Very dated an in need of freshening up. Smelt like the property had been closed for some time.

Very good break at Aviemore , nice swimming pool

I arrived the booked hotel, but there were empty. I have been waiting one hour outside the hotel during cold weather. There is no direct contact to the hotel from hotel.com Finally I found their contact # from their website. They moved my booking to another hotel, Macdonald Highlands Hotel, without any notice to me. They told me because I booked the hotel from 3rd party (Hotels.com) so they can’t contact me. I think it is non sense. I can’t pay £25 for the dinner package, I have to pay the normal price from their menu (because I moved another hotel so I have to changed my plan for dinner).

I think I expected too much from this hotel going by the pictures and the experience I’ve had at other MacDonald hotels I expected a comfortable stay. The hotel was in need of a refurbishment especially the bathroom area. I found the surround of the bath had not been cleaned and found a dead spider on the window sill. I know these are little things but we stayed at this hotel as they offered a Christmas experience so expected my children to stay in a clean bedroom. The hotel room was very cold it was -9 outside I turned the heater to the maximum but it still was only mildly warm to touch. After a couple of visits to reception the agreed to bring up a heater which made a massive difference. Breakfast was okay again my expectations were high especially since it was advertised as a family friendly Christmas weekend break there was hardly anything child friendly for breakfast apart from cereal. I won’t be returning to this hotel I don’t think it represents the MacDonald brand well.

Room was perfectly fine. Clean and bed was comfortable. Hotel itself looked a little tired..

No stars to Hotels.com who send the wrong information about which MacDonald Hotel we were staying in. I was sent details for a hotel which is currently closed at the MacDonald resort. The resort has three hotels, one of which is currently closed for renovation and we wasted some time looking for the correct hotel. The actual hotel, the MacDonald Highlander was very comfortable though in need of some updating. Very tasty buffet breakfast.

Very tired and run down, the hotel looks awful from the outside and isn't much better inside as soon as you walk in the place smells damp and musty, the bar and restaurant are drab, the stairwells and corridors desperately need freshened up as do the carpets and bathrooms in the room. We had a room right next to the stairwell and were constantly woken up through the night by the doors banging. So glad we only had to stay one night definitely won't be back.

We had planned this as a family summer break. Having visited several times before we knew what to expect. However we were unaware the hotel had changed the family ‘dinner bread and breakfast’ deal to seclude main meals for children. Quite bizarre and not something we were clearly aware of from booking info. Food was ok. Breakfast is as expected with a good choice. The main meals menu however is been stripped back and items have jumped in price meaning the adult allocation of £25 per adult per main meal didn’t stretch far and so it was impossible to even get 2 courses. These changes have meant the hotel is no longer competitive in terms of the other options we consider when booking. The hotel is a good family venue. It’s in a great location and has great amenities both within the hotel complex and in the local area. The pool is always a winner with our kids as they love the slide and the wave machine. The rooms are ok. We’ve never had cause to complain however on this occasion we were directly above back reception in the Aviemore Hotel and sadly this meant we were constantly awakened every time someone slammed a door beneath our room - which was constantly throughout the night. Wherever this door is and whoever needs to use it that often needs to consider the sleeping families above. We did mention this to reception staff but it was laughed off so I doubt it will be resolved. All in all a rather disappointing stay that means we likely will not return.

We were given a disabled access room without asking. When we arrived in room there was a overpowering smell of perfume. after a few hours we noticed the shower leaked into the main room and there was a terrible smell of damp and mould. This made my pregnant wife fell sick all night. The reception did nothing. Cooked breakfast was nice but fresh fruits had gone bad and also orange juice was off.

The Aviemore Hotel bar and Spey burgers restaurant were not open, part of the reason for us chosing this hotel and resort. It was disappointing as fussy kid eater. The other restaurant giivannis was nice and quick service with friendly staff.

Super position in Aviemore, very near the shops and restaurants. The hotel is looking dated now. Breakfast was good. The most annoying things were the heavy, banging hotel doors and the fact that my key card kept failing to work, necessitating many (longish) walks back to reception. The best thing about this hotel are the super helpful staff, particularly reception.

Although early in the season there was still a lot to do on site.

Terrible hotel with none of the amenities promised. Swimming pool, bar and restaurant all closed. I had booked a hotel with swimming pool for my 7 year old son who was very disappointed. Had to walk to sister hotel for dinner which was not what we wanted since I had a broken shoulder. Road sign said Retail Shops but nothing open and receptionist couldn't have cared less when I asked. Room was fine apart from getting 2 sets of towels for 3 people. Had dinner at Aspects restaurant but when I asked for Malt Vinegar for my Fish and Chips it apparently caused a problem as they told me they had none and no one had ever asked for it which cannot be true. This is the most traditional British meal you could order!. This info came from the Supervisor who lied and told me he was the Manager.

We were very happy with our stay here. It was clean, beds were comfortable and a great location next to Glencoe National Park. Our stay also gave us credit for dinner and breakfast, both of which were very good. The staff was friendly and very attentive. It is within walking distance to the downtown area. Very happy with this hotel.

Hotel Tired, Hotel food bar unavailable. Hotel tired. Security concerning , whilst in room someone used key card to enter room. Hotel staff replaced card but no follow up explanation or apology.

Nice hotel, good service, wifi non existant

Enjoyable stay, good size room for 3 of us & the dog. Friendly staff, very welcoming with the dog, easily accessible dog exercise area. Great pool, although busy, plenty room and facilities.

Good hotel nice staff would definitely return and stay there again.

Lovely stay

Nice hotel, good facilities. Kids loved the soft play and all the floats in the pool! Great park too. Very quick to get to anything in Aviemore. Would recommend making reservations for food in advance! La Taverna pizza in Aviremore was exceptional! The hotel is starting to look a little bit tired in some places and could do with a bit of maintenance,but I guess it is to be expected. Staff were all very friendly. Rooms could do with a mini fridge to store milk in for the kids bottles.

Due to a leak the property has a bad smell

Hotel needs a little bit of an upgrade. The bar is never open so you have to walk to another hotel on site to get a drink, nothing in hotel at all.

Great base for exploring Aviemore with lots to do on site. We had the dinner and breakfast included tariff and this was really good value.

Staff at this hotel couldnt do enough to help. The ease of booking restaurants for dinners was faultless. Staff in both restaurants were very helpful. Giovannis especially..

I’ve stayed here a few times in the past and this visit was very similar. The hotel itself is a bit run down but the room was okay (double with bunk beds). Ours was clean and did the job for the 3 days we were there. The staff were excellent, breakfast was good and plenty to go round. The pool was open with no restrictions and the wave machine kept the kids happy and we even managed a 10 minute sauna and 30 minutes in the gymn. With half board we booked dinner in the Italian as it had stuff the kids would eat. Overall expensive but an enjoyable time had by all.

Hotel is done for. Pool and kids play center not open till 1pm on the sunday. At £240 a night you would expect it to be open all day. Hotel just not worth the money.

Check in took 45 minutes. 1 receptionist and a long queue. Cant check in till 3. Got there at 10 to 4. No welcome sheet available from receptionist (none left) .so we didnt know times of anything. Couldnt get food till 8.30 as half the restaurants were closed. By the time we checked in the shopping centre and cinema were closed. Pool closed half an hour later. So took my son to use the facilities all closed and still had to wait 3 1/2 hours for food. Not only that, it was Saturday and everything bar the pool is closed on sunday so cant even use it the next day. Went for a drink in the bar where food was " available all day" turns out no food after 5pm. 2 flavours of crisps behind bar was all the embarrassed barman could offer. No pint glasses. When we did get food the cosy looking italian in the hotel advertising pics were actually not true. More like a staff canteen with some italian flags. Food was a 3 out of 5. A 2 if you take into account the price and portion size. 4 dishes we wanted weren't available but only told when our order was being taken not when we got our menu. £7.50 for a couple of scoops of ice cream, which tasted pretty cheap. The positives now . Staff friendly, room clean and breakfast was good. A resort it is not and far away from being one.

Great stay in Aviemore. The pool and softplay were great for my son and staff were excellent. Only downside which would have been handy knowing before booking DBB is that the Spey burger bar and restaurant in our block was closed. This meant the other restaurants needed booked before arrival for family friendly times.

The hotel was in poor condition, room doors were patched and holed, standing lamp fell apart. Spey Bar area toilets were filthy and toilet pans not properly bolted to the floor. What saved the place was the great waiting staff in Aspects on Tuesday night and at breakfast both mornings, really looked after us, particularly the kids.

Had a lovely family holiday, staff were fantastic across the board. Stayed in the Aviemore hotel and particularly impressed with the main housekeeper who helped us to our room. Food was brilliant and ate at both included restaurants each night. Would definitely recommend a trip and already planning our next stay. Pool was brilliant although a little chilly but didn't stop the kids from having great fun.

We stayed as a family on a bed and breakfast basis. the room was excellent as was was the comfort and cleanliness. Facilities for families are great with plenty to do and I would possibly come ack if it were not or the poor availability of food. There are simply not enough places to eat on site forcing people to go into town where it was even worse with everywhere booked. As we were on bed and breakfast we were told we could not book a meal on site as they were only reserved for those who had taken a meal deal on booking... Absolute bonkers you are still getting money from someone staying in your hotel!!!

We stayed as a family on a bed and breakfast basis. the room was excellent as was was the comfort and cleanliness. Facilities for families are great with plenty to do and I would possibly come ack if it were not or the poor availability of food. There are simply not enough places to eat on site forcing people to go into town where it was even worse with everywhere booked. As we were on bed and breakfast we were told we could not book a meal on site as they were only reserved for those who had taken a meal deal on booking... Absolute bonkers you are still getting money from someone staying in your hotel!!!