Aviemore, Cairngorms · Hotel
A turreted Victorian hotel opposite Aviemore station, with live music, a bar and straightforward rooms in the middle of the Cairngorms.
The Cairngorm Hotel is the pink-harled Victorian building with the turret directly across from Aviemore railway station, and it has been putting up travellers since the 1900s. Its position is the strongest thing about it: trains from Inverness and Edinburgh stop outside, the Cairngorm ski road and Loch Morlich are ten to fifteen minutes by car, and the shops, outdoor gear stores and bus stops of Aviemore's main street are on the doorstep.
There are 32 bedrooms across singles, doubles, twins and family rooms, with a few four-poster rooms for anyone wanting something more romantic. The style is traditional and the rooms are honest rather than luxurious — comfortable beds, tea and coffee, en-suite bathrooms, and tartan in evidence. Front rooms can catch some noise from the bar and the street at weekends; ask for a room at the back if you are a light sleeper.
Downstairs there is a large public bar that puts on live folk and ceilidh music several nights a week and is popular with locals as well as guests, plus a lounge bar and a restaurant serving Scottish pub cooking — haggis, steak pie, salmon, venison. Breakfast is a proper cooked affair, useful before a day on the hill. There is a drying room, secure bike and ski storage and free parking.
It suits walkers, skiers, cyclists and families who want a well-placed, sociable base without paying resort prices, and anyone arriving by train. Those looking for quiet and modern spa facilities will be happier elsewhere in the valley.