Cairngorm Lodges — Hotel in Great Britain

From what I gather, the lodges appear to be run by individuals under the main company name of Cairngorm Lodges. They all look identical, but the internal runnings, cleanliness, utensils etc may differ.

We stayed in Red Squirrel Lodge, aptly named as we watched a red squirrel eat from the bird feeders just a meter from the dining table window. Red Squirrel Lodge is the farthest and most remote lodge. We felt completely secluded and spent each morning soaking up the sun rays and bird song.

The lodge is lovely, very clean and comfortable with everything you need to make a pleasant meal. It was very clean, and we arrived to a fully stocked stove, ready to light.

Like an Airbnb, you "self check in". We liaised with the owner, Kathleen, prior to arriving but felt that everything was in order thereafter so didn't require anything further. However I felt comfortable that Kathleen was just a phone call away should we have required her.

We stayed in early March, but had beautiful weather - glorious sun and temperatures between 8-14c. We ran the stove from around mid afternoon onwards each day, dampening around 11pm. The stove heats the water and the radiators (but there is an electric shower). It must be well insulated as each morning, we only needed an extra jumper over top our pyjamas to feel comfortable. In fact, being from an old cold house, we were positively toasty the whole weekend and I regretted not packing any T-shirts!

From the lodge, you can meander on some lovely walks. We enjoyed walks by the burn to the nearby Blelack house (linked to the Jacobean Rebellion - a history worth reading up on). Alternatively, you can enjoy many longer walks up Morven, or from Cambus O'May or Tarland only a short drive away (which we did).

I would highly recommend to couples and small families. I could see the cabin being a blissful escape at any time of year, regardless of...

Dave, myself and Bru (the wonder dog) have visited the Cairngorms Bothies before and wanted to return in the winter to enjoy the spectacular scenery under a blanket of snow. |This time we were lucky enough to get the Woodcutters Lodge, part of the Cairngorm Lodges just up the road from the bothies. |We were welcomed by the owner who had started the log stove, and given a brief tour of the cabin before being left to our own devices. |The cabin was instantly warm and cozy, the kitchen small but perfectly functional, the beds comfortable and warm, and an immaculate bathroom. |Three days of relaxing, warm, perfection. A beautiful forest walk, and short trip to the village of Logie Coldstone. All under a couple of inches of fresh snow. |Visually stunning, welcoming, relaxing - we had plans to go further afield but were more than happy to stay within walking distance and enjoy thoroughly the peace, quiet, wildlife and (at night) an infinite starfield. Utterly spectacular. Definitely will return to both the lodges and the bothies, with friends as it’s such a tonic for the body and soul. |There is skiing, hiking, wildlife, etc locally - if you want that but also equally good to stay put, enjoy the immediate surrounds with good food, wine and company. |Cannot recommend...

We had a lovely week at Red Squirrel Lodge at the start of July. Booking and payment was easy with Sarah responding quickly to queries. Sarah suggested Red Squirrel Lodge as it's the furthest into the forest and we had people in our party with a fear of dogs so we had concerns about this being such a dog friendly site but this proved not to be an issue during our week.

Our host Jean provided a warm friendly welcome. The lodge had everything we needed and was very comfortable.

The birds and wildlife on our doorstep (literally) was amazing with red squirrels, hedgehogs, deer, frogs, etc seen daily along with a whole host of birds from garden birds to normally shy woodland birds like jays and woodpeckers visiting for some of the bird food we put out multiple times every day!

The silence other than birdsong was lovely and we all had the best sleeps we've had in years. We'd a lovely time and hope to return sometime for another forest escape!

PS just to add I saw another review mentioning no phone signal... When I visited in July 2018 I can confirm that I had 4G on Vodafone no problem...but please don't go here to spend your time on...