The Cairngorm Hotel

The hotel opposite the station

Aviemore's railway station sits on Grampian Road and so does the hotel, directly across from it. That is the useful fact about staying here. You can come off a train and be in your room within a few minutes, and nothing about a stay depends on having a car. Bring one anyway and the parking in front of the hotel is free.

There are 32 en-suite bedrooms in four grades, and the difference between them is floor space and bed rather than what is in the room. Blackout curtains are standard, which counts for more than it sounds in a Highland June. The hotel has stayed independently owned, and that shows most in the bar, which is a village bar with a hotel attached.

The Cairn Lounge opens 11am to 11pm from Sunday to Thursday, and 10am to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Live music starts at 9pm on both weekend nights, the Sunday Spot runs 6pm to 8pm, and a quiz every Tuesday at 8.45pm costs £2 to enter, with the entry money going to local charities.

The restaurant serves breakfast from 7.30am until 10am, lunch from midday until 5pm, and dinner from 5pm. Alongside the main menu there is one for children, a Strictly Seniors menu served until 7pm, and set menus at two and three courses. Non residents can book a table or walk in.

Good to know

Features

Where it puts you

Grampian Road is Aviemore's main street, so what the village has is a walk rather than a drive, and the National Park is within reach without a hire car.

The hotel's own list of local days out leads with Cairngorm Mountain, then the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, the Strathspey Steam Railway, the Cairngorm Brewery, and Rothiemurchus, whose pinewoods hold Loch an Eilein and its island castle. When the cloud is down on the tops, Aviemore Escape Rooms is in the village.