Macdonald Aviemore Resort Reviews

Excellent soft-play facility. Perfect place for our toddler on a very dreich day

Pleasantly surprised amidst these strange times, staff worked so well to make all the new restrictions work.

Nice house, rooms appealing and big enough. Service good. Dinner and breakfast good. However, there was dinner in a fairly large hall; is then quite loud. Breakfast in the main house. Large complex - with conference rooms shop. WiFi is free. The resort has several houses, including small guesthouses. The bar was closed at 22:00 o'clock - then you had to diagonally opposite in one of the other houses.

Wasn't staying at the Mcdonald, we were staying in our lodge at Coylumbridge Highland Lodges for a week and as is usual, we decided to take a trip to the Mcdonald Speyside Shopping within the complex of hotels and leisure facilities belonging to Mcdonald Hotels. The shop is one large multi brand experience. They stock Barbour, Joules, Sheila Fleet to name a few. There is also a coffee shop. When we visited in January, we were the shop was in the last throws of the seasonal sale so plenty of bargains to be had. In fairness, you could probably buy eveything on Aviemore's main shopping thoroughfare a good bit cheaper, but so that's what we did. The shopping T the Mcdonald Hotel is well laid out and there is plenty of space. Plenty of parking places a lot of disabled spaces too.

Large property, well laid out, excellent facilities.

I'm not very impressed with the hotel. There are a few different buildings and the one we stayed at was not very nice to look at. Definitely not Mcdonald quality. The room was ok, the double bed was comfortable but the sofa beds were very uncomfortable. My son had a really bad sleep and his back hurt in the morning.

The pool area didn't feel very clean and the jacuzzi and sauna were not working. I wouldnt stay at this resort again.

Staff were great food was good and there was a good choice from the number of eating places in the complex.

The rooms are superb: large in size, well soundproofed. The bathroom is huge. The breakfast upgrade required us to move to another building but it was a very good buffet. The only downsides are the enormous site and the exterior appearance of the hotels.

Bad food and bad cleaning, old style furniture. There was no air conditioning in the room we took at building 4

They have an Italian restaurant that has nothing Italian about it

Let me start by saying some of the staff were just lovely and were clearly trying very hard in what are difficult circumstances for us all. However, we didn t really enjoy the stay. The food in Aspects was poor. Breakfast in particular was cold and basic. We were half board yet only ended up having a couple of meals on site. The bed was awful so we didn t sleep very well and there was a strong smell of damp in the stairwell. Sorry guys, all the best, but not the hotel for me.

Nice hotel. Stayed many times. Always appears quiet and off season. Maybe I'm lucky. I think the most confusing thing is there's about 4-5 residences ran by MacDonald's in aviemore and think they need much more distinct names, Alpha, Delta etc. Or even pair the resistances with the food on site, so burger, pizza, restaurant, steakhouse etc.

Hidden gem! Well worth a visit. I'll be back! Restaurant served great food, and as a resort there's plenty to do there including a cinema

The fact that you've got to go from one building across to another building is a lame dumbassed idea..
Rain hail or snow you gotta walk it..
Yet they serve breakfast in the building you sleep in ????

Stayed in cottage which was great but because of covid19 restrictions, everything had to b booked in advance, including swimming sessions. Would recommend the freedom of staying in woodland cottage which was very comfortable.

This Resort and country club is a joke. The lodges are terraced rundown dirty houses. We could not of been more disappointed when we arrived, management are not interested in our frustration as I think we were one of many! The lodges are not cheap and the website is frankly false advertising. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY, you will only live to regret it. It is an embarrassment for the Scottish tourist industry, never again!!!

Not the best McDonald hotel I have stayed in. Decor not great, food leaves a lot to be desired. Wouldn't recommend.

Nice clean shop would like to see more house in the cafe. Costa doesn't really fit with the nice shop set up

Great complex with something for all the family to relax and enjoy

Our stay here started and ended badly. It isn't even worth writing all the reasons why. The hotel would no doubt respond twisting my review to their benefit. To summarise, very dated hotel bedrooms, rude staff, terrible food, not entirely baby friendly. Would not recommend staying here to anyone.

Wow stayed in a suit, room was fantastic. The staff was so friendly and helpful. Dinner was delicious although they had run out of creme brulee (which is my all time favourite dessert) but hey what can you do, no one's fault. While here we took advantage of the swimming pool which was good although the jacuzzi was not working (might have been getting detailed cleaned as it was the end of summer). As we were staying the suit we opted for breakfast in bed which was amazing (Probably never get the chance to live like a laird again so why not). We both got massages the next day in the in house spa which just finished off this perfect stay. This was are 2nd anniversary gift to each other and we both loved are stay. Big thank you to all the staff.

Lovely location but over-priced and fairly standard services.

Great place for families. Lots to do for grownups too, indoors and outdoors. They have an Activity centre with a huge softplay, multiple rooms with toys and even a sensory room for babies, a small pool that gets crowded as soon as there are a few extra guests. If you get in soon enough, it's good. The gym is rather spartan, very small.
Outdoors you have a big hill with sleds, archery targets, zorballs, a big playground, nice walks, runs, etc.

Food is good, although the selection is quite limited. The Aspects restaurant is nice and cosy, the breakfast buffet food is good, the dinner menu has a decent selection of traditional recipes, nothing breath taking, though. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. The Italian joint has a very limited selection and the pizzas are not overly Italian. Ate there the first night, never went back.

A BIG dissapointment, the Costa cafes. First of all, Costa coffee is bad on it's own, and if you add an automatic touch screen machine that makes it for you, then you go down to a local fuel station quality of coffee. The breakfast coffee in the restaurant is nice enough, but having good quality coffee in the activity centre would make waiting for the little ones all the more enjoyable.

The rooms are basic, have all you need, it was nice and quiet.

All in all, the overal experience was good. We will come back when the kids are bigger.

Was very impressed with the restaurant in the Highlands hotel in the Macdonald's resort in Aviemore. The staff are knowledgeable about the food and beverages, nice place for a special meal. Excellent steaks and fish, with a good selection of wine and whisky.

Excellent place to visit. Great coffee and super shopping. They often have unusual gifts and homes are. Highly recommend a visit if in Aviemore.

We had a great stay here. We had a disappointing amount of snow when we visited the Cairngorms but staying here made up for it. We were upgraded without asking to be. The staff were so helpful and polite. Any errors at the restaurants (and there were only a couple) were happily rectified by staff. The outside of the building looks tired but the room was impeccable. Plenty of space for a family of four. The swimming pool was also very clean and wasn't overcrowded despite it being half term. I'd definitely recommend this place.

Stayed in the lodges for my mum's 60th and had a great time, much better value than other equivalents. Fantastic facilities on the resort for kids and adults.

The Giovanni's restaurant, good well cooked food, but big mistake for them, I ordered Languistei Pasta, but got Shrimps instead, when questioned, they said that's how they always serve that meal, not correct. For the price paid they should serve Languistei. Excuse the spelling.

Food was delicious, however service was poor/average. Breakfast time was a buffet and they were always running out of food. A "full breakfast" was a rarity! At dinner time drinks service was very poor, considering the package we were on, we mostly only paid for our drinks..!! waiters worked hard but not enough staff. Also one night at dinner our kids had eat both courses and we waited over a hour before we got our first... and fair enough after I complained we had extremely good and fast service. The kids enjoyed the sledging and playground outside, never had time for the bikes however looked pretty well organised unfortunately the activity centre was closed so was still a ton of stuff that could be done in future. As for the rooms pretty much ok...need some extra plugs/ubs sockets and could do with a small fridge especially if you are staying a few days. Rooms also need freshened up however that wasn't an issue for us. Also the bar in the Aviemore hotel badly needs a revamp. Was very unappealing as was the depressing music being played. The bars at the other hotels looked a lot better. Most staff were excellent...one or 2 were a bit stressed out and at times came across as rude. Check in was extremely busy and we arrived over an hour later than the advertised check in time. Check out time was far less stressful!!!

All supercharger spaces filled with ICE s. Therefore: bad hotel for Tesla-owners.

Excellent lodge. Well kept and furnished. 5 min walk from train station. Beautiful, quiet area and a great base for activities in Cairngorms.

Starting to look a bit run down and the interior is too dark

Staff were wonderful and very impressed by the restaurant

Had a fantastic meal here the other day, can not praise the staff enough for accommodating a last minute booking for 20. The food was excellent reasonably priced and the staff were helpful and friendly.

Nice location, selection of quality and price of rooms to choose from

We were told this place was updated, and it was not. At the hotel restaurant, it took over an hour just to get our salads to start dinner
Also the burger restaurant that was there, was also closed for both of the days we were there.

We only went to the cafe there. Very pricey, but had great scones.

Rooms were nice and comfortable. Activity center and local area easily accessed and lots to do. Breakfast at the hotel didn't look great but was actually surprisingly tasty! Staff all very helpful.

have been there a few times shopplng very nice, and also a couple of very good resteraunts.

Excellent location and the customer service was great

Beautiful resort, very close to town centre within a short walk. The resort has excellent facilities swimming, soft play, restaurants and shops. Staff were all very accommodating and the resort is very clean throughout. I would recommend a stay here.

Excellent shopping facility and a great restaurant. Cinema as well.

From the outside the buildings look dated and some receptions look a bit bland but the inside of the rooms are fantastic. The amenities are kept in good quality and the grounds are quite relaxing to walk around.

Nice location. Hotels exterior would not win any architectural prizes. Rooms nice but do not live up to the high price. Would come back if we were to find a deal.

Beautiful location. Comfortable accommodation. Superb service

is a hotel complex in the upper part of Scotland is very well and well located for all types of mountain activities

It s ok here. The big chain money has taken over and now local business seems to have suffered as a result. Is this the end of small business owners in Aviemore? Not the local treatment you would get with a family run place in such a small community.

Booked for a family break in October holidays with dinner and breakfast included, met with friends and their kids, who were also staying,very disappointed to say the least , did hear and read poor reviews prior to coming regarding Italian restaurant etc , thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt , very low standard of food at the Italian , many people complaining also while we were dining , very bland and certainly not up to the standard as you would expect from Italian restaurants , second night tried the Aspect restaurant , which was to a far higher standard that you would expect from a la carte, could not fault it, not much choice for kids buffet though , accommodation was ok , a bit tight on space for kids in bunk room , walls could do with a lick of paint but reasonably clean , nothing going on at all in bars as regards entertainment , hardly anybody in them , even though as far as I could see that complex was reasonably busy as plenty of people at breakfast time , unless you went into Aviemore itself you would end up being in your room after dinner, had high expectations, however bitterly disappointed , big complex nothing going on , certainly won t be hurrying back soon .

Have been to the resort 4 times, which have been great, however last night 12 Oct in the aspects restaurant the food was fine however front of house was shocking, no organisation at all to the rear of the restaurant. Head matriarch at rear More

Lovely hotel and facilities and right in the centre of Aviemore so perfect location

Rooms are very nice. Restaurants not really prepared for large groups though.

Lovely location felt like a 5star hotel, very clean, superb breakfast, will go back one day, would recommend

Did you just sack a Spanish worker and kicked them out of accommodation on the spot? Shame on you. Just heard on radio 4!

Too expensive for the size of the rooms but helpful staff everywhere

I'm am putting 0 stars because it is the worse experience I have ever had in my life I had teenagers pissing on my window to my accomadation and could hear Nazi slang words being used irresponsible and was disgusted with the outcome of the food and service I received within this resort I wouldn't spend a penny here in the future this resort is the worst thing ever created I would rather spend my weekend in a homeless shelter with someone who hasn't washed within a month would not recommended to anyone who actually has common sense disgusted and disrespectful to tourist and the community never again

Fantastic place especially If you love nature! We seen several wild animals and birds passing by as we Sat at our breakfast table. Restaurant also lovely.

A bit disappointed given that it's a McDonald hotel and at the start of tourist season

Good facilities and cinema is fantastic. Really recommend using if local or visiting. Susprisgly great value and impressive cinema.

We stayed in the lodges and they are beautiful couldn't have wish for any better

The first night they gave us a plate of salad which consisted of 2 slices of tomato and a piece of mozarella, if they call that dinner ...

The second night more of the same, only you can see that there were many customers and they did not have enough bread and they had to break it in half.

You literally have time to digest between courses, they have almost 3 hours sitting down to serve you.

With the money you pay for one night there they have to feed one person for a month, very unfortunate.

Service is poor, communication leaves a lot to be desired!!!

Stayed in a lodge again but all of us VERY disappointed!!! Interior was old and dated lots of little things broken or damaged. Was school holidays but the swimming pool only had chutes & waves on between 12 - 3 + the cafe is now closed all week!!!! Only opens at weekends, big let down. Won't be back!

I have nothing to say. Staff, unacceptable. I'm sorry :( The environment, nature, however, is excellent.