The Smugglers Hostel Hostel

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And Kenny, the host, is fantastic. A must-stay spot for anyone touring the Cairngorms by bike, foot or car.

3 of us were on a 4 day bike packing trip round the Cairngorms in April, and the Smugglers (Kenny) was a life saver. We had a long, hard going and soaking wet day the day before, and after being recommended by Mikes bikes in Aviemore we got in touch and even though it was out of hours, Kenny made every effort to make sure we had a place to stay and was super friendly and accommodating of us. (being a keen mountain biker he knew exactly what we would have needed and wanted) The… rooms are really comfy and clean, they showers were a welcome treat after our miserable day before. There is a place to lock up your bikes which was a great touch. There are pubs and food a stones throw away, and the Cycle in and out of Tomintoul is great. Cant recommend this pace enough, and cant wait to visit again.

Had a very nice time here. Could only stay one night unfortunately because of time but thought the hostel & the village were a real find. The hostel was friendly but not over crowded & Kenny the manager was very helpful with info on what the local area had to offer. Hostel was well equipped & cosy.

Very friendly place! Thank you!

Very quiet hostel in the village of Tomintoul in Malt Whisky Country. It is used by cyclists going over the Lecht road. OK as hostels go. Not a point to go to for its own sake.

My favourite hostel in the Highlands.

Super clean and very friendly. Felt very welcome and staff went out of their way to help and give advice. Lovely quiet location but very central to nearby attractions. Highly recommended.

We stayed here during our Scotland tour 2018, a decent accomodation, with a very nice kitchen-breakfast-dining room, sufficient bathrooms and comfortable beds. Special Thanks to our awesome host and his road recommandations! Thank you!

Poor effort from a hostel. No onsite staff at all. Room was damp, poorly set up with lack of privacy, sockets in inconvenient locations and and cheap beds and frames.

Ģreat value hostel close to village centre for food and drinks!

Jane is a pleasure. She is extremely friendly and helpful with advice on the area. The experience would not have been as pleasurable without her. We stayed in room 5 which had one twin bunk and a bunk with one double on bottom, it had it's own bathroom that had doors between the shower and tomorrow so we could all get ready at once. The kitchen was stocked with pots/pans and utentils we could use. One of the better hostels I've stayed at. Make sure you arrive in time as the staff does go off duty at 7pm!

A very great hostel. We enjoyed our stay so much and I really would like to stay another time there. :)

Nice atmosphere, very friendly people, all functional and tidy, well organized, very sympathic surrounding.

All present. Real nice and quiet place.

I spent 2 nights in this hostel recently. The room is nice and bright, the kitchen is very well prepared for cooking but overall the place is dirty. The toilet room wasn't clean and the toilet either. The shower was smelly. The floor wasn't hoovered at all. I wasn't even sure if the duvet covers were changed after previous guests — my friend found a piece of used toilet paper under her pillow. I would recommend to take your own sleeping bag to avoid not too nice situations. Otherwise, it's a lovely building, probably in the past it was used as a church (? ). Located in a beautiful Tomintoul. The Wi-Fi is super fast and the kitchenette is lovely.

Great hostel, great common area with kitchen, friendly staff, can get a bit loud.

Place is very sensitive to noise. Thin walls make sure you can hear your neighbours. During our stay a group of students came around and although they tried not to be loud, we all wake up when they went to bed. Other facilities are below basic. Shower is poorly executed and toilet area is very cold. Kitchen can be used, although all stuff is really in use for generations. This all comes with a relative high price.

The house was nice and the facility was ok for a hostel. On some points the walls needs to be painted but the facility is very good. I absolutely can recommend this hostel! But note: there are not many restaurants and shoppinv solutions in town so you have to have your food with you.

Community-run value hostel recommended by the Guardian.

Just what we needed, arrived on a hot day got a shower a minutes walk to a pub, back and slept all night, great shower and set off on our motorbike tour, would recommend to anyone xx.

Great hostel. Quite a small basic one so it's not as large as some of the others. Friendly staff and was a good location for me. Nice village too. Plenty of hotels and pubs to eat or drink in.

This hostel is amazing! The facilities are clean and comfortable, the kitchen is very large and bright. The best part of the hostel is the staff. Jocelyn immediately felt like an old friend and made me feel welcome. This is a great place to come alone or in a group. They also have free parking!