Cairngorm (Aviemore), United Kingdom

Visitor reviews for Cairngorm (Aviemore)

• February 02, 2008
  aileen mcdonald from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Expensive for what you get. Would not sell a half-day morning ticket (sold them last year) so paid full price for two hours on the slope. The Lecht is cheaper with easier parking, but smaller.

• January 18, 2007
  ivan westworth from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Good when it's got a decent covering of snow. Lots of rocks so don't take a good board. If you consider the price!!! and what you get for your money!!!Europe seems the better choice.

• January 17, 2007
  Joe Black from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I have just been on a boarding holiday at the Grand Valira in Andorra and I must say that I have had a lot better days at Cairngorm than Andorra. The runs at Cairngorm have never been as crowded as Andorra and the quality of the snow at Cairngorm is much better. Why waste all of your money to go skiing in Europe when it's just as good, if not better, up at Cairngorm.

• November 28, 2006
  Fiona Charlton from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  There seem to be a vast range of comments regarding skiing on Cairngorm, all I can say is that we came to Cairngorm for the first time last winter for our first taste of skiing and we (3 adults and 3 children) loved it! The staff were fantastic, as was the friendly and enthusiatic teaching. They made such a great impression I drove (with 5 children) up from Dumfries and Galloway for an afternoon's skiing at easter, 2 children had tutition and were skiing by themselves by the end of the afternoon! See you soon Cairngorm (Feb 2007)

• November 23, 2006
  Nodge from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I would like to agree with Steve Hammonds comment. Aviemore does have rocks and lots of them and they are rarely covered in snow.

• November 10, 2006
  Tom McEwan from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Skiing or boarding in Cairngorm or any of the Scottish resorts is about passion and challenge with wind that can turn you to stone some days to blissfull blue sky days where you feel you are in heaven, be humble and be grateful for what you have. A positive outlook results in positive experiences, however if you want constant conditions with great powder you will have to wait 50 years for global warming to suprisingly give Scotland colder winters (when Europe won't get any more snow)

• November 01, 2006
  Harry Harrison from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  This is a great resort for powder, you can wait in a queue of cars at the bottom of the hill and look at the mountain covered in it. Unfortunately you cannot ski on it because the road will be closed, 4 days later when the storm has passed and the wind has stopped drifting the snow all over the road you can rush up and look at the rocks where the snow was before it blew down into the valley or melted again.
  However if you are seeing these rocks it is only because you have the advantage of paying a lot of money to be there, everyone else who is just reading the snow report on the TV will think you are in Powder Paradise because the Snow Reports on Teletext are complete fabrications of someones over fertile imagination.

• October 11, 2006
  steve hammond from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I live in Aviemore and it rocks!!!! Yeah the snow can come and go very quckly but when it's good it's GOOD!! Had a great March/April last session and Nov!!! And they had some great jumps built, just wish they got their finger out and built them in March not end of April!!! But by far the most people friendly resort!!! Bring on the snow!!

• March 26, 2006
  Julia from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I have just returned from a few days in Aviemore. The visit, my first time but definately not the last. I had travelled there with a degree of ignorance as to how well the resort would be run. I was pleasantly surprised and couldn't fault the facilities or the prices! We hit lucky with the weather too, with a dusting of snow falling overnight, making a packed base great for boarding the next day. The place wasn't overcrowded (althought there were quite a few school groups out....lucky them!) and plenty of runs open making for a varied day. Think it must all be down to the snow on the day as personally I can't fault the place and will sure be back :-)

• March 23, 2006
  Grant from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  In response to Simon - I am into the whole customer experience scene (as should anyone who pays good money for a service) and I am passionate about snow sports hence why I suggest anyone with sense (obviously not you Simon) should go to one of the other 4 centres (Glenshee, Nevis and Glencoe being the preferred Scottish options).

• March 22, 2006
  Simon McCullagh from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  It is apparent that Grant and David are into the whole customer experience scene and they have no passion for snow sports. If you want perfect conditions go to Europe or USA, if you want to get out on the hill at the weekend Scotland is good. I can admit that Cairngorm can be pretty nasty sometimes, so can any snow sports location in Scotland. It is all about reading between the lines with snow reports. We don't get that much snow so make the most of it and stop your complaining as real snow badgers get hacked off with you.
  Cairngorm is a good place to learn and is well worth it, but read between the lines when looking at the snow reports.

• March 20, 2006
  Si from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Visited Cairngorm in March 2006 and found the resort to be well run and, despite some posts here, found the cafes and bars to be very reasonably priced and about the same price as your local cafe. I can't comment on the cost of the equipment hire but can say that it was in excellent condition. Staff working at the resort were friendly and helpful. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the weather as although our first day was a little icy, the second day was superb with some fresh snow overnight but I'm not here to appraise the Scottish weather :)

  I think the majority of people would enjoy skiing\boarding on Cairngorm but no one can guarantee the conditions. There are numerous websites which provide accurate daily information about the conditions and the info on the resort website (and this one) was spot on!

• March 06, 2006
  Jilly from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  The Cairngorm Mountain on a good day can be the best place in the whole world to be. The views of the highlands of Scotland are breathtaking. On a bad day things can be completely different!! But hey, you can say that about anywhere. Okay it's not the best skiing but they do say 'if you can ski the Cairngorms you can ski anywhere'. My three children all learnt on the Cairngorm....they all had great fun and have many happy memories (whatever the conditions!)

• March 05, 2006
  Viv McKenna from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I loved this resort. Then again I had fab conditions when I went. Lifts kept breaking but that's not exclusive to Cairngorm. Best hot chocolate at any resort I've been to.

• February 17, 2006
  grant from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Completely agree with David - a waste of time visiting this overpriced, overrated tourist trap of a "resort". After paying £23 and a 3 hour drive for the train and 1 open beginner lift (where the queues were so big it almost ended at the top of the run) I have vowed never to return on general principle. They didn't even have the decency to accurately describe the conditions on the report, the webcam was conveniently offline and 1 lifty told me to "stay at home next time" as I complained about it. If you have any sense you will ski / board at Nevis, Glencoe, Glenshee or The Lecht - they are head and shoulders above CML.

• February 05, 2006
  david hope from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Aviemore is by far the worst resort in Scotland. Not because its runs or uplift is bad but because the people who run the resort lie to you about the conditions on the hill just to ensure that they get the extortionate ticket price off you. And if you challenge them after your first run about the reports of good snow and low winds when you have been sliding on your arse on ice while getting blown up hill by a 70 mile an hour wind, they will not consider refunding you a penny. Please, please avoid this resort at all costs and try one of our other 4 resorts.

• November 18, 2005
  david wright from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I headed up to cairngorm , late winter last year. We had checked the ski reports and it all looked good so we headed north. We arrived about 8am; there was broken cloud and little wind. We headed up the mountain on their train. The first couple of runs were amazing with powder snow flicking behind us as we went. It wasnt till after lunch time the winds picked up and icy snow began to fall, we raised our scarves and put on our goggles. At about 3 we decided to quit while we were ahead and call it a day. Despite the winds it was a great day out.