STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
Owned by the Wallace family for almost 40 years, the hotel benefitted from £1.5million in investment in 2020, adding a ballroom and taking the number of all bedrooms up
to 91.
Housed in a handsome red sandstone Victorian mansion, the Barracuda Club boasts a 14-metre heated swimming pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi bath with a gym next door. Expect the friendliest of welcomes: the hotel runs like clockwork thanks to a hard-working team of obliging staff who seem genuinely happy to be there.
SLEEPING MATTERS
All rooms are en-suite with a deluxe stay offering four poster beds, jacuzzis and built in television screens. A platter of fresh fruit awaited us and the room was equipped with a Nespresso coffee machine as well as tea and two small bottles of red wine.
Our room was spotlessly clean, bright and airy with crisp white linen and a pleasingly firm mattress that resulted in a very sound sleep.
DRINK IN THE SIGHTS
Robert Burns spent the last years of his life in Dumfries in a simple sandstone house that has attracted visitors including the poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats.
The museum includes the desk and chair where he created some of his finest works. Lay a red rose at the poet’s mausoleum in St Michael’s Cemetery after a scenic walk along the River Nith.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Hearty food with plenty of choice to suit all tastes, we both opted for the pan seared seabass with sundried tomato olive and pesto potato salad, which was cooked to perfection and very tasty.
The divine sticky toffee pudding was perfectly paired with Taylors of Biggar vanilla ice-cream.
Breakfast offers the complete complement with traditional full Scottish and fruit, cereals and very buttery croissants.
NICE TOUCH
After a day’s sightseeing or hiking, relax in the spa jacuzzi with a glass of Prosecco or champagne.
ABOUT THE AREA
Dumfries has a railway station but to get the most out of your trip to one of lowland Scotland’s most beautiful regions, a car is advisable.
We took a drive to Mossyard beach, around 40 minutes away, where I enjoyed a refreshing dip in the Solway Firth. After sharing a picnic on the sandy bay we stopped off at Kirkcudbright for a wander round the town’s weekend food market and I enjoyed a sample of local gin, Hills and Harbour, which is made using their own wheat grain spirit and 11 botanicals.
Two-night leisure break from £89.50 per room per night for bed and breakfast based on two sharing a twin/double room). Includes complimentary use of leisure facilities – indoor pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and gym – car parking and wifi. Upgrade to spa King room or suite from £40.00 per night
Festive breaks from £129.00 per person. See www.cairndalehotel.co.uk or call 01387 254111
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here