Elite Traveler Winter 2020

EXPLORE TOP HOTELS

Kinross House Estate SCOTLAND, UK

tartan-clad Whisky Library — offering some of the rarest drams in the world — or test their Highland games skills on the mammoth lawns. The estate’s walled kitchen garden and extensive cycling routes also have romantic lazy hazy summers written all over them. A major bonus is that Kinross is just 30 minutes away from Edinburgh airport — pair that with the estate’s helicopter and you can combine the perks of city life and country nirvana into one mega vacation. If you do one thing... It’s a fully designated National Nature Reserve, so a trip over the lake to Loch Leven Island is practically mandatory. Estate boats will whisk you over for the short trip to their very own island (as it’s been dubbed), where you can fish for trout, spend an afternoon devouring a well-stocked picnic hamper, or simply just find a quiet spot under a tree and read to your heart’s content. From $15,957 to $22,604 per night. Contact Ellie Garvie, events coordinator, ellie.garvie@firstsightestates.com, +44 157 786 5626, kinrosshouse.com

Surrounded by a great lake, towering trees and a string of picturesque mountains, this unique retreat is a quintessential Scottish beauty. Set on the banks of Loch Leven, the exclusive-use-only Kinross House, a member of Luxury Scotland, has endless headliners to brag about: giant country house, wondrous views and lush landscaped gardens to name a few. But perhaps the most fascinating thing is its storied past. Built as the first neoclassical Palladian mansion in Scotland by Sir William Bruce, the grand abode looks out to Loch Leven Castle, famous as the place where Mary Queen of Scots was incarcerated and forced to abdicate in favor of her son James VI, and for being recaptured from British troops during the First War of Scottish Independence by Sir WilliamWallace, aka Braveheart. Historic British dramas aside, the landscaped estate now invites guests to experience its knockout mansion house with 14 en-suite bedrooms, along with a private spa with treatment rooms, hydrotherapy pool and sauna. Think grand maison with stately dining rooms, stunning painted ceilings, beds piled high with pillows wrapped in the finest linens and glitzy yet traditional regal bathrooms. Fully staffed, the place has enough room to accommodate 48, all of whom can enjoy tutored tastings in the contemporary