History of Aviemore

The Aviemore Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1950, and its site and that of its Golf course were used in the 1960s for the construction of the Aviemore Centre. It was opened by Lady Fraser of Allander in 1966, (wife of Sir Hugh Fraser 2nd Baronet- House of Fraser). "The Centre", as it became affectionately known, quickly developed into a major Scottish tourist destination, and in its heyday royalty were regular visitors, including Prince Charles and Princess Anne who attended Royal Hunt Balls hosted in the Aviemore Centre's Osprey Rooms. The very popular BBC TV show "It's A Christmas Knockout" was held in the complex twice in the 1970s.

In around 1998 many of the original John Poulson buildings were demolished as part of a promised £50 million overhaul. Although the visitor buildings were replaced, many of the other leisure facilities were not. In 2006 a privately led tourist organisation began a programme of attracting tourists to the area. Aviemore Centre now consists of a publicly accessible swimming pool with flume, health spa, 4 hotels and a 4 restaurants including Giovanni's Italian restaurant