It didn’t let us down. We primarily chose the hotel because of the location, which I cannot recommend enough. Perfect for our one-night trip to get away for the weekend. Beautiful scenery, fantastic walks on the door-step (Burn O’Vat a particular delight, literally felt like you were walking through a waterfall into a different world), and a lovely, well kept village to wander round for an afternoon.
We chose the Hilton primarily because it had a pool and because we expected a good level of quality given the brand reputation. It didn’t disappoint. We went for the smallest room, which was still plenty large for us, and the facilities were just as advertised. Good cleanliness, professional staff and a comfortable bed. The restaurant was particularly good, better than expected, and worth staying in the hotel rather than going down into the town from our opinion. The one negative was that they don’t do a ‘hotel breakfast’ service, only a continental room service option which looked expectedly overpriced. Brunch begins at 10am, but the options are limited (no full Scottish breakfast!). However, given the number of good cafe options in Ballater this wasn’t a problem and not a deal breaker for us.
A very enjoyable stay, would have no qualms about returning and doing it all again.