Strathspey Railway - (Aviemore, Station) Reviews Summary

Train Experience

Pros:

• "The return saw the steam engine switching ends of the train which was great to watch."
• "The whole journey takes around an hour and forty minutes."
• "The children loved the old trains and carriages."
• "The journey was breathtaking with the wonderful views."
• "Got to see some amazing Scottish countryside and relax for an hour an a half whilst eating snacks and drinking tea."
• "The trip to Broomhill Station was so relaxing, especially on a very hot summers day."
• "As you go along the track you get tantalising glimpses of the River Spey and the Cairngorms."

Cons:

• "But disappointed with the journey which ended up 2 stations down and straight back again."
• "No trolley came down aisle whilst on board as promised."
• "The train has no form of air conditioning and poor ventilation even when travelling so it was stiflingly hot."
• "The carriage looked like a reject from the 60's and 70's."
• "Steam train did not show up, a diesel engine was sent instead."
• "The journey itself was very boring, the views are nothing special."
• "All we saw on the short journey were farmlands and not the beautiful Highlands as stated on the website."

Customer Service

Pros:

• "The staff in the train were all lovely."
• "The staff are fantastic and very polite."
• "Staff were lovely."
• "Staff were all exceptionally friendly and helpful."
• "Without exception the staff were lovely. Helpful, kind and cheery, they made the trip extra special."
• "Very friendly staff."
• "All the staff were very friendly and helpful, from the booking office to the gift shops and train staff."

Cons:

• "We got a zero information and almost no service."
• "The lady was extremely rude with an angry tone saying she was on her lunch break."
• "Ticket staff were dismissive, impolite and had no knowledge."
• "The lady with the clip board at the entrance when arriving at Aviemore station is a bit of a horror."
• "The dining staff were hostile when asked what happened to refreshment trolley."
• "On arrival the first two ladies who gave us the tickets were rude and first impressions were awful."
• "The lady guard is very strict it was like being on a school trip."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Superb meal excellent service and at a very good price."
• "Value for money is hard to come by in the UK these days but this really did take that to impressive new levels."
• "Good value for money."
• "Absolutely lovely day out, great place experience the sights and smells of the age of the steam train."
• "Beautiful and well maintained trains and cars."
• "Very enjoyable and I highly recommend this place."
• "Feels a little pricey however, good things are almost never cheap."

Cons:

• "Not worth the money when without warning they don't run the steam train."
• "Definitely not worth money what we paid."
• "No steam train (high temps) but trip was up the line for no more than 30 mins and then 30 mins back."
• "Definitely not worth £14 each, very disappointing."
• "Overall, it was £60 which was slightly more expensive than it should've been given the journey wasn't that far."
• "Pricey for what it is."
• "£76 for soup and a sandwich seems rather extreme."

Facilities & Cleanliness

Pros:

• "Booking was easy and lots of clear covid information on their website. Fast and secure payment."
• "Everything on the menu was clearly marked for allergy free."
• "Great to visit a good old platform gents!!!!"
• "You don’t need to go over the foot bridge to get to the platform you need for the steam train, very useful if like me you are mobility impaired."
• "At Broomhill the WC facilities were very clean and well looked after and worth a donation."
• "There is good parking for people doing the train journey, right alongside the back of the station."
• "Took my toddler on the santa express. Old style rail station, train and appropriately dressed staff/helpers."

Cons:

• "The windows were really dirty and so was the awful stained carpet."
• "Lots of old broken trains spoil some of it."
• "The train felt dirty (table wasn't clean and the floor was sticky)."
• "The carriage's were filthy."
• "There is grime and dust all over the train."
• "The shop on the station that isn't open fire to covid."
• "Was disgusted when I was at Aviemore station they tried to charge me 50p to stand on the platform to see the steam engine pull in to the station."