Hilton Grand Vacations at Craigendarroch Suites

Nice lodges, horrible parking, poor service

Spent a week in one of the Lodges at Craigendarroch. Horrible, impossible to drive in and out of parking spots by the lodges.

Lounge restaurant had good food but awful slow service. One chap was much more interested in chatting to customers and/or staff than actually working. Our poor waitress had to take up all the slack and serve everybody else as well as do the clean up and set up.

Lodges come equipped with many many fancy appliances and utensils including food processor, strainers, toasters, piles of casserole dishes, but only a few normal glasses (these were strangely in a locked, but openable cabinet).

Sadly the beds were rock hard (as we later read about in the company newsletter that this is a common complaint so that mattress covers were available somewhere – didn’t say where) so we went out and bought pricey mattress toppers way away in Aberdeen :( Nice paths to walk around and the fitness centre and pool were great. However the changing rooms always had disgustingly sloppy wet floors.

On the final day when we were there and about to use the pool, the desk attendant demanded to see the slip of paper that accompanies the room keys (which outlines room number). We had not been asked for it for any other purpose all week (including getting supplies at the front desk, meals, and 4 other pool visits) and were not carrying it.

She reluctantly allowed us to enter without it.

Front hotel desk was extremely reluctant to hand out necessary supplies like bar soap (only 1 bar was supplied for an entire week), toilet paper (2 rolls) and garbage bags.

One of the clerks told us to walk down the long hill to the Co-op in Ballater since they are open until 11!

We checked back the next night at the desk and another (much more congenial) clerk gave us a few rolls of toilet paper and 2 more small bars of soap.