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The Big House

The Big House

4.9
out of 5
Ratings from 17 reviews
100% of guests
recommend
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
4.9
Location
5.0
Value
4.8
Customer
Service
4.9

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THE BIG HOUSE

The Big House includes 4 bedrooms, sleeping up to 8 people with space for 2 additional small children in the Giogha attic bedroom suite on a pull down sofa – perfect for large gatherings. The space is ultra-modern, thoughtfully designed and finished to the highest standard whilst maintaining a sense of traditional Islay throughout.

Simply one of the best houses to stay

Review submitted on Mon, 14 Apr 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
We stayed at the Big House 3 times and it's still one of the best places to stay. Spacious, comfortable and well maintained. Everything you need is there and a bit more (like the welcome basket). We had a very nice stay, cheers.

Remco from Pijnacker stayed at The Big House for 4 nights in April 2025


Beautiful house in perfect location!

Review submitted on Tue, 11 Apr 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
the big house is a wonderful place to stay in beautiful Port Ellen. It is very centrally and quietly located and offers everything you could wish for. Spacious rooms and extremely tastefully furnished.
Thank you for letting us rent the house and we look forward to returning soon.

Peter from Thun stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in March 2023


Literally one of the best places I have stayed....

Review submitted on Thu, 16 Feb 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
Great bedrooms , comfy bed nice linen, beautiful view.
Amazing well appointed kitchen, it has EVERYTHING in it you could possibly need
Lovely TV room and back yard, the SONOS is brilliant... my friends woke me up to AC/DC every morning which was a treat.
Nice pub up the road and a COOP next door, a church too if you feel the need to repent.
Port Ellen ferry is a 2 minute drive
well located too


Jason from Altrincham stayed at The Big House for 3 nights in January 2023


Beautiful house on a fabulous Island

Review submitted on Thu, 01 Dec 2022
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 stayed in The Big House with 4 friends, to celebrate my husbands 60th birthday. The house was so beautifully clean and welcoming, with a fantastic welcome basket to boot! We even got a visit from Alison, the housekeeper, to make sure we got there safely due to the weather on the day of our crossing!
We all had the most amazing time and spent most evenings in, using the fabulously well presented, well stocked kitchen, and relaxing in the spacious lounge.
The days were spent visiting distilleries and other local sites. It was great to mix and match, as there is definitely more to Islay than JUST whisky (although this was the main reason for visiting of course).
The people of Islay were so friendly: no wonder it is called the island of wave!!
A beautiful house, situated perfectly on the beautiful island of Islay.
We will definitely be going again.

Beverley from West Wickham stayed at The Big House for 5 nights in November 2022


Leodamais

Review submitted on Wed, 19 Oct 2022
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 booked the Big House as we were attending a family wedding in Port Ellen. First class accommodation in a First class location. Cannot recommend this property highly enough! Cannot wait to go back!

Bruce from Gairloch stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in October 2022


Fantastic accommodation with great views of Port Ellen Bay

Review submitted on Thu, 28 Jul 2022
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 have never lived so fantastically on vacation as in the "Big House" in Port Ellen. The spacious and extremely tastefully furnished holiday home leaves nothing to be desired. Excellent equipment (everything is available right down to the food processor) completes the great overall impression. Only the location directly on the bay of Port Ellen with a wonderful view of the sea and the harbor from the bedrooms can top this. In addition, a great gift basket with specialties from the island sweetened the start of our holiday.
We would like to thank our hosts very much for the good organization and the warm welcome! We felt incredibly comfortable and can only warmly recommend the "Big House". Luxury on Islay exceeds what it promises!

Sebastian from Solingen stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in July 2022


60th birthday celebration with family.

Review submitted on Fri, 27 May 2022
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
The big house is absolutely superb. It has fantastic mod cons.
It has everything you need for self catering. Beautiful fittings and decor throughout.Nice back garden for BBQ. Great location.
Will definitely return again.



Alex from Glenrothes stayed at The Big House for 4 nights in May 2022


Can’t wait to go back!

Review submitted on Sun, 12 Sep 2021
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
Comfortable, convenient, stylish and beautifully appointed house perfect for a relaxing extended family getaway.

Highlights are the spacious, sociable kitchen dining space (for parents to chat and drink while cooking) with adjoining snug (for kids to watch the port and play). Also the upstairs second living room is great for a quiet relax and read while looking out onto the bay.

The whole place is kitted out beautifully from top to bottom and everything is in abundant supply which makes life very straightforward the whole time you’re there.


Peter from Glasgow stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in September 2021


Beautiful well equipped house in excellent location

Review submitted on Wed, 01 Sep 2021
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 stayed at the Big house for 1 week and were very impressed with its cleanliness, comfortable beds, beautiful decor and the modern equipment provided. This is a lovely house situated on the seafront in Port Ellen overlooking the beach, marina and harbour. The Co-op is a few doors down the street making shopping for essentials easy with restaurants nearby and a lovely pub just around the corner. Bike hire is available in the village and there is a lovely distillery walk/ride just around the corner. We were made very welcome by Alison who looks after the house. The level of equipment provided in the house is second to none. The bedlinen and towels are top quality. We were very lucky to have a week of fabulous weather making this a fantastic week away on this very beautiful island.

Tony from Oxford stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in August 2021


Perfect venue

Review submitted on Sun, 01 Aug 2021
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
Wow....Had a quite amazing family holiday on Islay in The Big House and The Wee House. Weather and accomodation were simply spectacular, only surpassed by the island itself.

A very professionaly run operation with great on and off island customer service. I have no hesitation in recommending. Thank you & see you again.

Ian from Netherlee stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in July 2021


The Big House

Review submitted on Fri, 18 Sep 2020
4.5
out of 5
Guest recommends this property
Cleanliness
5.0
Comfort
5.0
Condition
4.0
Location
5.0
Value
4.0
Customer
Service
4.0
Very comfortable cottage, well equipped and spacious. Nice decor. Ample parking. Good position overlooking bay and next to supermarket. Bathrooms might benefit from an update. Overall a great place to stay.

Valerie from Whitstable stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in September 2020


Memories are made of this ......

Review submitted on Fri, 18 Sep 2020
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
The Big House is just perfect for a very comfortable relaxing holiday . It is beautifully appointed and maintained with lots of lovely special touches.
The location is also perfect and we all really enjoyed our stay there. Weather was even good enough for a dip in the sea !
Hope to return to Islay when Scotland is once again covid free. Many thanks .

Lynda from Helensburgh stayed at The Big House for 6 nights in September 2020


A superb house with superb customer service

Review submitted on Mon, 24 Feb 2020
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
We are a family of four, with teenage kids, and The Big House was absolutely perfect for our week's stay.
Overall there was a huge amount of space, really well designed and extended - the kitchen/ dining area is brilliant for everyone - and it is all really well appointed. Modern and traditional. Very comfortable.

The kitchen equipment provided is everything you'll ever need. And more.
The living areas have great audio and TV arrangements, and the wifi was good throughout the house.
There are plenty of bathrooms; even a great shower room on the ground floor for when you come in dirty/ cold/ both.

On top of this, the service from both Alison in Port Ellen and Allan on the phone was phenomenal. Our visit co-incided with bad weather and related travel problems but Alison and Allan were just amazing in helping us out - nothing was too much trouble. And they did this twice in one week. Just brilliant.

We would definitely stay again.

Andrew from Edinburgh stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in February 2020


Eine traumhafte Woche!

Review submitted on Sat, 14 Dec 2019
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
Wir haben in "The Big House" Anfang Dezember 2019 mit 8 erwachsenen Personen eine traumhafte Woche verbracht. Das Haus ist fantastisch und wurde mit viel Liebe zum Detail eingerichtet. Wir haben uns von Anfang an wohlgefühlt. Es fehlt an nichts. Vor allem die Küche ist groß und exklusiv ausgestattet. Die Lage direkt an der Bucht von Port Ellen haben wir sehr genossen.
"The big House" wird auf Islay immer unsere erste Wahl sein. Unbedingte Weiterempfehlung!

Johannes from Hambuehren stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in November 2019


5 STAR LUXURY ON ISLAY

Review submitted on Mon, 02 Sep 2019
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 level of comfort and luxury in a prime position in Port Ellen. We stayed for two weeks and would not hesitate to return.

Stephen from London stayed at The Big House for 14 nights in August 2019


Luxurious Leodamais

Review submitted on Wed, 19 Jun 2019
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
We often book self catering properties in Scotland at least once a year and in over a decade have never stayed anywhere better than Leodamais, with it being one of the best three encountered.

The house is big and spacious and kept immaculately clean. The bathrobes and slippers and toiletries were much appreciated as was the superbly equipped kitchen which has every kind of kitchen aid and utensil from food mixer to bread tins. A well provisioned kitchen is important when rainy days encourage us to stay indoors and enjoy a bit of relaxed cooking and baking.

The location of the house is ideal with it being situated on the bay front of Port Ellen. A Co-Op is a stones throw away which is useful for nights when eating in, and the Port Ellen Hotel and Sea Salt restaurant further along the road make for excellent options when eating out. Also, when leaving Islay from Port Ellen there is no need to plan time for driving to the terminal because it is just around the bay and can be seen (and heard !) from the house.

During our week on Islay the weather was unseasonably good and so every hour of every day was spent outside walking/cycling/fishing/distillerying, which was a bonus. However, the odd day of relaxing around the house just reading and cooking/baking would have been welcome nonetheless had the weather been more typically ‘Scottish’, such was the comfort of the place. With this being Scotland this is an important point to take into consideration.

The Wi-Fi, TV, i-pad music centre etc all worked perfectly and kept the children entertained in the gaps between eating and sleeping and adventuring.

Our contact with the owners and the housekeeper showed them both to be helpful and keen to ensure our stay was comfortable.

Hopefully the house will be maintained to this very high standard and people will take care and look after the accommodation when staying.

David from Darlington stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in April 2019


Absolutely Fantastic

Review submitted on Sat, 27 Apr 2019
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 had a brill week staying at The Big House. The house was immaculate, every detail and more had been thought of. The house was very well equipped and the extra touches were most thoughtful and gratefully received. We had a couple of teething issues which Alison resolved quickly, efficiently and well. She is a real asset and credit to Leodamis! The House was very well located and the kids just loved playing on the beach in front of the house, befriending a few local families and their dogs! Overall we had a fantastic holiday and stay at the Big House and would most definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to stay on Islay! Thanks!

Helen from Romiley stayed at The Big House for 7 nights in April 2019