Fancy Christmas at The Queen’s local?
Not many hotels can claim royal chutzpah quite like The Fife Arms in Braemar, up in Scotland’s glittering Cairngorms. Just down the road, left a bit, from Balmoral, this former Victorian coach house was the first and last call for visitors to Her Maj Queen Victoria when she was up in residence at the Royals’ favourite Scottish retreat.
Charles and Camilla – officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, mind your Ps and Qs - cut the ribbon on the place when it reopened, after a very pricey refit, in 2019. And the Queen herself - who you might remember from Series 1, 2, 3 and 4 of The Crown – even had a hard-hat nosey around the place when it was being done up by the new owners, art super-couple Iwan and Manuela Wirth (who have a very flash gaff just down the road too, as it happens). The owner of the local shop says Liz II often pops in for a Crunchy KitKat.
The Fife Arms, thanks to the impeccable taste of Iwan and Manuela – think roaring fires, all the right tartans, actual masterpieces by Picasso, Freud and Louise Bourgeois sharing wall space with sketches by Queen Victoria and Prince Charles, a cocktail bar inspired by fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, plus a whole load of whimsy (our suite was packed with Victorian same-sex erotica. We think they got the memo) – is now pretty much the chicest place to stay in this neck of the woods. Heck, any neck of the woods.
And with Christmas round the corner (who knew!), The Fife Arms have decided to ramp up the festive charm and sprinkle the place with oodles of Swiss Alps pizzazz, albeit with booze-filled Highland twists.
Like Chocolate and Whisky in The Library, where the hotel’s new Chocolate and Whisky Bar will serve a selection of five local whiskies and Sprűngli Swiss chocolate. Or Fondue in The Fog House, where you can go Swiss with cheese from the Emmental Valley in Bern made with Schlossberger and Appenberger or Scottish with two local cheeses, Fat Cow and Mull Cheddar alongside Brew Dog’s local beer, Dead Pony Club, from nearby Ellon. There’s Swiss Tea in the Clunie Dining Room, glühwein and roast chestnuts around fire pits in the Courtyard then, of course, we have the biggies, Christmas and Hogmanay.
The Christmas Celebration package includes three days of festivities including a carol concert in The Flying Stag with mince pies and mulled wine, wreath-making classes, a Fife Arms stocking delivered to guests’ room on Christmas Day followed by a four-course festive feast, village treasure trails and evening entertainment on Boxing Day.
And for the Hogmanay Package, it’s champagne and canapés on New Year’s Eve, a four-course dinner in The Clunie Dining Room, and brisk walks in the Highlands. We imagine the latter is negotiable if the former’s got to you. Oh, and all guests will have a member of The Fife Arms’ team of Ghillies to see to their every whim, whimsy and whatsit, day or night. We hear the Virgin Mary couldn’t even get a look-in.
Christmas Celebration includes a 3-night stay from 24th – 27th December. Prices start from £543 per room per night including meals and activities. Hogmanay includes a 3-night stay from 30th December 2020 – 2nd January 2021. Prices start from £919 per room per night, with all of the above included.
Stays excluding Christmas and New Year start from £230 per night in a Croft Room on a B&B basis.
The Fife Arms, Mar Road, Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
mail@thefifearms.com | +44 (0)1339 720200
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