Resort
Auchterarder, Scottish Highlands
Gleneagles
A country house hotel on 850 acres of Perthshire countryside outside Auchterarder, built around three championship golf courses and a spa with two indoor pools.
Price on request
Hotel · Braemar, United Kingdom
The Fife Arms
A restored 1856 coaching inn in Braemar, within the Cairngorms National Park, offering 47 rooms and suites each dedicated to a Highland story or historical figure.
Overview
The Fife Arms occupies a former coaching inn built in 1856 on Mar Road in Braemar, within the Cairngorms National Park. The building is a category B listed structure, remodelled later in the 19th century by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie. Queen Victoria, who bought Balmoral ten miles away, is recorded as having changed horses at the inn and picnicked by the River Dee during her visits. The hotel holds five stars and two MICHELIN Keys.
There are 47 rooms and suites, each dedicated to a historical figure or a Highland landscape. Royal Suites, at 57 square metres, come with freestanding baths and separate sitting rooms; Victoriana Suites recall the hotel's 19th-century origins with period wallpaper and copper tubs. Smaller Croft Rooms are built around traditional cabin beds hand-painted with scenes of the surrounding hills. Two rooms depart from the historical theme entirely: the Artist's Studio, devised by Hauser & Wirth partner Neil Wenman as homage to the Bloomsbury Group, and a 'secret' room hidden behind a trompe-l'\u0153il door, dedicated to Coco Chanel's ties to the Highlands. Art runs throughout: more than 16,000 paintings, antiques and commissioned works are placed across the property, alongside site-specific commissions by international artists.
Food and drink follows a similarly local brief. The Clunie Dining Room serves open-fire cooking built around seasonal Scottish produce, while The Flying Stag operates as the village pub. Elsa's Cocktail Bar takes its cue from Elsa Schiaparelli's Art Deco years, and Bertie's Whisky Bar holds a library of more than 500 whiskies arranged by flavour. Outdoors, the hotel's Ghillie team leads guided Munro hikes, wild swimming trips and whisky distillery tours, while the Albamhor Treatment Rooms and a private PT Pod cover wellness for guests who prefer to stay closer to home.
- Rooms
- 47
- Minimum stay
- 1 night
- Check in
- 15:00
- Check out
- 12:00
Why we like it
- Built in 1856 as a coaching inn, a category B listed building remodelled by architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie
- 47 individually designed rooms and suites, each dedicated to a historical figure or Highland landscape
- Hotel Collection of more than 16,000 paintings, antiques and commissioned artworks placed across the property
- Bertie's Whisky Bar holds a library of more than 500 whiskies arranged by flavour profile
- Ghillie team leads guided Munro hikes, wild swimming trips and whisky distillery tours
- Two tennis courts in Braemar were donated to the village by owners Iwan and Manuela Wirth
Gallery
Rooms & suites
Categories shown for orientation. Your travel advisor will confirm which are available for your dates and recommend the one that suits the trip.
Royal Suites
Richly furnished with antiques, artworks and objects connected to Braemar's noble visitors, the Royal Suites include freestanding baths and separate sitting rooms with commanding views over the surrounding Highland landscape.
57 m²Up to 3 guestsHighland landscape viewVictoriana Suites
Decorated with patterned period wallpaper and paintings by Victorian-era artists, the Victoriana Suites pay homage to the hotel's history as a 19th-century coaching inn. Each has a copper tub and a separate sitting room.
36 m²Up to 2 guestsBraemar and the Highlands viewFamily Suites
Created by combining two rooms or suites with adjoining doors, the Family Suites give families a spacious, connected place to stay together in Braemar.
57 m²Up to 5 guestsScottish Culture Rooms
Dedicated to leading Scottish figures in literature, astronomy, engineering and exploration, these rooms are furnished with a mix of antiques, artworks and curiosities and are found throughout the hotel.
30 m²Up to 2 guestsNature & Poetry Rooms
Inspired by Scotland's natural world, these rooms feature artworks and objects made from heather, horn and tweed, alongside wooden headboards carved with lines from Scottish poets.
24 m²Up to 2 guestsCroft Rooms
Modelled on a traditional Scottish croft house, these cosy rooms are built around cabin beds hand-painted by artists with scenes of Highland cattle, pheasants and stags.
19 m²Up to 2 guestsCabin bedArtist's Studio
Devised by Neil Wenman, partner at Hauser & Wirth, as an homage to the Bloomsbury Group and its member Duncan Grant, this room turns its walls, doors and furniture into painted surfaces, down to the hand-painted woodwork in the bathroom.
29 m²Up to 2 guestsCabin bed'Secret' Room
Hidden behind a trompe-l'\u0153il door, this room is dedicated to Coco Chanel and her time in the Highlands, with Scottish chinoiserie painted panels, Art Deco details and a freestanding copper bath set within the room itself.
30 m²Up to 2 guests
Amenities
- The Clunie Dining Room
- The Flying Stag
- The Courtyard Bar
- Gordon's Tea Room
- Fish Shop
- Elsa's Cocktail Bar
- Bertie's Whisky Bar
- The Cellar
- Albamhor Treatment Rooms
- PT Pod
- Garden
- Shop
Reserving through us
Included when your travel advisor confirms this stay
- Daily breakfast for two
- Room upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
- Property credit or equivalent where the house offers one
- Early check in and late check out on request
- Welcome amenity and your travel agent known to the general manager
Eligible preferred amenities are applied wherever available, subject to the property at the time of stay, and are confirmed in your proposal.
Location
Braemar, United Kingdom
Sporting estates, castle hotels and single track roads to the west coast.
Questions
- How many rooms and suites does the Fife Arms have?
- The Fife Arms has 47 rooms and suites, each individually designed and dedicated to a historical figure or a Highland landscape.
- Are dogs allowed at the Fife Arms?
- Yes. The Royal Suites, Victoriana Suites, Family Suites, Scottish Culture Rooms, Nature & Poetry Rooms and Croft Rooms are all listed as dog friendly.
- Where is the Fife Arms located?
- The hotel stands on Mar Road in Braemar, within the Cairngorms National Park, close to Balmoral and the River Dee.
- What dining and drinking venues are on site?
- The hotel includes The Clunie Dining Room, The Flying Stag pub, The Courtyard Bar, Gordon's Tea Room, Fish Shop, Elsa's Cocktail Bar, Bertie's Whisky Bar and The Cellar wine cellar.
- What wellness facilities does the hotel offer?
- The Albamhor Treatment Rooms include a sauna and rainforest showers for guests having treatments, and a private PT Pod is available 24 hours a day, complimentary for hotel guests.
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