The Craigendarroch Resort in Ballater, Scotland, is a resort complex close to the banks of the River Dee. It is located on a hillside just west of the village of Ballater, 42 miles west of Aberdeen and is 17 miles to the east of Braemar. It is also close to Balmoral, the Scottish home of the Royal Family. The resort takes its name from the Craigendarroch Hill which is close by. The resort's position affords great views over Royal Deeside.
The resort sits just off the A93 road, the main route between Aberdeen and Braemar, and can also be reached by public transport, with the Stagecoach Bluebird service 201 passing by the resort entrance.
The resort was developed in the mid-1980s by Cannon Street Developments and was later sold to Stakis Hotels, who rather controversially changed the name of the resort to Stakis Royal Deeside, before reverting to its former name. When the Stakis chain was purchased by the Hilton Group in the late 1990s, Craigendarroch became the Hilton Craigendarroch. The resort itself consists of a medium-sized hotel and leisure club, with 99 self-catering lodges nearby. Hilton Grand Vacations operate the timeshare scheme which manages the lodges.
The hotel was refurbished in early 2007. The hotel closed on 6 January 2013 and has since been reworked into 32 one- and two-bedroom timeshare suites.
Coordinates: 57°3′27″N3°3′16″W / 57.05750°N 3.05444°W
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Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, styled Viscount Macduff between 1857 and 1879 and known as The Earl Fife between 1879 and 1889, was a British peer who married Princess Louise, the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Ballater is a burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of 213 metres, Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to cure scrofula. It is home to more than 1500 inhabitants.
The River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through southern Aberdeenshire to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen. The area it passes through is known as Deeside, or Royal Deeside in the region between Braemar and Banchory because Queen Victoria came for a visit there in 1848 and greatly enjoyed her visit. She and her husband, Prince Albert, replaced an old castle there and built Balmoral Castle.
The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Braemar in Aberdeenshire. At Braemar, the road then switches east down the strath of the River Dee before crossing the A90 and terminating in Aberdeen.
Cults is a suburb on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. It lies on the banks of the River Dee and marks the eastern boundary of Royal Deeside.
Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around 58 miles (93 km) west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of 339 metres (1,112 ft).
The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the 39 miles (63 km) from Kittybrewster, in Aberdeen, to Huntly on 20 September 1854. By 1867 it owned 226+1⁄4 route miles (364.1 km) of line and operated over a further 61 miles (98 km).
The Royal Deeside Railway was formed in 1996 by a group of volunteers with the intention of reclaiming part of the former branch line from Aberdeen to Ballater.
Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The area of the county, excluding the city of Aberdeen itself, is also a lieutenancy area. The county borders Kincardineshire, Angus and Perthshire to the south, Inverness-shire and Banffshire to the west, and the North Sea to the north and east. It has a coast-line of 65 miles (105 km).
The Deeside Way is a 41-mile (66 km) rail trail that follows, in part, the bed of the former Deeside Railway in Aberdeenshire. Forming part of the National Cycle Network the trail leads from Aberdeen to Ballater.
The Deeside Railway was a passenger and goods railway between Aberdeen and Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Opening in 1853 to Banchory, an extension reached Aboyne in 1859. A separate company, the Aboyne & Braemar Railway, built an extension to Ballater and this opened in 1866. By 1855 there were five services a day over the 43+1⁄4-mile (69.6 km) long line, taking between 1 hour 50 minutes and 2+1⁄2 hours. The line was used by the Royal Train for travel to and from Balmoral Castle from 1853 and a special 'Messenger Train' ran daily when the Royal Family was in residence.
Loch Muick is an upland, freshwater loch lying approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) south of Braemar, Scotland at the head of Glen Muick and within the boundary of the Balmoral estate.
Beinn a' Bhùird is a Munro in the Cairngorm mountain range of Scotland.
Aboyne railway station was a station which served Aboyne in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire. It was served by trains on the line from Aberdeen to Ballater.
Ballater railway station is a former station in the village of Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The station was formerly the terminus of a branch line from Aberdeen.
Dinnet railway station was opened on 17 October 1866 by the Aboyne and Braemar Railway and served Dinnet village from 1899 to 1966 as an intermediate station on the Deeside Railway that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to Ballater. Dinnet is located close to the River Dee in the parish of Glenmuick, Tullich And Glengairn, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Cambus O'May railway station or Cambus O'May Halt, served Aberdeenshire, Scotland from 1876 to 1966 on the Deeside Railway. It was intended to serve the anglers on the River Dee, tourists, the 1874 Cambus O'May House hunting lodge and the local population of this rural district and stood 39 3⁄8 miles (63.4 km) from the Aberdeen (Joint) station. It was the last stop before Ballater.
Torphins railway station served the village of Torphins from 1859 to 1966 on the Deeside Railway that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to Ballater.
Cults railway station was opened on 8 September 1853 by the Deeside Railway and served part of Cults with mansion houses such as Southfield, Wellwood, Woodbank, Inchgarth, Drumgarth and Norwood nearby. The Deeside Railway station was replaced in 1855 by a new GNoSR that remained open, despite the 1937 closure of many other stations on the Aberdeen suburban service, until 1966 as an intermediate station on the Deeside Railway that ran from Aberdeen (Joint) to Ballater. Cults is located in the parish of Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
The Cambus O' May bridge spans the River Dee to the east of Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was paid for by the estate of Alexander Gordon, who had grown up nearby. The bridge was built in 1905 and is a suspension footbridge 164 feet (50 m) long and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. The bridge was rebuilt in 1988 for safety reasons but was badly damaged in the December 2015 Storm Frank. It was repaired and reopened in April 2021.