Deeside Holiday Park

HOTEL OVERVIEW

You know what surprised me about Deeside Holiday Park? It’s actually nothing like what you’d expect from the name – this isn’t some cramped caravan site with kids running around screaming. I mean, it is a holiday park technically, but it sits right along the River Dee with these massive grounds that honestly feel more like a private estate than anything else. The location on South Deeside Road puts you about twenty minutes from Aberdeen city center, but you’re surrounded by proper Scottish countryside – rolling hills, ancient woodlands, the works.

The facilities here are genuinely impressive without being flashy about it. There’s this indoor pool complex that actually stays warm (you’d be amazed how many places get that wrong), and the restaurant does decent Scottish fare – I had the best fish and chips I’ve eaten north of Edinburgh, which is saying something. What really got me though was how well they’ve balanced the family-friendly stuff with spaces where adults can actually relax. The riverside walking paths are perfect for morning coffee or an evening pint, and you can hear the water moving over the stones instead of highway noise, which is rare this close to a major road. Parking’s never an issue – they’ve got loads of space, and check-in was refreshingly straightforward without the usual upselling nonsense.

I’ll be honest, the cabins and static caravans are way nicer than I expected. Proper heating, decent WiFi (worked fine for video calls), and the beds are actually comfortable – not those thin mattresses you usually get at holiday parks. The whole place feels well-maintained without being sterile, if that makes sense. It gets busy during school holidays obviously, but even then it never felt overcrowded. September and early October are brilliant times to visit – the weather’s still decent, the autumn colors along the Dee are spectacular, and you’ll have the place mostly to yourselves. The staff clearly know the area well too – they pointed me toward some hiking trails I never would have found otherwise, including this gorgeous walk to the old Maryculter House ruins that takes about forty minutes each way.