Today in the visitor's book we commented: "Great Food, lovely staff and good company."
We booked our New Year Trip in September and traveled through thick snow on December 30th.
Unfortunately for genial host Jeff Nimmo, the hotel's owner, many skiers had cancelled due to a thaw in the previous weeks. As the snow gates were closed on the A93 that evening he had capacity for drivers unable to get through to Braemar.
We have been using the hotel for drinks and meals for about four years after walking in the Southern Cairngorms - Linn of Dee is less than an hour's drive from Bridge of Cally.
This year we took a three day break over the Hogmanay weekend.
Breakfasts are a treat with all the usual trimmings, eggs are free range, bacon dry cured and cooked as you like it, there were pots of either Scottish Blossom or Heather Honey, porridge made with pin-head oatmeal!
Dinners are great value and there are some unusual treats for starters on the menu such as Scotch Eggs made with quail eggs, trio of melon with mulled wine syrup and sorbet, soups served with home-made soda bread laced with walnuts. Main courses included a whole mini beef wellington as well as local game and vegetarian options. My favourite desert was cherry and almond sponge tart with with pistachio ice cream.
The room (No 11 - possibly the best in the hotel as it has a bay window with great views of the resident red squirrel swinging through tree outside) was simple and comfortable. Some will no doubt moan about the lack of a phone given the poor mobile reception but there is free patchy wifi. Who needs a phone to be reminded of the outside world it is meant to be a holiday. There is a small television but with the varied company downstairs was never needed.
People we met included a local farmer who also ran a farm B&B higher up the glen, a fisherman and his extended family from Lancashire (They loved it so much they kept staying for extra days) and an ex-pat family now living in Australia.
Highly recommended.