Hilton Grand Vacations Club Craigendarroch Suites Scotland

A lovely hotel with fantastic amenities. Rooms are clean, cosy and modern. Pool and spa area are welcoming and relaxing. The lounge bar is a great place for a few drinks at the end of a long day.

We booked this three night stay believing it was close to the glenshee ski centre, a mistake I’m sure was mine, however the suite was stunning, nice Lesure centre and pool ,we found the bar and restaurant a bit limited but ventured in to town and found pubs and an Indian restaurant, in all a lovely quiet place to relax.

The location is good nestling alongside the walkable Craigendarroch hill, and just a mile or so from the lovely little town, Ballater. The resort is attractively set out and the main building with the suites and facilities is very good. Reception staff are very friendly and helpful and our suite was fantastic. Brasserie is nice and food generally very good. Nice lounge bar also. Overall it’s a great place and we’ll be back when we are able.

My suite was luxurious, the pool was a very good temperature, the locker room was secure, and the food was outstanding as was the service of the front desk, F&B, and the pool area! My next time to Craigendarroch Suites Scotland cannot be too soon.

Whilst staying at a house on Balmoral we thought we would pay for the family to use the pool for the week. The pool and cafe was lovely. Restaurant staff were helpful. However the pool reception staff were awful. Obviously require front of house training. Not one smile on any of there face when approached for information or help. On one occasion the girl was extremely rude. Sorry but will not be back until you train your staff on how to help and speak to people

As a loyal Diamond member of Hilton Honors programme it pains me to write my one and only negative review of a Hilton experience. Our weekend visit was totally overshadowed by the fact that we could not check-in until 16.00 pm and we’re kicked out at 10.00 am on the day of departure. This ate in to our time on the Friday and Sunday significantly. Excuse given by the receptionist included “…we’re not a hotel”. Also, no cooked breakfasts were available. None of this was mentioned when booking via the Hilton app. Strangely, I never received a request to provide a review of my stay directly from them on this occasion!!

Really good stay but could have been better. Hotel was excellent and really well decorated for Christmas. Lobby was well presented and staff were welcoming. Doors into main entrance and heavy to open as we had a pram and a young child as well as bags. Wouldn’t be easily accessible by wheelchair but does have a ramp. We were given room 9 on the first floor which is accessed via a lift and then 3 separate flights of stairs. Having seen we had a baby, pram, bags and a 2 year old we were given this room. We couldn’t get the pram through the door without unfolding it so it was really really unhelpful to be given this room and the staff should clearly have known this. We changed rooms and had to move everything to the 3rd floor which was a nicer room and more accessible. The room was nice and well laid out and decorated to a high standard. We were in room 32 and I would stay here again. The hotel doesn’t serve breakfast. We had dinner in the bar and the food was of a pretty poor standard but we were hungry. I asked to have food from the restaurant menu served in the bar as we had kids as did our friends but was told it wasn’t possible. The bar service was poor and we cleared our own table a couple of times. No beer on draught due to an issue that would take a week to resolve I was told. The hotel was nice enough but the staff really need up the game.

The suites are quite wonderful for furnishings and comfort and the surrounding countryside. Check-in was a little slow, there were 2 staff on duty with 4-5 other parties waiting in a queue to check-in. I had a 1 bedroom suite with a "mini kitchen" and was disappointed to hear that the kitchen had no cooking equipment save for a microwave. Having bought fresh meat and produce with us, it was not a great way to start. I had (what I would call) a partial kitchen (microwave, fridge, kettle, toaster and sink) so do be careful when booking to make sure your kitchen layout matches your expectation. The staff loaned me a slow cooker so made soup from high quality beef and chicken (not ideal but at least not wasted). The Country Club looked very new and quite good facilities and a large pool but we were there for the walking and outdoors so did not make use of it. The bar was quite pleasant and very spacious however when people ordered the fish and chips, you knew about it! The fish odour was not pleasant so we visited once only. We were also disturbed one evening by 2 false fire alarms and had to stand outside while the Fire Brigade conducted their inspection. I was then told that this was not unusual so I hope they sort out their fire alarm system soon. An enjoyable stay but fair to say it was not quite what I had hoped for.

A warm welcome, great location, amazing suite and amenities with very helpful staff. A credit to the Hilton brand. The Craigendarroch is set on the outskirts of Ballter and close to Balmoral and all local amenities. Perfect base for exploring the Cairngorms