The Retreat at Stirling

We stay here every year for a few days to chill out and we always enjoy our stay! :)

We didn't meet the staff but our accommodation was excellent - very spacious and quiet. Breakfast food was in the fridge for us to cook ourselves.

I had trouble working out the stove top to cook. I'm sure I could've phoned the host to find out but we didn't bother.

It’s clean and has a beautiful view.

Coffee machine not working properly.

Breakfast provisions were great. Clean and neat apartment. Directions to location were accurate and helpful. Nice area with lots of trees but a shame about the noise of the nearby freeway which prevented us from sitting on the balcony or having the windows open. A reply to a FAQ stated the property has double glazed windows. This was not the case for the apartment we stayed in but may apply to the other rooms at the property.

We booked this property because of the pool but on arrival we discovered it is booked out every weekday between 8am and 7.45pm for various swimming lessons/classes. We were very disappointed to only have access in the early morning (before 8) and evening (after 7.45) as the point of being on holiday is to be able to sleep in and enjoy these facilities during the day. When we gave this feedback to the host he was unsympathetic and said "it is only booked out for 25 hours a week" but the timetable provided showed it is booked out for 41.5 hours during the week. If the pool is unavailable the price should reflect this and potential travellers should be warned so they can make an informed decision. The host said he thought it was "mentioned somewhere on the website" but I can not find any reference to the pool not being available on either Booking.com or The Retreat website. Had we been aware of this we would not have chosen to stay there.