Elite Traveler Spring 2021

EXPLORE TOP HOTELS

The Fife Arms FIFE, SCOTLAND, UK

There’s nowhere else quite like the Fife Arms. Beautiful, authentic and with the seal of approval by none other than Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, this expertly restored coaching inn in the remote Aberdeenshire highlands is the passion project of creative duo Iwan and Manuela Wirth, the Swiss couple behind gallery empire Hauser & Wirth. Here, extraordinary imagination sees art turned into an experience where every delight is in the details. The hotel houses more than 14,000 pieces of art and antiques, carefully curated throughout its main reception rooms, bedrooms, corridors and corners. There’s Freud, a Picasso (yes, really) and a dramatic cuboid mural by Guillermo Kuitca on the walls of the Clunie Dining Room. Aesthetic expectations are high, but Fife delivers, and effortlessly so. FromWilliam Morris to Timorous Beasties, interior designer Russell Sage aces light- hearted drama in every nook. The suites are just as wow-worthy. All the bedrooms are themed — ‘Scottish Culture’ (notable Scots), ‘Nature and Poetry’ (think twigs, tweed and Walter Scott) or charmingly simple ‘Croft’ rooms (with tongue and groove and cabin beds). Many double up as interconnected suites to keep the family group together at all times. When it comes to dinner, dress to impress with pre-dinner cocktails at Elsa’s — named after Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli — before taking a seat in the Clunie Dining Room, where Scottish ingredients and wonderfully inventive flavors take center stage. For low-key, post-family-exploring eats, book one of the scrubbed pine tables in The Flying Stag. The menu is hearty, and there’s a special kid’s menu, too. In terms of family fun, the Fife Arms is well prepared. A game room piled high with classic games, books, table football and a play kitchen will keep younger guests busy for hours. Outside the hotel, head out into the wild to uncover all the secrets of Scotland’s native trees, woodlands and the animals that live in them, or travel back in time to see how the people of the past lived and worked in the remote glens surrounding your regal abode. For mom and dad? The Albamhor Spa for massages and bespoke treatments is where to head after your outdoor adventures. Family fun Learn the art of navigation in the wilderness with the Braemar Highland Experience. The hands-on course teaches the basics of map reading including the use of features, contours and grid references through the breathtaking landscape of Cairngorms National Park. Find treasure, amazing panoramas and Instagram-incredible sights on an adventure that will either bring you closer or be as testing as a festive get-together. From $850 per night. Contact Federica Bertolini, general manager, reservations@thefifearms.com, +44 133 972 0202, thefifearms.com