted on Fri, 30 Aug 2024
4.7
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
4.0
Comfort
4.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Lovely unique cottage. Lovely place to watch the boats go up and down the locks.
So relaxing away from any biz. Lovely walk along the tow path to either end of the canal.
The cottage is a lovely and the history displayed in its furnishings, makes this property so different from the usual blank rooms.
Lovely helpful neighbours guided us on place to eat and visit.
Will no doubt return, hopefully when it’s not raining.



Jim from Ayr stayed at Cairnbaan House for 4 nights in August 2024


Beautiful Scotland

Review submitted on Mon, 26 Aug 2024
4.2
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
4.0
Condition
4.0
Location
4.0
Value
4.0
Customer
Service
4.0
Really enjoyed our break on the West coast, stunning scenery and plenty to do and see will come back to this part of the country again

Tim from Stourbridge stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in August 2024


Wunderbare Lage am Kanal

Review submitted on Sun, 30 Jun 2024
4.8
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
4.0
Wir durften 1 Woche lang das Cairnbaan House geniessen. Die Lage am Kanal, die Ruhe und die schöne Gegend hat uns sehr gefallen.

Paul from Frick stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in June 2024


Fabulous House

Review submitted on Sat, 08 Jun 2024
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
We loved this house, very well equipped and comfortable, and it's history.

Excellent location, great watching all the activity on the canal.

If we were to go back to that area we would definitely book Cairnbaan House again.I

Very friendly and helpful neighbours.

Sheila from Isle Of Skye stayed at Cairnbaan House for 4 nights in June 2024


Great stay

Review submitted on Mon, 03 Jun 2024
4.8
out of 5
Guest doesn't recommend this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
4.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Lovely comfortable cottage with everything we needed. Great place to stay with lots of wildlife in the area. Amazing sightings of beavers, white tailed sea eagles and minke whales.

Karen from Nottingham stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in May 2024


2 night stay

Review submitted on Tue, 07 Nov 2023
4.3
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
4.0
Location
4.0
Value
3.0
Customer
Service
5.0
We had a lovely couple of night in Cairnbaan House. The property is very nice inside (some quirky bits in keeping with its history) and is in a good location. We would definately stay again and recommend to others.
Possibly a little expensive.

Linda from Kilsyth stayed at Cairnbaan House for 2 nights in November 2023


Iain Fleming replied more than 1 year ago
Thank you for your kind words regarding your stay and we hope you visit again in the near future. Hopefully for a longer period next time. We are sorry you feel that it was a little expensive. Staying only 2 nights in self catering is always going to be much more expensive per night than longer stays. The fixed costs are the same, housekeeping, laundry, welcome pack, insurance etc, which contibute to the high nightly price.

A Beautiful Canal-side Retreat

Review submitted on Mon, 25 Sep 2023
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
Such a treat to stay at Cairnbaan House, beautifully situated on the Crinan Canal with a 'front row' view of yachts coming and going thru lock number 8! Lots of walks locally, a brief drive only to Lochgilphead for basics shopping, cafes, etc. Good eateries at Crinan after a good walk along the towpath! Very ell- equipped cottage and comfortable and cozy. Thoroughly recommend!

Sarah from Forfar stayed at Cairnbaan House for 7 nights in September 2023


A week by the Crinan canal

Review submitted on Wed, 09 Aug 2023
4.7
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
4.0
Condition
4.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
We were so well looked after at Cairnbaan house. Our hosts were very friendly and provided lots of good information. A bed was a bit hard,but they provided an additional matress to help us out and ordered a new one the same day.
We enjoyed watching all the activity along the canal,chatted to friendly neighbours,explored the local area and also used Cairnbaan as a base to venture further. Inveraray castle was well worth a visit, castle Swain had a lovely position and the beach at Kilmory was just amazing.
The house is well equipped and ideal as a base for day trips. The brown interior is in keeping with its history as a shop, worth looking into.

Kristin Dalaker from Torød stayed at Cairnbaan House for 6 nights in August 2023


Happy Stay

Review submitted on Tue, 08 Aug 2023
5.0
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
5.0
Location
5.0
Value
5.0
Customer
Service
5.0
We were very happy with all the details of our visit to the Kilmartin Glen / Crinan / Kilmichael Glassary area. Although the weather was not 100% great we were able to explore the region from Oban to Lochgilphead efficiently because the location of Cairnbann House was so great.

The accommodations were clean, comfortable, up to date, and scenic with the canal right out the front door.

I would highly recommend this property for your stay in the area.

Dean from GATINEAU stayed at Cairnbaan House for 4 nights in July 2023