The Fife Arms
Mar Road, Braemar AB35 5YL Scotland
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The Fife Arms
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Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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About
#1 of 2 lodges in Braemar
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Travellers' Choice
Located in the historic Scottish village of Braemar, The Fife Arms is a Victorian coaching inn that has been imaginatively restored. Celebrating Scotland’s rich heritage and craftsmanship, the hotel is surrounded by the majestic landscape of Royal Deeside.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free breakfast
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Banquet room
Meeting rooms
Spa
Baggage storage
Wifi
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
Special diet menus
Concierge
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
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Room features
Room service
Safe
VIP room facilities
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL STYLE
Historic Hotel
Location
62Somewhat walkable
Grade: 62 out of 100
9Restaurantswithin 5 miles
18Attractionswithin 5 miles
Mar Road, Braemar AB35 5YL Scotland
Getting there
Car HireSee all Braemar car hire
453Reviews1Q+A50Room tips
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We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
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The Fife Arms is truly one of the most unique and wonderful places I have ever been. We visited last October in preparation to host our very small wedding there (10 guests) this October 2023. We were blown away by the kindness and dedication of all of their staff during our first stay which continued through our planning process the following year. The wedding was absolutely perfect. We planned multiple activities/excursions, meals, etc in addition to the ceremony with the hotel and the execution by their event team - Katie and Louise - was phenomenal. Not a single thing went awry the entire 4 day stay with all of our guests. On top of being an incredibly beautiful, funky, unique venue, it is one of the most comfortable hotels I've ever stayed at. Their rooms are gorgeous, the beds are very comfortable. Their food and cocktails are absolutely delicious. Every single staff member puts so much attention to detail and care into their work. It is just an incredibly special place and if you have the opportunity to visit, please please do. It is a magical place that will be a part of our family for a long time. …
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
I loved this hotel. It’s welcoming, imaginative decor , warm, traditional, modern and luxurious without being stuffy. The hotel creates a lovely balance. We were two couples staying three nights over the weekend. We found the staff very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. We did two great tours through the hotel, the 4 wheel drive tour with Fergus the ghillie from the hotel and one with Innes Carla tours. When relaxing in the parlour we saw the team make both residents and non residents very welcome. Flying stag food and atmosphere was great. Look forward to returning soon.
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Date of stay: November 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
I was looking forward since years to stay at the Fife Arms given the fact that there are few high end hotels with such reputation in the remote are of Cairngorms national park and near Balmoral Castle that we wanted to visit… I was disappointed. The postives: The rooms have nice boxes that the keys go into with some reading to go with each. Nice touch… The room has decent bedding and tea and coffee station and warm towels. Two turn down services each day. The less so positives: The rooms simply are not as nice as in the pics on the website. Not the same charm, lighting, detail and level of finish. Breakfast buffet is basic - the birchermuesli is a no go, juices variety is poor, service is slow. Then its a personal thing and a question of taste but the hotel owners are art lovers so they have placed a lot of art into the hotel - maybe too much plus some is truly modern so seriously not in tune with the ambiance of a traditional hotel like the Fife Arms in the heart of Scotland - my absolute greatest shock was the horrendous neon hall lamp which was, as a decorator, sore to my eye… The service in the Flying Stag is horrendously slow - there clearly is a lack of recruitment possibilities, granted, but the staff is way too young in their 20s, quite rude, playing around behind the bar, very casual with customers and inexperienced for a hotel of this level - pub or not pub. The menu is also poor and lacks of creativity. The tea served with scones or pastries was served to us on a dirty non swept off / crumby and sticky table and the server was more interested in getting our room number vs listening to our order. Overall its a ‘good’ but not ‘great’ hotel and I say that also given the rates they apply. Not many other options nearby however so you can always try it and see…. …
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Date of stay: November 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
6 Helpful votes
Helpful
Extraordinary re-creation of a Victorian hotel, laced with an extensive Hauser & Wirth art collection. This hotel is busy, it’s large with a lot of guests and visitors. The reception team and ghillies (aka concierge) were all excellent and knowledgeable, the bar, hotel pub were great. The standout was the hotel restaurant which is a five star experience. Our room was disappointing - turned out to be a small double with a very mid-sized bathroom, there was barely sufficient space to walk around our luggage. Overall, The Fife Arms is an interesting, and on the basis of its exorbitant pricing, a one-off experience. But then again, this hotel is not really aimed at holidaying Brits - it would appear the primary market is American tourists, to whom they might even flog a bit of art!…
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
4 Helpful votes
Helpful
Despite arriving early at check in Maria welcomed us with a huge smile and after checking said our room was ready and she could give us a tour of the hotel if we would like. All I can say is never lose this girl she is a diamond ….so passionate about the history of this hotel and the people who have it she made me engage in it as well, the art work is just amazing,the lighting, the whole ambiance of this hotel is so captivating and Maria added to this by being so informative.Then she showed us to our room which was one of the nature and poetry rooms, beautiful, and full of history again.The management had very kindly gifted us champagne as it was my husbands birthday, Thankyou to all the staff who are all so professional and lovely, and huge thanks to Maria, who makes this hotel an experience.…
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
We enjoyed our two nights at Fife Arms in late September. The room was charming and comfortable, and the hotel’s decor is wonderful. Friendly staff and good food at both restaurants. The town of Braemar is quaint and features several excellent hikes. Bertie’s bar is a great place for scotch tasting as they have scores of different brands to sample and a friendly and knowledgeable team. Thanks Mark!
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
It has a big reputation, and glad to report it lives up to the hype. Such a relaxed atmosphere amid the stylish interior. Fancy pub lunch was not cheap, but worth it. Amazing fish and chips and very friendly staff.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Stopped in for tea after a lovely hillwalk. One member of staff, when asked if we could sit for tea, said yes... please do. When another member of staff came to us, asking what we would like, then asked for our room number. When told that we weren't residents, we were asked to leave. A very embarrassing situation. This is the second such incident at this hotel (the first in July). Evidently they do not want our business. Will not be returning.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
8 Helpful votes
Helpful
This now famous hotel (owned by international gallery owners Hauser and Wirth) has been beautifully renovated and decorated featuring original beautiful artwork and installations. When we visited for a (significant) birthday treat, it was very busy with many foreign travellers who are taking the chance to visit Balmoral which is close by. It really is an amazing space and the owners have recently bought a hotel nearby to convert into serviced appartments which will no doubt be very popular and well designed. There is also a fish restaurant in Ballater (owned by Hauser and Wirth) which we visited and I would highly recommend. The art tour was interesting and engaging and I would highly recommend it particularly combined with afternoon tea which looked delicious and very popular. We thought the front of house staff were very engaging and worked well. We fed back (actually more than) the following to the hotel. I suspect the manager Rachael has heard all of it before but whether she chooses to act on it will define ultimately whether this is a one off destination or whether people return. We paid nearly £1,000 per night for the room so that is why our expectations are high. Our room was comfortable with the sound of the Cluny rushing past. It has 2 tv's but only the bedroom one could be used for Chrome streaming. The front of staff people came up and couldn't fix it so said they would the next day. They didn't but - and this is one of my issues. We were not given a note to say "We've looked at it and can't sort it sorry". Instead we fiddled around ourselves with the remote to no avail. The milk in the fridge and ice in the ice-bucket were not automatically refreshed and some of the glasses were not replaced by housekeeping. On booking, the hotel said they had taken the liberty of booking us into the Flying Stag one night and the Cluny (fine dining) the next. The Flying Stag is stylish and looks good but the menu was limited to hearty unimaginative pub food which you find in fewer Scottish pubs nowadays and particularly not at night. Sausage roll or black pudding bon-bons as a light bight/starter? Not many vegetables on offer and certainly not many light options. If you wandered in here at lunch time it would be fine but there is too big a discrepancy between the 5 star hotel and the limited menu offered by this pub. We had assumed it was a gastro-pub but it absolutely is not. Breakfast both mornings was fine. The cold table was well stocked with lots of cooked breakfast choices. Top tip - if you order toast you get 1 slice. So be specific if you want more. The Cluny fine dining food was delicious. My husband had cured halibut, partridge and cheese. I had lobster tail (tiny but tasty), pearly barley and Jerusalem artichoke and sticky toffee pudding. We'd asked the sommelier for a recommendations and he was helpful. However leaving the wine on the side means that you need people to pour it for you. We ended up leaving some of a bottle of expensive wine on the side and empty glasses. As everywhere now, I think at times they are short staffed. The managers are failing to supervise the dining room both at night and at breakfast. People are standing waiting to be seated whilst many waiters whiz past not even acknowledging they are there. The manager at breakfast was clearing tables and not looking at how the service was progressing - slow and patchy. When the manager did put butter on the table there was no eye contact. Honestly it's really basic hospitality rules to engage your guests with a smile. No need for chat when things are busy but rude to be looking elsewhere! None of the above are the worst sins of hospitality but combined they took the edge off an otherwise great experience.…
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Book dining options and activities well in advance.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
6 Helpful votes
Helpful
I’m sorry to say, the Fife Arms’s reputation is overrated. I came from France after reading a dithyrambic article in the Elle Magazine. I’ve enjoyed its atmosphere as I’ve enjoyed discovering Scotland. The staff is very friendly, but the service isn’t what one might expect from a 5 star hotel. One has to adjust to their timetable: afternoon tea only from 1 pm until 3 pm (because the kitchen is closed between 3 and 6 pm), no spa services if you don’t book far in advance (only 1 person working until 5 pm!!!). The Flying Stag Pub is the only restaurant open on Sunday and Monday night with a limited menu (especially when you don’t eat meat). The breakfast is disappointing : poor pancakes, burnt toasts, very limited buffet. I will recommend to stay maximum 2 nights (it was a mistake to book 3 nights). It has been good to have a look, but there’s no more beyond it!…
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
6 Helpful votes
Helpful
PRICE RANGE
US$503 - US$793 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United KingdomScotlandAberdeenshireBraemar
NUMBER OF ROOMS
46
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Frequently Asked Questions about The Fife Arms
What are some of the property amenities at The Fife Arms?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant.
What food & drink options are available at The Fife Arms?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Are any cleaning services offered at The Fife Arms?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Are pets allowed at The Fife Arms?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Does The Fife Arms offer any business services?
Yes, guests have access to meeting rooms and a banquet room during their stay.
Is The Fife Arms accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access and reduced mobility rooms. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.