Expect highland character alongside five-star service when you walk through the doors of the Fife Arms. This Braemar landmark harks back to the 19th century and its architecture, by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, is typical of the area with its timber bargeboards, pink and grey granite and multi-gabled principal elevation.
A haven for a private holiday in the highlands, the panoramic expanses that surround the hotel are perfect for walking and exploring. By day, discover the stunning scenery of Cairngorms National Park then relax in complete luxury back at the hotel. Sit with a good book by one of many fireplaces, sink into a relaxing spa treatment or head to Braemar’s hot spot, The Flying Stag bar. Enjoyed by locals and guests alike, this is the spot for lively conversation as well as live entertainment. Enjoy local beers, whiskies and spirits with bar snacks or even a hearty Scottish meal. Should you fancy something a little more refined, dine in the Clunie Dining Room for seasonal Scottish produce and wood-fire cooking. Items on the menu here have often been foraged locally by the kitchen team. Enjoy pre- or post-dinner drinks in Elsa’s and morning coffee and afternoon tea in the Drawing Room. For keen golfers, Braemar is also the home of Scotland’s wildest golf course, where play is watched by endangered ospreys, watchful stags and rare red squirrels. Aspiring anglers can enjoy a day fishing on The River Dee, one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world.
One of the Fife Arms’ most intriguing features is its focus on art. You’d be forgiven for concentrating your attention on the original Picasso and Lucian Freud paintings on the walls, but there is much more besides. There are more than 14,000 art pieces in the hotel including both antiques and specially commissioned works. Watch out for a stag’s head penned by HM Queen Victoria and paintings by Archibald Thornburn, one of Scotland’s finest wildlife painters.
