Part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Group, this glorious 15 bedroom Victorian mansion is the latest venture from Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray. Situated just three miles from Andy’s home town in Dunblane, Cromlix‘s interior has been carefully renovated to reveal much of its original splendour, topped off by its manicured gardens, private chapel and loch.
From the sky blue and gold leaf of the hotel bar, to the French navy and moss green of the glass-walled Chez Roux dining room and the shimmering hand-painted baths, Cromlix is certainly a feast for the senses.
The accommodation features five suites and ten bedrooms, all light-filled and subtly decorated, and many with views over the magnificent grounds and tennis courts. The suites, all named by Andy after famous Scots – Burns, Bowes-Lyon, Bruce, Eden and Ferguson – each have their own individual character and are complete with beautiful freestanding gold, silver and copper baths and 32in television screens disguised as mirrors.
The hotel offers a plethora of options for dining and entertaining. Chez Roux restaurant – overseen by legendary French chef Albert Roux and run by award-winning executive head chef Darin Campbell – is housed in an elegant conservatory overlooking the grounds, and offers diners a ringside view of the chefs at work in the extensive open kitchen.
Elsewhere, Cromlix offers numerous other opportunities for private dining, from the intimacy of a small study seating up to ten, to the more traditional atmosphere of the first-floor snooker room, where a full-size snooker table ingeniously flips over from green baize to dining or boardroom table seating 20.
Guests can also relax in the whisky room, the drawing room – featuring one of the hotel’s nine open fireplaces – or the striking bar where the pale wash on the walls is a perfect foil for the exquisite hand-painted gold leaf peacock and blooms reminiscent of chinoiserie.
At the foot of the staircase are the exposed pipes of the organ, beyond which lies the chapel, a magical setting for a wedding party of up to 30.
Add to that the landscaped grounds, the tennis courts and practise wall in the Wimbledon colours of purple and green, and it is clear Andy Murray has matched his talent on the court to his ambition to champion the best of his Scottish heritage.
“We are delighted that one of our greatest sportsmen, Andy Murray, has entered the tourism game and I’m sure he will be a terrific ambassador for the industry,” affirms Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland.
“The revamped Cromlix is bound to be a huge draw for visitors from all over the world, generating the kind of excitement that Andy creates on court. As a local boy, from nearby Callander, the hotel itself has a very personal, special place in my heart and to see such an amazing redevelopment is truly inspirational.”
