Aspects - Highland

We were looking forward to eating at Aspects as we had been around 2 years ago and were impressed with it. However, the cost of a dish is very high, I believe it is inflated to give the perception of a great value hotel and food package with Macdonald’s (with their £25 per person meal offer). Which in itself would be disappointing, but the portion sizes were incredibly small. We were told all the main dishes came with new potatoes (remember that’s the plural) unless it stated chips. We ordered the lamb, which came as a very tiny portion, and with one (yes one) new potato sliced in half, and minimal vegetables. It was the size of a starter, and at £28 this was daylight robbery. For the children there was a blanket cost of £12.50 for the buffet. This was for all children, no matter their age. Fair enough for bigger ones around 12 years old, but our 3 year old doesn’t eat much at all. She had a small portion of pasta, around 2 tablespoons, and a tablespoon of peas. For £12.50. Now you would have thought the quality of this would be amazing, well think again. The pasta was soggy and nearly cold, the peas were cold. Our other child had pizza which was dry and nearly cold. The children’s food really is terrible in quality and price. If you imagine picking the leftovers from a buffet after a party has finished you’ll understand the experience. For breakfast on the first day there were items missing, no plates or bowls for hot food or cereal, until we asked. When I asked if there were any more beans when the chef finally arrived I received a lecture about short staffing levels. We asked for a drink of tea for the table, on two separate occasions, it never arrived. On the second day, it was a slight improvement, although we noticed a few more staff working. We are still at the hotel and hoping it improves through the week if staffing levels are at a sensible level, given the cost of our stay we expect better service.

Booking was easy and was offered multiple times to dine. On arrival for dinner the lady at the reception was somewhat abrupt. Orders were made. The waiters and waitresses were without fault. It’s now all downhill from an average start. This is a restaurant that boasts about fresh Scottish produce. Fresh seafood, local meat. I would seriously question that. I don’t mind paying a premium for fresh local produce, however, if it comes out a plastic container and that part of that plastic container is included in you starter I have questions. There was a large piece of plastic in the starter that was clearly a break off tab from a pot. The staff were apologetic and said that the food came from a plastic container. So not fresh local produce. If you want to claim this, then why not say where the seafood or meat has come from on the menu. Other restaurants in this region are proud to do so and support local fishermen and farmers. The high charges for your “locally sourced produce” remain. Main course was average at best. This is a restaurant that charges premium prices but the food does not reflect the this. Some complementary sides were given (chips and broccoli) due to the starter disaster The main course comes with vegetables so I now had chips and roast potatoes and extra broccoli. Deserts were very poor for the price. The cost of the starter was deducted from the bill. The waitresses and waiters are without fault The head of service, the catering team and the hotel management team need to take a good long hard look in the mirror if they want to charge the prices on the menu for what is delivered and what is advertised. The other restaurants on the hotel site offer much better value for money without the claims of being locally sourced. On summary you’d probably be better off going to a local restaurant than going to Aspects Restaurant.

Was staying in the MacDonald Aviemore Hotel with my partner and 1 year old and decided to book this restaurant for easiness on the first night of our stay. First impression was the decor was quite dated and the place lacked atmosphere, but we expected the food to be good as it had been in a previous stay at a MacDonald hotel. Seeing the prices on the menu also made us think the food must be amazing as it was very expensive. I ordered the surf and turf which was supposed to be a medium sirloin steak with garlic prawns, mushroom, tomato and chips. My partner ordered the beef wagu burger with coleslaw and chips. My steak came well done, didn’t appear to be sirloin and looked like a cheap nasty steak you would get at budget restaurant, so had to be sent back. The “surf” element consisted of 4 prawns with next to no seasoning or flavour. The “chips” were actually French fries and were soggy and tasteless. I also paid £5 for whiskey sauce which came in a small dish which was about 10% full. I asked for another one with more in it when my steak was sent back, but when the sauce eventually arrived 5 minutes after my steak, it barely had any in it again. My 2nd steak was a slight improvement, but still not nice. My partner’s burger wasn’t nice either and she only ate around half of it. My son’s flatbread pizza and chips meal consisted of 2 small slices of “pizza”, one of which was dry, crispy and had pretty much no base at all. The service was ok and they agreed to take the cost of the kid’s meal off our bill. However, for our two mains, one gin and mixer, one cocktail and bottle of water for the table, we were just shy of £100. Absolute daylight robbery avoid at all costs!

Dated venue. Lacking atmosphere. Some staff lovely, others clearly hate their jobs. The hot food was cold. The deserts were poor. Overall very disappointing.

Disgusting overpriced cold food! The restaurant was like eating in a children’s crèche toddlers screaming and running up and down. We had gone for our last night meal and wish we hadn’t! The fish in tempura batter was soggy and swimming in oil far nicer fish to be had at the happy haggis down the road. The grilled hake came swimming with a cream sauce that was not disclosed on the menu as an allergen making the meal inedible for me. Portions cold and small ended up in aldi after dinner for sandwiches!