Deer Abbey
Deer Abbey, A950, Old Deer, AB42 4LP, United Kingdom- Historic
- Ruines
Luxurious Accommodation with On-Site Bar and Restaurant
Saplinbrae Hotel & Lodges, located thirty miles north of Aberdeen, offer a luxurious stay with an on-site bar and restaurant serving fine local cuisine. Enjoy free parking and Wi-Fi during your stay.
Variety of Rooms and Suites
Each room at Saplinbrae features en suite facilities, a flat-screen TV, and tea/coffee amenities. Families and groups can opt for larger suites, while self-catering lodges are available for those seeking more independence.
Delicious Dining Options and Nearby Attractions
Indulge in a variety of dishes at the restaurant, from Sunday roasts to a children's menu. Explore the Aberdeenshire coast with attractions like sandy beaches and golf courses just a short drive away in Fraserburgh.
Book your stay at Saplinbrae Hotel & Lodges for a memorable experience!
Check-in from
03:00 PM
Check-out by
11:00 AM
Parking
FREE
Children
Allowed
Pets
Not allowed
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
2 Twin bed (90-130 cm wide)
Room details
12 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Double bed (131-150 cm wide)
Room details
10 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 6 guests
6 adults · 5 children
Beds
3 Twin bed (90-130 cm wide), Double bed (131-150 cm wide), Sofa bed (Variable Size)
Room details
10 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Queen bed (151-180 cm wide)
Room details
18 sqm
Garden View
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Extra-large double bed (Super-king size) (181-210 cm wide)
Room details
18 sqm
Garden View
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 8 guests
8 adults · 7 children
Beds
Double bed (131-150 cm wide), Queen bed (151-180 cm wide), Queen bed (151-180 cm wide), 2 Twin bed (90-130 cm wide)
Room details
16 sqm
Garden View
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Extra-large double bed (Super-king size) (181-210 cm wide)
Room details
18 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Extra-large double bed (Super-king size) (181-210 cm wide)
Room details
18 sqm
Garden View
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 1 guests
1 adults
Beds
Twin bed (90-130 cm wide)
Room details
12 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 2 guests
2 adults · 1 children
Beds
Double bed (131-150 cm wide)
Room details
12 sqm
In-room amenities
Sleeps
Up to 4 guests
4 adults · 3 children
Beds
2 Twin bed (90-130 cm wide), Double bed (131-150 cm wide)
Room details
12 sqm
In-room amenities
Get answers about amenities, policies, and more — e.g. “Are pets allowed?” or “Is parking available?”
Provider-sourced guest reviews.
The warmth of the arrival, the good looking room and dinner.
The breakfast menu is a little restricted for lovers of cereals!
To date Saplinbrae Hotel has proved to be a consistency brilliant place to stay. Staff are very considerate, food is great, beds comfy and there is plenty of car parking. The rooms are clean, quiet and very well organised and a pleasure to stay in. All round good value.
Gorgeous little lodge! Great facilities Gods quality towels!!!
Nothing
Really friendly welcoming and helpful staff. They really made the stay special. Lovely hotel and room. Nice touches, like a personal welcome note in your room. Local wool blankets. Very clean. Excellent options for vegetarians with a dedicated veggie evening and breakfast menu.. The food was delicious and it was very nice to have a choice and something different than the usual veggies options you see everywhere. The meat eater was also happy with his options! The cooked breakfasts were good, and the veggie haggis was one of the best I've ever tried! We will definitely recommend and would not hesitate to book again.
Fish on the veggie breakfast menu. 2 options on the veggie breakfast menu were salmon based so not vegetarian.
Staff incredible, polite and attentive. My wife is on a gluten free diet and advised the hotel in advance. When we went for dinner a gluten free menu was already on the table for her. Surprised how many dishes were available and how close it was to the main menu. Breakfast was also amazing.
Having to leave - should have booked a longer stay
Stayed in the shooting lodge. Room very comfortable , loved the large bathroom with slipper bath and walk in shower. Full Scottish breakfast, day 1 set us up for the day. Salmon & scrambled eggs day 2 was delicious. Staff were very friendly and helpful.
Not a lot!
Ottima struttura, camera bella grande. Ottima cena.
Un pò scomodo il fatto che la colazione non sia a buffet
The lady who checked me in - Pauline was lovely, very friendly and very welcoming. The room was large, clean and comfortable. The en-suite was a very good size and the shower was excellent - It had really good pressure. The breakfast was good and was served very promptly. There is plenty of parking to the front of the hotel.
The pillows were way too soft, they didn't offer any support at all. The TV was a little small for the size of the room. The reception is only open until 22:00, so there is a pressure to arrive before then, which if you are driving up to the area in Scotland from the middle of England you are very much dependent on traffic circumstances, and as it is a very long drive this does add unnecessary stress to the journey. Another thing that I found very odd is that once the reception closes at 22:00 and the reception staff go home, there are no staff at all on the hotel premises - The guests are just left in the hotel and advised within an arrival card to call 999 if there is a fire or an emergency. This is the first time that I have ever experienced this when staying in a hotel and I do find it very strange and a little unsettling.
Awesome place and great location, brekky was awesome.
All good
Beautiful location, very helpful staff and incredible rooms. Very accommodating with a late check in.
Was only there one night!
Everything
Very little
Very clean, great service, excellent food.
Nothing
Highly recommend a stay. Comfortable, with helpful, friendly staff & excellent locally sourced foods.
Beautiful setting so peaceful, room large & stunning, shower was great, lovely tunnocks teacakes with your cuppy too
Bed was a bit too firm
Ontbijt
Smal bed
We have stayed here before so already knew how good a hotel it is. This time we had a 3 bedroom lodge which was fantastic. Very large seating area/kitchen with all the facilities you could want. Love the little things like what they supply at no cost, fresh milk, bread, butter, biscuits. The lodge has everything you need, great cooking facilities, good central heating, lovely seating area with large tv. Staff were very helpful and polite. Everything was great.
Nothing
Lovely food, beautiful view, great shower and really comfy bed.
Nothing, everything was as it should be.
Excellent staff / service they couldn’t do enough for us. Food great.
Lovely location. Staff very friendly. Comfy clean rooms. Food extremely nice
Xl bed felt great
We stayed for one night. Easy to find, with on-site parking. Check-in was easy. Our room was a good size with a lovely shower; both the room and bathroom were spotless. The bar was cozy and the supper superb! Breakfast was very nice too. We would recommend this hotel. The staff was very friendly.
The Saplinbrae is in a unique location, and has a history. They stored our bicycles safely.
I am surprised by the recent positive reviews. I've stayed at Saplinbrae a couple of times, the last stay maybe 8 years ago, but I was disappointed with this stay. We were in a room in The Old Shooting Lodge which has very noisy plumbing. The staff were friendly & doing their best, but not as relaxed & confident as I remember. We booked dinner: the service was rushed. My friend's starter was straight out of the fridge so the flavours were dull. Main course was ok, but not stunning as I remember from past meals there. I had a dessert which was obviously assembled from minimal ingredients found in the fridge. Breakfast was disappointing: staff friendly, but not generous with offering juice, toast etc.
I would rate this hotel as one of the best we have stayed in, the friendly staff, the choice and quality of the food, comfortable bed, highly recommended.
All good.
Room was very clean and comfortable, Breakfast was delicious well cooked quality ingredients. Location was perfect for where we needed to be, staff couldn't be more helpful to accommodate an early check in to get ready for a wedding.
Bed could have been a little bigger
It was a beautiful place and surroundings with excellent views.
Very good. Good selection local produce.
Very warm welcome, all the staff were friendly and efficient. Room was bright, good size and very comfortable. Food was plentiful and delicious- we had dinner and breakfast. Plenty parking too.
Nothing to dislike…
Staff excellent, very clean, breakfast was awesome. Only gripe, and it was a small gripe, the dinner menu was a bit off the norm which is absolutely fine. I would have liked a beef burger or steak pie instead, although the sticky chicken dish was excellent
Only gripe, and it was a small gripe, the dinner menu was a bit off the norm which is absolutely fine. I would have liked a beef burger or steak pie instead, although the sticky chicken dish was excellent
Vriendelijk en hartelijk ontvangst. Kamers en badkamer zeer ruim. Koffie en thee faciliteiten aanwezig. Diner in restaurant meer dan ok.
Mooie grote kamer en ruime badkamer. Koffie en thee faciliteiten op de kamer.
It was welcoming, Scottish and cosy
Nothing
Comfy room and fab food
Bit noisy on one night
Beautiful house which housed 6 adults and a baby with ease. Everything we needed for a family get-together to celebrate an 80th birthday. Lovely touch to receive the welcome pack to start us off. The staff were at the nearby hotel to assist if needed. Both check in and out were seamless. We couldn't have asked for a better accommodation and would love to come back again. Thank you Saplinbrae.
Maybe a few more mugs please.
Very friendly staff
Nothing
This is self catering accomodation, so worked perfectly.
Absolutely fabulous experience with outstanding customer service form Katie and the Saplinbrae team ! Super room in the Hunting Lodge with a great bed and very, very clean. Only had lunches but great, efficient service and yummy food options.
N/A
A good choice of breakfast items, freshly and nicely cooked. Hotel lovely and cosy, bedroom newly refurbished, bed linen and towels new. A lovely evening walk round lake.
Nothing comes to mind
Staff were excellent, nothing was to much trouble. Food, both breakfast and evening meal was excellent. The hotel setting was very peaceful.
For us the bed was a little to firm and we found the shower tray very slippy. A hand rail in the shower would be helpful for older people.
Peaceful location
When booking we were not aware there are no staff overnight. We returned one evening at 9.30 it was all locked up and unable to have a drink in the bar
Food was excellent and staff nice.
Hoover going at 6.30 in the morning. Our room was very noisy.
Great location
Excellent place to stay
Comfortable and friendly
Fabulous location. My grandpa was billeted here in 1943 so it was great to stay here. The food was excellent
Nothing
Traditional building and a very warm welcome.
Nothing
The open fire in the lounge, the general look and feel and the friendly staff.
A mini-fridge in the room would have been nice. Also, a top up of tea/coffee after the first night.
Very, very clean! So clean, my wife walked into the shower screen. Comfortable beds with soft sheets. Epic breakfast (try the porridge with brown sugar and cream, to start). Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Bar prices are very good.
Our room had a fire door that closed very slowly, so when I went to the bar, people walking past had a full view of my wife in bed.
Comfy room with nice decor. Excellent food and very helpful staff.
All good thx
Nothing p
Unfortunately we could only stay one night - I would have loved to stay longer. We had a lovely room and dinner at the restaurant was AMAZING so make sure you book!!
We loved everything!
Breakfast was perfect and held us for the day Lounges were welcoming as was the staff… a perfect stay!!
Guests need to be aware of others still in rooms while transiting the corridors and keep their conversations in check until they get downstairs
Well equipped, definitely home from home.
Bed was a little too firm for me.
We stayed in the Self Catering Willow Apartment for a short break over New Year. The apartment was fantastic, it's just perfect for a couple and a dog. The apartment is really well appointed and comfortable. The staff were great keeping us up to date on what to do prior to our visit. We travel a lot, this is one of the nicest areas for dog walking and the Willow Apartment is also one of the nicest apartment......and the staff are brilliant.
All great at Saplinbrae Hotel.
We stayed in the 2 lodges and the self contained apartment . The lodges were big and warm with everything we needed on our stay . The apartment was also very well decorated and comfortable for our parents
N/a
Friendly staff and warm, comfortable room.
Nothing
Well equip every thing u could think of
Small fenced off garden round patio would have been handy
Warm, welcoming, comfortable and clean.
Nothing
Excellent place to stay. Great food , friendly service.
Nothing to say
Amazing food and very helpful and attentive staff. Lovely room, beautifully presented. Great walks near by.
Nothing, everything was as it should be.
Absolutely beautiful and lovely rooms. The staff were amazing and food was delicious.
We recently stayed here for just one night because we wanted to visit a local area. We found the staff very helpful on arrival and friendly throughout. Our room was very comfortable, spotlessly clean with everything we required for a very comfortable stay. The breakfast we received was excellent, can’t fault anything. We would very much stay again.
The breakfast was fantastic I had full Scottish breakfast but there was plenty of choice. Hotel staff were very nice and professional ,my room looked out to the front and I was pleased to see some wild deer would like to come back again.
We loved the dog friendly lodge, nicely decorated and everything we needed for a few days away
Alles top, insbesondere das Essen war fantastisch!
-
The food was very good and the service was excellent.
The bed was a little hard for my taste
L’hotel è in ottima posizione per chi cerca un soggiorno nella campagna scozzese. È pulito, dispone di un grande parcheggio e ha un ottimo ristorante.
Le camere sono pulite e hanno tutto ciò che serve. Forse sono un po’ old style ma vanno più che bene e restituiscono una sensazione di autenticità.
Saplinbrae Hotel, Mintlaw (near Peterhead) We recently stayed at the Saplinbrae Hotel and were thoroughly impressed. The hotel offers a warm, comfortable atmosphere with the added convenience of on-site parking. Despite being busy during our visit, the staff remained professional, attentive, and genuinely helpful throughout. Their friendly service made the experience all the more enjoyable. Dinner was the highlight of our stay. As we hadn’t booked in advance, we ate in the bar rather than the restaurant, but the food was still excellent and the setting was relaxed and welcoming. If you want to dine in the restaurant, it’s definitely worth reserving a table ahead of time to avoid disappointment. Breakfast was also good, with plenty of choice, but it was the evening meal that truly stood out. Overall, Saplinbrae is a charming and well-run hotel that delivers on comfort, service, and quality dining. We highly recommend it for a relaxing stay in Aberdeenshire.
Great location with walking paths. Very friendly staff. Excellent breakfast and dinner. Highly recommended.
Fantastiskt boende med en superrestaurant. Suverän personal.
Allt var perfekt
Apartment had been recently decorated andcwas in excellent condition.
very nice staff and homely vibe
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Trevlig men behöver en renovering på utsidan. Trevlig personal, god mat och bäst utav allt var den fantastiska frukosten.
Lite slitet och behöver lite renovering.
The staff were all happy, polite and very knowledgeable of the area. The room was big, clean and spacious. The shower room was just as good and well stocked. The bar was clean and inviting with a wide range of products. The menu was very good, something for everyone and tasted wonderful. All in all a very good stop over.
Feedback themes are sourced from guest reviews provided by our data provider.
What guests love
Areas to consider
Cleanliness
9.7/10Multiple guests describe rooms and bathrooms as spotless and very clean; housekeeping consistently praised.
Service
8.2/10Staff are described as friendly and helpful at check-in and throughout the stay, but several guests noted the reception closes at 22:00 and there is no on-site staff overnight, which is unsettling for some.
Location
9.6/10Repeatedly called beautiful, peaceful and in a great location with lovely views; guests highlight the setting as a major positive.
Room Quality
9.1/10Rooms are described as large, comfortable and well appointed with excellent showers; a few mentions of bed firmness or soft pillows reduce this slightly.
Amenities
9.4/10Good on-site parking, well-equipped lodges (kitchen/seating/TV) and thoughtful complimentary items (milk, bread, biscuits) praised by guests.
Value for Money
9.2/10Many guests would recommend and plan to return; quality of rooms, food and setting gives a strong sense of good value.
Food and Beverage
9.6/10Dinner repeatedly described as fantastic and breakfast praised (though one guest missed a buffet); food quality is a consistent highlight.
Overall Experience
9.6/10Overall overwhelmingly positive stays, with guests noting welcoming staff, excellent food, clean rooms and beautiful surroundings; few isolated negatives.