The Fife Arms
Braemar, Aberdeenshire
Good Hotel Guide Review
If the annual Braemar Gathering had not put the village on the map, this dramatic reinvention of a many-gabled coaching inn by Swiss art dealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth would surely do so. Designer Russell Sage has had his own Highland fling, filling the interiors with artwork, installations and Victoriana in celebration of the area and luminaries with links to it. A Picasso hangs in the drawing room. A Monarch of the Glen has been stuffed and instated in the dining room, where you can admire a geometric mural by Guillermo Kuitca as you order from Tim Kensett’s beautifully judged menus, which include loin of Highland venison, birch-seared salmon or salt-baked celeriac. There is pub grub in The Flying Stag. Bedrooms range from sumptuous Royal Suites worthy of Victoria herself with, perhaps, a carved oak four-poster and copper bath, to croft rooms with a cabin bed, ideal for a solo guest or very close couple. At breakfast, stoke up on wood-fired kippers, organic eggs, Stornoway black pudding, smoked baked beans and tattie scones, before visiting Balmoral or exploring the Cairngorms national park. This hotel is a member of Pride of Britain.
Hotel details
Address
Mar Road
Braemar
Aberdeenshire
AB35 5YN
Scotland
Telephone
01339 720200
Bedrooms
46.
Open
all year.
Facilities
bar, drawing room, library, in-room TV (terrestrial), pub, restaurant, 2 meeting rooms, 2-acre gardens, spa.
Background music
in public spaces.
Children
all ages welcomed (children's menus, family and interconnecting rooms).
Dogs
in some bedrooms, pub.
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B £250–£1,200. À la carte £46 (dining room), £30 (Flying Stag pub).
Good Hotel Guide articles about
The Fife Arms
- Sunday Post: Top pubs with rooms in Scotland
- Sunday Post: 10 of the best hotels for Christmas in Scotland