Set within the vast, heather-clad Cairngorms National Park, Macdonald Aviemore Resort sits where the Spey Valley opens out beneath the Cairngorm massif. To the east, the mountains rise toward Ben Macdui, Britain’s snow-sure peaks drawing skiers from December through to spring. To the west, ancient pine forest gives way to the glittering lochs of Strathspey.

Spread across 65 acres, the resort is home to three 4-star hotels, each with its own character, alongside spacious woodland lodges tucked among the pines. Family rooms come with their own partitioned bunk areas so little ones get a space of their own within yours, and many sleep up to five. Couples, meanwhile, tend to gravitate toward the Highlands Hotel, where direct access to the spa and beauty treatment rooms makes for a far quieter kind of stay.

This is a resort built with families squarely in mind. The Aviemore Activity Centre is the heart of it: a leisure pool and soft play area to burn off energy whatever the weather, plus a gym for the grown-ups. There’s an on-site cinema for popcorn-and-pyjamas evenings, a games arcade for pocket-money entertainment, and a playground for the littlest guests. Children aged 12 and under eat breakfast free when sharing with two adults, and seasonal extras like the ice rink and outdoor adventures at archery and cycling keep things ticking over from one school holiday to the next. Just down the road, Landmark Forest Adventure Park and the Highland Wildlife Park make for easy day trips the whole family will remember.

For couples after something a bit quieter, an evening at Aspects, the resort’s signature restaurant, paired with a treatment at the spa and a round at the championship Spey Valley course, makes for a thoroughly grown-up escape too.

And when everyone needs to stretch their legs properly, the outdoors is right there waiting. Cast a line in some of Britain’s clearest fishing waters, take the chairlift up Cairngorm Mountain for skiing, boarding or simply the view, or let the kids loose to spot the free-roaming reindeer herd at nearby Glenmore – the only one of its kind in the UK. Whatever brought you here, the mountains will still be there tomorrow, exactly where you left them.