An ideal retreat if you need to switch off. Very spacious for 2 people including a vast bath which felt luxurious. The large stove heats the place well if you get some coal in. Total peace with only the odd herd of cows passing by ( other than the sound of the diesal generator when it kicked in). If you like cooking the kitchen is spacious but if staying a while I would bring a couple of your own pans, ( we brought a cast iron fying pan that was a god send). There are some there but they've seen better days. Having no internet or phone signal was great meaning a healthy digital detox. Sadly though what didn't feel so healthy, as pointed out by others, was the treated beams. This left my eyes and nose burning so I slept on the bathroom floor for the first 3 nights. After that it faded enough for me to use the bed which was a relief. Overall we loved the location but sadly whatever has been done to the beams did spoil it a bit for us.

First, I have rated this 5 stars based online the type of Holiday home I enjoy and my own circumstances, however, there are many who would disagree based, and rightly so if you have different expectation. The bits which we loved, were the location, total seclusion if you don’t count the odd cow walking past your window, and not far from historic Kilmartin, with other places like Oban, and the Isle of Jura within easy travel distances. The Drive to Oban was stunning, and a highlight for us. The Barn itself has everything you could require, fully fitted kitchen, all necessary pots, pans, utensils. Comfy (if a little well used) seating etc. Some watchable channels on the very small TV (with such a large room, the TV is lost), DVD player, music centre etc. Comfy bed (again this is subjective), but we did find it a tad on the small side (small double?). The outdoor space is good, plenty of space for the dogs to run around safely as the whole area is enclosed. Our dogs preferred to spend all their time outside the barn and mostly only came in at nighttime, even though the doors where all open. Some bits that we found a challenge. The internal beams had been sealed some time prior to arrival, and as others have mentioned in previous reviews, this left a very accrid and unpleasant smell in the Barn. It was akin to creosote and left a burning sensation in the nostrils and throat. We tried all sorts, leaving all the doors open, using air fresheners, candles etc, but ultimately we could not address the problem an therefore we cut our stay at the barn short and left after a couple of days despite being booked in for the week. Again, this is purely personal choice, and it would be unfair to mark the property down on this point, I am sure there are many who it would not have affected, but I raise it as if you are sensitive to this sort of thing, as we were, you may want to double check with the Owner prior to booking. The other challenge was the size of the bed, it really did feel super small to us, which was a shame, especially as the bedroom area is huge and could easily accommodate a Super King and still have lots of space. I found myself sleeping on the pull down, just to give us extra sleeping space. Some points to prospective stayers If you are at all precious in anyway towards your car, do not try to drive up the farm track unless you have a AWD or at least something with good ground clearance. The Farm track is extremely muddy in parts, and rocky in others (were not talking stones here but Rocks!) Although the owner makes sure renters know its a farm track up to the property, I would go further and state it is NOT for normal vehicles. Yes you can drive up in a family saloon if you drive very, very slowly, but in my honest opinion, you are risking your tyres and or suspension with every journey even if you drive with great care. Be careful when opening the key safe. It has been sited in a location that if the key falls out when you open it, it will take some effort to retrieve it (as it did us on arrival). Don’t want to say much more than that as it would give the location away. Just be careful :-) Do ask the Owner to confirm location of bins. For the life of us we’re could not find the location referred to. We could only find glass recycling bins where it was stated. (Still don’t know where they are) There is no local shop in Kilmartin anymore, it closed quite some time ago, so If you need anything you will need to drive down to Lochgilphead, which is about a 30min round trip, not too bad, unless you get back and realise you forgot something, like I did :-) Although there are a few points here that would put people off, I would still rate it 5 stars, just for the good points, and as I said, our challenges, would not necessarily be challenges for others, so shouldn’t be dinged for those. It is however an honest review, and should allow people to make their own decision on wether our challenges would be theirs challenges and book accordingly.

Simply epic location. Super relaxing, views across to the paps of Jura and a cuckoo soundtrack. What more could you ask for?

Just stayed a week at Ballibrad, and really enjoyed the calm and the peace, beautiful views of the glen, and everything we needed. the interior was very clean and comfy, the kitchen more than adequate, could not fault this lovely little place, great value for money.

You do need 4 wheel drive and strong legs on the bike to get up and down to Ballibrad but the views and night sky are worth it. Could do with a refresh on the soft furnishings & some camping chairs but lovely spot and Kilmartin is fantastic place for cycling, wandering and monument spotting.

Beautiful barn conversion. Building is situated almost alone in its own valley, with the small town Kilmartin nearby. Spacious with huge windows giving you a beautiful view over the valley. Huge bath! Track was muddy but drivable with no issues. Log fire made the house really cosy in the evenings. Would definitely like to return in future.

Amazing house in amazing location, so peaceful and quiet. Just the holiday we were looking for, can't wait to return again in the future.

Une fois passée la difficulté d'accès par le chemin (nous somme passés avec une berline mais un véhicule 4*4 est quasi indispensable et nous aurait fortement rassurés), Ballibrad est un endroit exceptionnel! La grange a été renovée avec un goût exquis et la vue de la baie vitrée est absolument splendide et reposante. Lindsey est une personne très attentive et nous avons bien communiqué avant notre arrivée. A noter l'absence de wifi et de réseau téléphonique dans la maison (c'était notre cas, mais peut-être est-ce différent pour d'autres opérateurs...). Nous avons passé un excellent séjour en famille à Ballibrad et avons pu découvert une très belle région!

Balibrad, if you want privacy, this is the place. If you want peace and quiet, this is the place. However don't expect too much from it. First thing we noticed on arrival is the very strong smell of creosote/tar, which they paint on the rafters. You do get used to it but it can be quite strong when sleeping as you are among the rafters, watch your head if you are over 5 foot. The problem though is that it permeates everywhere, when we got back we had to wash everything, even clothes we never wore because the stink of the creosote/tar came from them. We had quite warm weather when we were there so never had to light the fire which is the only method of heating. Cooking facilities and utensils are adequate, no microwave but that could be a good thing, a good washing machine. Washing facilities are very good, nice big bath and a good shower all served by a water heating gas boiler. Huge windows are very good for views but also pretty dirty with small hand prints all over from previous children. Take a night mask with you as there are no blinds or curtains and the sun streams in at 5.00am in Scotland. Seating is quite good but they really should throw out the bean bag, its a waste of space. Being used to a 60inch TV means the one in ballibrad seemed tiny. The satellite TV is a hit or miss dependant on weather, plenty of DVD's though. The door locks were very tricky to lock and unlock, we resorted to using a fork through the key handle of the front door to lock and unlock it. The rear door is as bad when locking you have to push the door handle up as you turn the key, which will eventually result in a broken handle. Cleanliness was not great, sheets, bedding, towels were clean, but my wife point blank refused to use one of the pots and the wooden utensils, a lot of dust and dead flies around the windows. I lifted the carpet on the last day to clean underneath and it was thick with sand, obviously it had not been lifted for some time. As mentioned earlier all windows could do with cleaning inside and out. I was also disappointed at the length of the grass around the house, also there is a wall at the back of the house with a seat in the wall which is unusable because of overgrown trees above it. The garden would also benefit from a table with seating. A lot of people mentioned the driveway, we were well informed it was rough and I was not taken aback by the access. My only criticism would be walking up and down the driveway, there is a particularly wet patch which can be seen from the house which could do with some method of walking around. I tried adding some stones for stepping on as others have obviously done. A few wooden pallets down the side of the path would make a fine walkway past the wet part. All in all we were quite happy with Balibrad, perhaps myself happier than my wife. Unfortunately we had a major breakdown with our car just when the rain started. The timing belt snapped and we were acutely aware of the drawbacks of not having a phone signal, we are on EE and had to walk to Kilmartin to get a signal, which was a pain in the heavy rain. Would we go back, maybe, if they took on board my points and sorted them out.

Beautiful setting, incredibly peaceful. Undisturbed property. Interior very comfortable, nice bed. Good facilities, well equipped. Definitely need 4 by 4 to get up the road. We didn't manage to drive up to barn but enjoyed the walk up and down to Kilmartin each day. I'll bring sieve and scissors next time as we'll be booking up again for next year! I'd highly recommend this property for those after stunning views and setting in wonderful part of Scotland