we arrived at ballater late one evening afer being chased out of our tent by midges! on arrival at balleter, it seemed that all accommodations were "fully booked" although we did doubt this and found people to be quite rude. we called the school house as our last option (we had found the number in a small accommodation booklet we had picked up in tourist information). the owner was very friendly on the phone, she even came out in to the road to direct us to the car park!
the school house feels steeped in history, it is decorated beautifully and the owners encourage guests to use the communal areas as they are very interested in sharing their beautiful furniture and space. we found both owners to be very friendly and welcoming, they really did make us feel at home after a horrible day inhaling midges.
the room we had did not have an ensuite, however the bathroom was located right next door and we did not have difficulty getting in there. the bathroom was very clean and had a power shower. the beds were warm and comfy. the tv was a good size and located so you could watch it in bed. the breki was cooked to perfection and very satisfying!
in the morning when we had paid our bill we had a long chat with the owner who talked freely about her and her husbands travels, which we found to be very interesting. we explained the porblems we had encountered with the midges and she gave us very helpful advice on where to go to avoid them so we could continue with our camping tour.
this was an all round lovely place to stay and really rescued our trip! i would definately reccommend this place!