A favourite family weekend in BelfastBelfast may not be the first destination on your list of potential family breaks but it’s well worth consideration. Despite a cold wet January weekend, our family had a fantastic time and one of our favourite ever family weekends away. Continue reading
Aviemore has a long-held reputation as a family-friendly destination. My own family used to visit regularly but it has been nearly thirty years since I last stayed at Coylumbridge Hotel. Returning with our own young kids brought back a flood of happy memories. (Though I was a little disappointed to discover that they no longer had one of those original table-top space invader games in the bar).
There’s just something special about Aviemore surrounded by snow-capped mountains that combines a wonderful feeling of getting away from it all while also providing ample facilities to keep the kids amused.
Coylumbridge Hotel lies just a mile or so outside Aviemore town centre and is absolutely ideal for families with young children. It has two pools, including a toddler pool, a huge soft play (plus games arcade), two mini golf courses, an outdoor play park and an adventure centre where they can provide you with skis and bikes plus mini-quads, trampolining, skating, all weather sledging and a climbing wall.
The hotel also offers a range of supervised evening activities for kids and there are four bar and dining areas where the staff are all incredibly relaxed about toddlers and young ones haring madly about. There is also a spa and a gym if mum or dad subsequently require some quiet time.
The Family Rooms (2+2) are ideal and are probably the best designed rooms for families we have seen in a hotel. There is a diagonal wall in your room creating a little enclosed bunk bed area for the kids with their own TV on the wall. The kids absolutely loved having their own ‘room’, while mum and dad appreciated it even more.
The main dining room, the Inverdrurie Restaurant, offers a family-friendly menu of local produce or a self-serve all-you-can-eat buffet with a selection of classic Italian dishes in the evenings and in the mornings, a Full Scottish breakfast. The evening buffet was actually pretty tasty and the famous Hilton breakfast is excellent. The kids particularly adored the DIY Mr Whippy-style ice cream maker and the waffle maker too.
If you are paying full board (DB&B) you can put your dining allowance towards a meal in the Bistro and pay the difference, if you fancy a sirloin steak and chips, say. Our burgers and chips in the Bistro were superb so we’d probably recommend eating here. Do book ahead though as it’s much smaller than the main dining room.
The Soft Play centre has an American Diner for hot dogs etc. but this closes before six. There is also a sports bar over at the activity centre, the Woodshed Bar, where children aren’t allowed after 8pm.
As the evening activity session didn’t accept under-fives, we sat in the main foyer lounge bar with a pint and all the other parents, while the little kids ganged together,which was really nice. Once the over-fives returned everyone migrated over to the conference room where there was a kids disco one night and a DJ the following night. Our younger child loved the discos and playing in the hotel public areas whilst the older one enjoyed making new friends at the organised evening kids club at the soft play.
Obviously, in winter there is skiing and snowboarding (with a range of available lessons) but the nearby Cairngorm chairlift is well worth a visit in summer time too. The views are breath taking, the kids enjoy the ride and there’s a decent hot choc or Latte waiting at the top.
We also visited the Landmark Forest Adventure Park which is a giant woodland playground. There’s a pleasant treetop walk plus rides such as mini-roller coasters and plenty of slides and climbing frames etc. (It’s probably not a wet-weather day out however).
The nearby Rothiemurchus estate has plenty of action-packed outdoor activities available, including archery, canoeing, fishing, mountain biking and pony trekking. Loch Morlich and Loch Insh have lots of watersports such as sailing and kayaking. Loch Morlich especially, with its long sandy beach is a delightful place just to hang out, picnic and splash about – particularly if you have dogs.
In previous visits to Avie
more we’ve also enjoyed the Strathspey Steam Railway (Santa Express & Teddybear Weekend) and the Cairngorm Deer Centre, both of which we’d recommend. The Highland Wildlife Park, an offshoot of Edinburgh Zoo and new home of Edinburgh’s famous Polar Bear is less than 10 minutes away. There be wolves here too…
Aviemore makes a great weekend away as there really is just so much to see and do in the area. Even Coylumbridge Hotel itself has enough activities on site to keep the kids entertained for at least a couple of days, particularly if it’s wet out. It has a relaxed and chilled atmosphere, the staff are friendly so it really has to be one of Scotland’s top family destinations. We had a fantastic weekend and can’t recommend it enough.
Do check out their 5 Night Toddler Break Special Offers on selected dates throughout the year , which seem to offer fantastic value.
Stunning lochside country hotel on the banks of Loch AwePerhaps best visited without the kids…..but children are very welcome!
This hotel is a former winner of “Most Romantic Hotel”, Taychreggan Hotel is a stunning haven of peace nestling in its own bay on the shores of glorious Loch Awe. The hotel lies at the end of a seven mile single track lane where you find yourself pausing to give way to fearless Red Deer in no hurry to get where they’re going. Then, as you order your glass of wine and wander down to the hotel’s private jetty or the lovers’ bench out on the promontory – the only sounds you will hear are wildlife and the gentle murmurings of fishermen chatting half a mile away out on the Loch… So this place is probably best for older kids then, though children are welcome. Continue reading
Options for everyone at the Macdonald Resort, AviemoreWe love the Macdonald Resort and have visited several times. The child-friendly facilities such as the Lagoon Pool, softplay, inflatable zone, full size cinema and numerous scheduled kids activities are really superb. The resort is a nice size, big enough to spread everybody out but nothing is too far apart to walk to. There’s also so much to do for families in and around Aviemore – it really is an ideal family destination within Scotland. Ask them about their current all-in Family Packages. Continue reading
Centre Parcs Whinfell Forest is not cheap but overall it’s good value for money. There is simply so much to do for the kids and for families to do together while still remaining relaxed. You never feel like you’re just ferrying the kids from activity to activity.You can join in with many sessions like football or rock climbing or tennis or drop them off for a lesson or one of the kids activities clubs and spend the afternoon in the luxurious Spa. You can eat in or dine out, book a babysitter and go the pub or enjoy a sauna and an early night… We just love these kind of weekends where the kids are worn out having the time of their lives, then we can collapse on the sofa with a bottle of wine and a movie.
The staff, mostly recruited locally too, are really superb which makes such a difference.
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Crieff Hydro, a spectacular building in scenic Perthshire, is a fantastic resort for the whole family and loads of superb extras such as childcare are included in the price. Masses of activities are available but make sure you book in advance, as very few are available once you have arrived… Continue reading
Lands of Turnberry is a self-catering enclave of extremely spacious and well appointed apartments and lodges within the luxury Turnberry Resort. Although separate from the main hotel we had full access to the spa facilities and, if we had wished ‘privileged access’ to the world famous golf courses. The Ailsa Craig views are stunning, the beaches are great, there’s an attached farm for the kids, a supervised kids room in the hotel, an evening baby sitting service while you enjoy the top class restaurant or spa. We loved Lands of Turnberry but the extras can add up… Continue reading