The Rowan Tree Country Hotel

We arrived for the last night before their Xmas break. The young man who checked us in was not as pleasant as you normally find within hotel hospitality. He told us where the room was but there was no offer to escort us. We found our budget room ... maybe non budget room guests got a better welcome? The door to room 3 was in a bit of an alcove and it was unlit. We had to use mobile torch to find the key hole. The room was smaller, as we expected, but the bed was a genuine double, so if you require a larger bed, please check. It was 2 degrees outside so we turned the radiator up. The window was high up so you had to stand to see out. We then went out for a prearranged dinner elsewhere. On return, the room was cold. It looks like it was on a programmer as it came back on later. However, the room was never that warm. By now it was snowing outside. There were 2 steps up to get to the ensure loo which was a bit dangerous during the night. Next morning, ecenjoyed a hot shower and fluffy towels. We went down to the breakfast area. The same young man was carrying fuel to the fire. He never said morning etc. We said hello to him. We stood like spare parts by the wait to be seated sign but he showed no sign of coming to us so we sat ourselves down at a set table. He then came over to us and was quite abrupt asking if we wanted tea or coffee. We had both. On his return, he asked what we wanted off the menu that was on the table. We asked for 2 cooked breakfasts. He never offered fruit juice or any other starter. He never asked if we wanted toast ..... so we never got any. If you want these, you must have to ask? I'd say, due to this, if was the worst hotel breakfast that we have experienced and we are both 60. After this, there was nobody around to ask if all was okay so we collected our belongings and checked out. The lady doing so was okay. The Xmas decor was nice.

My fourth visit to this small, family run hotel. As ever our stay was very comfortable, the food and drinks were delicious and the staff were friendly and attentive. The hotel is conveniently located outside Aviemore and accessible from the A9.

We live up the road in Inverness but for the second January in a row we stayed three nights in the Rowan Tree. For us the excellent food, location and warmth provide an ideal base for heading out to the many spots in and around the Cairngorms which are fantastic at this time of year.