I don’t think we realised how good Dowans was until we crash landed at an airport chain hotel afterwards. “From the dizzying heights of Dowans we fall” I texted my partner after realising that Nescafé was our only coffee option - I mean compared to the freshly ground artisan coffee delivered to our room daily at Dowans? Dear gods!

Where at Dowans we were greeted with friendly banter, free flowing local advice, and belly laugh inducing story telling, the chain hotel threw us our keys with a belch (seriously).

At Dowans when we opened the door to the room, we gasped with delight at the tastefully designed opulence, plush pillows, sweeping views of the valley and a bathtub in a turret - literally - we sent photos to friends with ‘I think we’re in an episode of Downtown Abbey!’ Even the toilet paper was luxurious - the dispenser style, paper thin toilet paper and tiny double bed of the chain hotel jolted us back to our cold hard reality. The 5 star fit for kings Dowans’ fairytale had ended.

When asked at breakfast on our last morning whether there was anything else we needed, what flew out of my mouth was ‘to stay another week please?’ By far the best hotel experience either of us have ever had - after travelling through 43 countries over the past 25 years that’s saying something. Steph, Lauren and their team create an unforgettable experience that makes you feel like you’re right at home - and never want to leave. Dowans is a 5 minute walk from the town of Aberlour which has everything else you need - and is in the heart of Speyside whisky country. Gorgeous walks along the river and through the hills - the Ben Rinnes hike is hard but well worth it and not far from Dowans either.

The only ‘problem’ we found was that their ability to provide us with drams of whisky that suited our palates was so good that they had us spending an inordinate amount of money at local distilleries. 5 stars all round. Highly recommended. We’ll be back!

I simply can’t begin to express how wonderful our stay at Dowans House was. From the moment we pulled into the drive, we were knocked off our feet. The hotel is simply gorgeous, inside and out. We were greeted by Becky who briefly showed us around the ground floor before escorting us to our extremely comfortable room. The bed was hands down the most comfortable we had slept in throughout our entire trip to Scotland. The bathroom was clean, and the provided soaps, lotions, shampoos etc were high quality. We couldn’t ask for more.

Heading downstairs to await our dinner reservation, Becky again looked after us. She is a wealth of knowledge and suggestions for whiskies and we availed ourselves of her skill several times during our stay. Speaking of dinner, we were quite impressed. We opted both nights for the special. The quality and presentation was absolutely fine dining. The meals exceeded our expectations. Breakfast was the same. Delicious menu options that were cooked and presented beautifully.

As we were there only two nights, there’s not much more I can say except next time we travel to Scotland, we will absolutely choose Dowans House again.

Had the opportunity to dine with friend's, is a wonderful old hotel overlooking a valley in Aberlour.
Strange that you sit in the bar & order your dinner from the menu then move through to the dinning room.
Overall the experience was good though found the menu items to be a little expensive, had the 8oz Scotch, found to be a little tough for Scottish Beef.
Whisky Bar is very well stocked & worth the experience.