Stay in the Scottish Highlands at a hotel that was once the Royal Family’s hunting lodge.
It was Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, who started the fashion for all things Highland. They bought the Balmoral Estate in 1848, created their own castle, and upgraded the country estate in what would later become known as Royal Deeside. The enduring love affair with tartan, antlers and heather-covered moors can be traced straight back to V&A. Yet even before any regal patronage, the Highlands around the River Dee had a keen sense of place, a destination for fishing and game shooting, Highland games and other convivial get-togethers.
The Fife Arms was always the grandest of the area’s coaching inns. Developed in 1856 as the focal point of Braemar, a small town just nine miles from Balmoral, The Fife Arms catered for royal visits and their huge entourage. Although extended royal residences at Balmoral continue to this day, by the 21st Century, The Fife Arms had seen better days. Fortunately, Hauser & Wirth bought the property in 2014. Over the next four years, it was extensively renovated (at a cost of around £20 million) and has resumed its position as the premier luxury hotel in the Highlands. It is now a celebration of Highland culture, Scottish art and design, and world-class art. Hauser & Wirth are top Zurich-based fine art dealers, and their very deep pockets have been put to thrilling use. Join the free art tour at 4pm every day.
Rooms and suites
The granite building is in the impressive Scottish baronial style, now amazingly graced with a dramatic Russell Sage Studio makeover inside. The interior designer spent the best part of two years camped out at the hotel, creating a maximalist look packed with taxidermy, antlers, tweed, tartan and Highland artefacts. Hauser & Wirth contributed the 16,000 artworks, including Old Masters and the shock of the new, that now fill the place: two Picassos and a Breughel, plus more congruous items such as an elaborately carved antique fireplace celebrating the work of poet Robert Burns.
The public spaces meld seamlessly into the 46 rooms and suites, all named after a character or theme associated with Deeside. We stayed in room 16, Bridges – a reference to the handsome stone bridges built by General Wade following the first Jacobite Rebellion: the Stuart army needed fast roads and bridges to police those rebellious Highlanders. Other rooms reference celebrated nature writer Nan Shepherd, Robert Louis Stevenson or the local Caledonian pine woods. Prices vary from excellent value (for small ‘croft’ rooms) to opulent suites, varying with season. Prices peak around the Braemar Gathering, the Highland Games in the first week of September, which is still attended by the reigning monarch.
Restaurants and bars
There is no need to leave the hotel with its excellent breakfasts, a fine-dining restaurant, a casual restaurant and a lounge. The Flying Stag is the hotel’s gastropub, as well as a focal point for the Braemar community. Scottish classics such as haggis and neeps are well represented. The Clunie Dining Room is the smartest of all, with a huge purpose-built kitchen range where key ingredients are grilled over fire. Scottish produce is highlighted: hand-dived Orkney scallops, Invercauld Estate beef, Macduff lobster and local venison inventively prepared as a Wellington inside a pastry crust.
Facilities
The Fife Arms has a spa, but the focus is on outdoor experiences. Range Rovers and a driver are at your disposal. Wellington boots and Barbour jackets can be borrowed. If fly fishing or golf are not to your taste, take advantage of a guided walk.
The erudite Dr Shona Armstrong was our guide, a retired local doctor who knows the history, flora and fauna of the area. She led us on a spectacular three-hour hike around Craig Leek, with views towards the high Grampians and across Deeside to Balmoral. If you’re feeling less energetic, an off-road 4-wheel drive tour is easily arranged. Short of time? The hotel’s own garden has been stunningly designed by Ginny Blom, whose naturalistic landscaping mirrors the setting through clever use of downy birches planted beside the babbling River Clunie. There’s also tennis, and, of course, Burns Night – always the 25th of January – here turned into a weekend-long event, including a ceilidh.
Verdict
What makes The Fife Arms sublime is that it captures the very essence of Scottish Highlands hospitality; an unforgettable travel experience from the moment you’re greeted by staff in tweed breeks. With A Bonnie Royal Experience 2025 running from 5 June to 2 August, it offers a unique experience to visit the home of the Royal Family, Balmoral Castle.
If you like Scotland, you’ll love The Fife Arms.
GO: Visit https://thefifearms.com for more information.