We stayed with a group on a visit to ski at Cairngorm mountain and from that point of view it's reasonably convenient for the slopes (which are about 20 mins away by bus/car in normal circumstances) and the town centre which is 5 minutes walk.

There is one reception which covers a number of hotel buildings which are spread out rather like a university campus. As there are no names on the buildings to identify them as far as I can see it can be a bit confusing to find your way around. Take careful note where your room is located!

My room was clean, warm, reasonably spacious and was equiped with expected comforts for this type of hotel - tea/coffee making facilities, TV, plenty of good towels, etc. The shower, which was over the bath, was a good power shower and there was always plenty of hot water.

Breakfast was a self-serve buffet with loads to choose from - plenty of healthy options - fresh fruits, porridge, etc and plenty of less healthy options like sausage, eggs, bacon, black pudding, potato scones, etc. The selection I had (less healthy on the whole) was very tasty. Dinner was served in the same restaurant and table service was the order of the day. Staff were all very pleasant and there was a good choice of meals on offer. The wine choice was good also, if a bit expensive. Food was very good.

There is a large bar/lounge in the lower level of this building where you can have pre and post dinner drinks. Comfortable place and reasonably busy during our stay. We still ventured into the town for a livlier pub atmosphere at night.

I didn't venture into the leisure centre, which my room overlooked so I cannot comment on these facilities other than to say that the pool looked quite large.

Prior to our visit there had been a large amount of rainfall in the area and the main road to Cairngorm mountain was closed due to flooding. The alternative route added quite a bit of time to getting to the slopes however this was probably exceptional. We managed some good skiing despite very high winds at the summit (very calm below) and a good walk from Aviemore to Boat of Garten (public bus for the return!).

Hotel is very good option in the area and good value in our experience.

Stayed at Highland Hotel- Shabby rooms, poor service in the restaurant, needs a good clean and facelift. I know star ratings are based on facilities but you expect a level of quality in a four-star hotel that this seriously fell short of. I've stayed in travel lodges of better quality and service.

Ate at Giovanni's Ristorante- small portions, average quality, terrible service (expect to be ignored because they over book for the number of staff on duty- from the maite d's own mouth!)

On the positive side, the pool was really good fun and breakfast was great.

Decided to eat there after visting the shop, four adults and two children. After discovering that there was no soup we decided to opt for sandwiches, what a dreadful idea! After waiting for ages whilst staff bustled around someone eventually asked us what we wanted and then went off to find the 'chef'. We told the chef what we wanted, just simple sanwiches, nothing complicated - a basic task, 3 tuna sandwiches, 1 ham, 1 egg mayo, 1 ham salad. The chef was less than interested and seemed to have the attitude that making sandwiches was beneath him, this certainly showed in the sandwiches we ended up with. The butter was not spread properly and in clumps due to it being too hard and cold to spread. The sandwich was literally two pieces of bread with either one peice of ham or a teaspoon of tuna/egg mayo. The salad was brown. Could have had better and more enjoyable, cheaper sandwiches from the local supermarket, we wish we did. These were the most expensive unedible boring sandwiches ever purchased.

We stayed in November for one night. The room we had was quite large but a little tired, I think a redecoration is needed as some of the paintwork was a little shabby. The room, ensuite and bed where all clean though so I wasn't too worried.
Breakfast was really lovely and they seemed to have everything imaginable on offer.
The situation of the hotel cannot be faulted, just up the road 5 minutes or so is the reindeer sanctuary. We really enjoyed this also you are with very close proximity to a beautiful loch and also the ski areas. However when we went there was only a little snow and the ski lifts where closed. So if you want to enjoy skiing don't go in November.
There is an amazing Curry house in Aviemore so you must try it! The only dissapointments we had where that we forgot our swimming gear so couldn't try out the pool but it did look very good and that we weren't there longer. We would go to this hotel again as it seems to be one of the largest in the area and also there are cute bunnies running around at night!!