We only stayed the one night but for a couple looking for a base in the Cairngorms, I'd thoroughly recommend this hotel.

The room was beautiful - the bathroom was huge with double shower and gorgeous bath and a four-poster bed.

The food in the restaurant was also great. There was a good choice on the menu, for prices you'd expect with quality service on a busy night.

You're right next to the steam railway too so you can hop on for a wee trip without having to worry about the car!

My Wife and I stayed at the Boat for a our anniversary and came away very, very disappointed.

We had been there in 2003 and had had a fabulous time. The food was great and the staff were excellent.

Unfortunately, the food is now poor to average and in some cases bizarre. I don't think I have ever encountered "traditional" porridge
with chives on it before and hopefully I will never again (I have attached a picture of the offending dish).

At dinner the first night I had steak which was well cooked but came with thick cut chips that were brown and soggy on the outside and raw
in the middle. I though this was a one off but the chips that came with the Fritto Miso I had the following night were exactly the same poor quality.

My wife had the steak that night and it was not medium rare as requested, however the chips did look nicer. A taste revealed that they were in fact McCain southern fries or (similar processed chip).

The Maitre D appears to think that being rude and throwing your wine into your glass is an attempt at sophistication.

The Hotel appears to only have 1 CD and I never wish to hear a live version of Hotel California ever again.

On positive note the room was clean.

When checking out we informed the front desk that we were very disappointed to see how Standards had fallen. We were informed that the Hotel had been recently taken over and was undergoing a period of
transition.

This may explain was why dinner was served in the bar and not the restaurant. I hope part of the transition is the replacement of the MD.

It should be said that some of the staff were obviously trying their best in difficult circumstances.

I do hope that this was a temporary blip and the hotel can return to it's previous high standards. As it stands it does not deserve the awards that litter the walls of reception.

Our welcome at The Boat was friendly, but the room was not what we would expect in a hotel of this rating. The bathroom only had a shower and the fittings were mediocre. It was pretty clean except in the nooks and crannies, but carpet in a bathroom is something we find unhygienic and this added to the tired appearance. The bedroom was roomy and well equipped but the carpet was stained. The hotel overlooks the steam railway and is right next to the station - great for Thomas the Tank Engine fans. At dinner on the first night our waiter told us that the hotel had changed hands that day and that many of the staff had arrived at the hotel only 30 minutes earlier, sent from the new owner's other hotel. As a consequence the staff were unsure of basic stuff such as what wines were available. Only the Osprey bistro appeared to be open. The food was good, but nothing special and not worth the prices charged. Breakfast the first morning was very good, but on subsequent mornings it deteriorated and the hotel had run out of some things on the menu. In summary, it was okay, decent value at the rate we got (£60 B&B per night per room and there were three of us in the room), but a bit disappointing.

I agree with the other review, this hotel is very different to how it is described on the web. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a boutique hotel - although the bedrooms/bathrooms are nice. The whole hotel has huge potential but needs somebody to sort out the public rooms & to train the staff (except for one member of staff who was helpful). The hotel doesn't have a cosy lounge or bar to sit and read your book, in fact the bar doesn't even have a real log fire! The bar is in desperate need of some comfy sofas as the lounge is very dated and unappealing. I would recommend this hotel for groups of walkers - the food in the bar is very good. Would also recommend having breakfast in your bedroom as the breakfast room is pretty depressing to sit and eat in! I really hope the new owners make some changes because this hotel does have potential but don't take the website too literally.