Hotels & Chalets · Our pick in the mountains
The Fife Arms
Two MICHELIN Keys · In depth
About The Fife Arms
The Fife Arms in Braemar, in the Cairngorms National Park close to Balmoral and the River Dee, is a five-star boutique hotel of 47 themed rooms and suites and more than 16,000 paintings, antiques and commissions. The Albamhor Treatment Rooms offer massage and facials with a bespoke sauna, and the Clunie Dining Room cooks over open fire.
In Braemar
The Fife Arms stands on Mar Road in Braemar, in the Cairngorms National Park near Balmoral and the River Dee. The Victorian house is filled with more than 16,000 paintings, antiques and commissioned works, from site-specific commissions to the hotel collection and works by artists in residence, and a chimney-piece dedicated to Robert Burns.
Albamhor Treatment Rooms
The treatment rooms offer warm-stone, deep-tissue and seaweed massages, facials with QMS Medicosmetics and Methode Physiodermie, and manicures and pedicures, with ishga products. Before or after a treatment you may use the bespoke sauna and power showers at no extra charge. There is a private gym, the PT Pod, and the hotel arranges wild swimming and woodland walks.
Where Celtic tradition, aristocratic eccentricity and contemporary art collide, in the hotel’s words.
Rooms and suites
The 47 rooms and suites are each dedicated to a historical figure or a Highland theme: Royal Suites and Victoriana Suites; Scottish Culture, Nature & Poetry and Croft rooms; family rooms; and two one-of-a-kind rooms, the Artist’s Studio and the ‘Secret’ Room.
Eating and drinking
The Clunie Dining Room cooks over open fire with local, seasonal produce. The Flying Stag is the village pub, with Scottish dishes and local ales; Elsa’s, an Art Deco cocktail bar, takes its inspiration from Elsa Schiaparelli; and Bertie’s Whisky Bar arranges more than 500 whiskies by flavour. There is also a Fondue Hut, a Fish Shop, wine tastings in the Cellar and afternoon tea.
The Ghillies
The hotel’s Ghillies, its Highland guides, lead Munro hikes, off-road trips, wild swimming, history tours and distillery tastings, and arrange fishing, shooting and golf.
Our advice: book one of the Victoriana Suites, ski Glenshee by day and take the sauna on your return, then a dram in Bertie’s before dinner at the Clunie.
Why it's on our list
- 47 rooms and suites, each with its own theme
- More than 16,000 artworks and antiques
- Albamhor Treatment Rooms and sauna
- Bertie’s Whisky Bar of more than 500 whiskies
- Ghillies for Munros and wild swimming
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Fife Arms before you go.
Check availability
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Or book direct with The Fife Arms: thefifearms.com