MacDonald Highland Hotel

In January 2022 I contacted the McDonald highlands hotel to enquire about a special offer we had seen for dinner bed and breakfast on their website. And also to ask exactly what the accessible room was like. Having been caught out in the past when booking hotels . We now always check to find out exactly what they mean by accessible. I explained that I would prefer a wet room bathroom with shower seat and grab rails , plus the bedroom should have room for me to get about in my wheel chair as well as access the bathroom in it. Or I could manage with a shower cubicle as long as this had a shower seat, grab rails and plenty of room for my husband to help me. As we were looking to stay on a dinner, bed and breakfast break I also explained about my allergies caused by the medication I take for my condition, and would the restaurant be able to cater for my needs as well. I was told that the information I provided about my allergies could be accommodated and this would be past onto the restaurant manager and chef. They also said they had a suitable bedroom as well. So we went ahead and booked a four night stay. About a week before we were due to go and stay, I contacted the hotel again to find out the height of the bed as these days so many beds are too high for me. And I need my wooden step stool of about 2-3 inches tall to stand on to make getting into bed easier and also to check if the toilet was a raised one. I ended up having to email the hotel as each time I phoned I got the same answer housekeeping were too busy dealing with check outs to answer questions and someone would phone back . Which surprise surprise they didn’t. Eventually they emailed back saying the accessible bedroom I had been allocated had a shower over a bath but was wheelchair accessible. Not much use for those people like myself with limited mobility. I explained what we had been told back in January , they said we could change to the family hotel on the complex but that would only be bed and breakfast, I pointed out that we had paid for dinner bed and breakfast , the answer was well that’s a problem . That offer is only available at the highlands hotel. We ended up having to get a bath board which I had used while at my daughters to take with us . Not ideal at all. But we did manage. At least the bedroom was on the ground floor and blue badge parking was near to the entrance for the bedrooms . Reception was over the road for the hotel. The entrance to both reception and the part where the bedrooms were had a slop meaning access was easy but you had to juggle holding doors open while trying to push the wheelchair. The bar was over by reception so you had to go outside under the arch to access this . Again up a slop but not easy to hold open the doors and push a wheelchair. Our room wasn’t far from the lift so getting to the restaurant for breakfast wasn’t too bad. But you did have to negotiate corridors and doors again not easy while pushing a wheelchair. They did have a large metal ramp to go from one corridor to the next as this was up stairs to get to the corridor that lead to the restaurant. Once by the restaurant entrance they had a small lift to take you up as again there were stairs to the restaurant. There was enough room to get around the restaurant with the wheelchair. Some tables were easier to access than others but we managed. For a 4* hotel it really isn’t very good for disabled guests. Would have to think very carefully before staying here again.

We were staying at the McDonald highlands hotel in aviemore for four nights on a dinner bed and breakfast offer. On our first night the only time available to eat in the restaurant was 5.30pm , as I have to eat fairly quickly after taking my medication at 6pm. We thought this would be ok. After negotiating long corridors, lifts from our room. We eventually arrived at the restaurant there is a small lift that takes you up to the restaurant. We were offered a table in a dark corner which we turned down as we felt we were being put out of the way as I’m in a wheelchair. We asked for a table we had seen by a window with nice view over the hills and easy for the wheelchair. The waiter said oh I suppose that ones ok for you to have .i will check with another member of staff. Once settled at our table they brought us the menu which I have to say is very limited and was the same every night of our stay. Very little choice if you were vegan or vegetarian. In fact on the Friday night they ran out of both dishes that would have suited these people. We explained to the waitress about my allergies she in turn got the restaurant manager. Who said to us there’s no point turning up and expecting something different because of your allergies . We need notice . My husband explained that we had informed them back in January when making the booking and again the week before our stay. We had been told they would pass on the information to the chef and restaurant. Which clearly they hadn’t. I ended up having a burger for dinner thinking that’s on the children’s menu so would be ok. How wrong I was I had a really nasty reaction after only eating two mouthfuls. Difficult to know if it was the spices or bone marrow in the burger both of which I have to avoid they hadn’t told me it had these things in or the relish that came on top of the burger, or the tomato sauce that was served with it, this was bright orange/red colour and very runny. I did notice other nights that people were bringing in bottles of Heinz tomato sauce. I ended up just being able to eat a few fries and had a chocolate ganache dessert. We spoke to the manager before leaving the restaurant that night my husband asked would it be possible to do a grilled piece of chicken for Saturday night along with veg, gravy and mash . He said he would see what he could do and would I have that every night . To which my husband said no my wife doesn’t want to eat the same meal for three nights, can you not do her a bit of the slow cooked beef shin in gravy instead of spicy sauce with veg and mash, he said he would have to see if that was possible. Its not as if we were asking them to buy in different foods they had both chicken and beef on the menu ,just wanted it without the spices and sauce etc. .saturday night I had grilled chicken with a small portion of veg but no mash they had forgotten that my husband asked where it was and the reply from the waiter was you actually want that. Sunday I had the beef shin which was very dry as they hadn’t cooked it in any gravy. Monday night we decided to treat ourselves to a steak, we waited ages for the meal in fact the waiter came and asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu . My husband said we are still waiting for our main meals . He replied oh well it will be along soon , then the manager turned up at the table, he said I will see what’s happening. Turns out they forgot to cook the meal, they then brought my husband the wrong steak he had ordered rib eye and ended up with a sirloin . The waiter brought us the wrong drinks as well. For a four star hotel we were rather disappointed to say the least . Every night there was a problem . Staff had no idea what to do or how a restaurant ran. We weren’t the only ones who had problems other guests were getting main meals before starters had arrived, meals not cooked correctly cold and still a bit frozen in the middle, meals cobbled together as they didn’t have all the items on the menu. It really was hit and miss as to whether you got what you ordered. We did ask the hotel manager if we could use our meal allowance on sandwiches at lunch time given all the problems in the restaurant. We were told we could that as a last resort. Our whole experience at the hotel wasn’t great please see my report on the hotel stay.

lovely pool with good access & facilities. great for a family swim, flumes & a wave machine. Not so good for lane swimming especially during busy times. waves can be quite high so if you are a weak swimmer. get into the side when you hear the siren! on the plus side, the steam room & sauna are both big enough to accommodate the shower chair. the changing area is very posh :-)