Bracken Hide Hotel

“Great location with amazing views!”

I was nervous about staying here because of some of the reviews I'd read about the space, the walk up hill, etc. I'm so glad I did anyway! Yes, the walk up the hill to your cabin sucks. We were in tier 1 so the highest tier of all of them and the longest, steepest walk, but knowing that ahead of… more

I was nervous about staying here because of some of the reviews I'd read about the space, the walk up hill, etc. I'm so glad I did anyway! Yes, the walk up the hill to your cabin sucks. We were in tier 1 so the highest tier of all of them and the longest, steepest walk, but knowing that ahead of time prepared me mentally so it was tolerable. I personally thought the space inside the cabin was perfect for two people. Sure it was a little difficult to lay out suitcases to access our clothing, etc., but again, I knew that going into to it so I was prepared. A little rearranging of the furniture and we managed just fine. The bathroom was great and the bed comfortable. We had no trouble with wifi either. The views are unforgettable! The staff was kind and helpful; they even gave us a ride on one of their golf carts up to our cabin after a long day of walking and it was raining at the time. The restaurant was also fantastic. The food was delicious and the staff attentive. I had some of the best sleep of our trip because it was so quiet. It was also close enough to Portree that we didn't even use our rental car to get to town. It was about a mile walk to town center.

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“Truly magical!!”

All I can say is I’m speechless. The fact this hotel only has a 3.5 is insane to me . My husband and I celebrated our honeymoon here and were in awe the first moment we saw the property. If you are travelling with a partner or ever friends , i highly recommend staying here . The yurts themselves ar… more

All I can say is I’m speechless. The fact this hotel only has a 3.5 is insane to me . My husband and I celebrated our honeymoon here and were in awe the first moment we saw the property. If you are travelling with a partner or ever friends , i highly recommend staying here . The yurts themselves are yes a little small , but the perfect size and extremely cozy . When i woke up to the sunrise the first morning, i was in awe . It makes the isle of skye more beautiful if that was even possible . Not only are the views remarkable, but the service is unmatched with any place we stayed in Scotland . All the staff were incredibly accommodating, however , one person truly stood out . Paula , the restaurant manager was outstanding. No other way to put it . Our tour bus took longer than expected to arrive to the hotel , which worried us if we would make it to dinner . Both of us work in hospitality , so know how frustrating it can be when people arrive later than originally planned . However , Paula greeted us with open arms and made us feel so welcome . Not only was the food delicious(get the Guinea hen , it’s AMAZING ) but the level of professionalism and knowledge was incredible. We talked about it for days afterwards . Thank you so much Paula for looking after us and creating a memory which is so special to us both , we hope to both see you soon !

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“Outstanding hotel on Skye”

Stayed at The Bracken Hide in Portree and had a great experience. Staff were courteous, helpful, and made everything easy from arrival onward. We stayed in one of the “most accessible” cabins, which turned out to be a very good call given the cold weather and driving rain when we arrived. For that… more

Stayed at The Bracken Hide in Portree and had a great experience. Staff were courteous, helpful, and made everything easy from arrival onward. We stayed in one of the “most accessible” cabins, which turned out to be a very good call given the cold weather and driving rain when we arrived. For that alone, I’d recommend thinking carefully before booking one of the cabins that requires a steeper climb—maybe fine in perfect weather, but less appealing when Skye decides to be Skye. Our cabin, or “hide,” was the perfect size for two. Very comfortable, quiet (except wind and rain - perfect for sleeping), clean, well laid out, and with a great view over Loch Portree. It seemed like most of the cabins likely offer a similar view, which is a big plus. The property also has a sauna and plunge pool, which was a nice surprise. Not the first thing you might think of for a Scottish trip, but definitely worth taking advantage of—so bring a swimsuit (or roll the dice, your call). The on-site restaurant is excellent and absolutely worth mentioning on its own—really strong food, a welcoming atmosphere, a great way to start your stay, and a major convenience after a day out exploring. The manager, Paula, stands out in particular—helpful, knowledgeable, and great with recommendations. Worth seeking her out during your stay. Comfortable stay, beautiful setting, good value and a smart base for exploring Skye. Highly recommend. Would stay again.

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“A unique, if flawed experience.”

A stone’s throw from the edge of the tiny town of Portree, The Bracken Hide and its unique accommodations are scattered across a hillside looking over the bay. We waited too late to book hotels, and everything in town was either booked or beyond prohibitively expensive. This place still ended up be… more

A stone’s throw from the edge of the tiny town of Portree, The Bracken Hide and its unique accommodations are scattered across a hillside looking over the bay. We waited too late to book hotels, and everything in town was either booked or beyond prohibitively expensive. This place still ended up being the most expensive place we’d ever stayed, and we’d stayed in some very nice hotels in France and Spain. The “hides” as they call them are situated in rows up the hill, and seem to come in several sizes. Although ours was the next row from the top, I was glad we were there because the views really open up at that height. However, it was enough of a hike to get winded and wet if you’re starting to catch a cold and it’s raining a little bit, as I was, and the weather in Scotland often is. I generally didn’t mind it as it got the heart going for a bit, and we were doing some hiking. Be prepared though. They will drop your bags off by golf cart, but you won’t be offered a ride on that same cart and the cart driver may zoom past you somewhat recklessly with your own bags or someone else’s as he is in a very big hurry. This sort of neutral disregard for the guests in general seemed more continental that typical of other Scottish places we stayed, and it translated to the restaurant where we had breakfast all 3 mornings. While we were greeted with effusive welcomes and thanked multiple times after each interaction, once sat at a table it was difficult to get service, and the order in which servers visited tables seemed random. They might come by 3 times in 10 minutes, or wait 20 minutes to take your order while over-visiting other tables. Looking around, it was always easy to find another guest who was also trying to get the attention of the servers. My wife said that the servers were just “all out of (redacted)”, and maybe they’d been traumatized by previous guests, or were overworked and underpaid, but it was a frustrating experience. The breakfast food was not great either. The almost-fresh fruit had dried out, and was chewy and hard, the porridge was lumpy and lukewarm, the haggis was horrible (to be fair, I’m not a fan anyway but I’ve had some pretty tasty haggis). The night we had dinner at the restaurant was a little better service-wise, until we had to get the bill. The service fee wasn’t included on the menu but was automatically added to the bill. The bar had very cool vibes, but we were the only ones in it at the time. I wondered if any of the other guests visited it. The hide itself was cozy and intimate, but I wish that they hadn’t placed them so that you share a path with the hide next to you. To let natural light in, you basically have the front open, and your next-door neighbor is looking straight into your little abode as he walks by or stands on his little porch. (The reverse isn’t true, as each one is set back on the hill relative to the one next to it.) In other words, your feeling of privacy will very much be impacted by where your hide is and some have much more than others. It’s mostly the luck of the draw, but if you approach it like camping / glamping you will be fine. The interior has heated floors, heated towel rack, minibar, and heat/AC unit. Ours was very hot as the floors and towel rack do a lot quickly in such a small space, even though it was wet and a little chilly outside. We had to run the AC the first night, even, until we figured out how to turn off the towel rack, which had very weird and unintuitive controls. When turned off, the lightbulb next to the bed was still on, just at a dimmer brightness. Even though it was a 2-way toggle switch, so I had to unscrew the lightbulb every night. We weren’t there to watch TV, but had hoped to watch Scotland play in the World Cup, but the smart TV got no national or broadcast stations other than Sky News. Despite a couple other slightly janky appointments, we enjoyed the coziness and comfort of our hide. It was definitely a unique experience, and the view was excellent when the fog cleared. The staff wasn’t all completely cold and indifferent; we did have some helpful assistance from reception when trying to get laundry service, although that itself was more difficult than it should have been because you can’t just leave your laundry, you have to order bags for them on a website. I feel like this could be a much better place with better food and service, nothing was terrible and a couple things were pretty cool. I would not spend that kind of money to do that again though it was a memorable thing to do once.

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