Sophisticated interiors combine with unbeatable food and drink at this Aberdeenshire stay
In all my years of travel writing, I’ve never once revisited a property. Scotland has so many gorgeous places to lay your head that I just haven’t been able to justify a repeat stay. But for Kildrummy Inn, I’ll break all my rules.
The award-winning Aberdeenshire inn (recently named Scotland’s AA Inn of the Year) is run by owners David and Sophie Littlewood. David, an incredible chef in his own right, oversees the kitchen alongside head chef Alexandria Hay, while Sophie is in charge of most front-of-house duties. They’re a brilliant duo, easily sweeping guests out of the everyday and into the magic that is Kildrummy.
The traditional exterior we see as we arrive has me expecting a nice pub dinner and an early night. Then I open the door and my partner collides with my back as I’m brought to an abrupt halt by the lavishness of the interiors (the work of designer Joelle Reid).
Layered lighting hangs invitingly from the dark-beamed ceiling, and a pleasing array of seats and neatly set tables stretches out in front of us. David pops up from behind the well-stocked bar (a sign of excellent things to come) and leads us upstairs to our room for the night.
En route, even the hallway is interesting, with wine bottles on display behind bespoke joinery. As we head through a cosy lounge decorated with fishing paraphernalia, a glimmer of amber catches my eye. “The whisky snug,” says David with a smile. “Feel free to come down for a drink before dinner.”
Even our room’s William Morris wallpaper and decadently canopied bed aren’t enough to silence that call. We dump the bags, briefly fawn over the expansive marble en-suite, and then scurry back downstairs. Luckily for us, our visit coincides with the quieter season and David is free to offer up recommendations and share his knowledge. He has put together a comprehensive book detailing every available whisky, alongside his own personal tasting notes, so you’re sorted even if you can’t steal hours of his time. Among the impressive display shelves in the snug are personal whisky lockers.
Here, folk can safely stash their favourite bottle and enjoy it each time they visit Kildrummy. It’s a clever idea in its own right, but it also offers entertainment for inquisitive guests like us, who can peek into the uplit lockers and marvel over people’s choices. Safe to say, I’m enamoured.
The first of my rules is broken as I have two pre-dinner drams. Or is it three? It might be easy to feel sorry for my sober partner as I nose my way across Scotland and its isles, chatting excitedly about the contents of the lockers as I go.
Happily, David also makes a mean mocktail and manages to keep up a steady flow of booze-free concoctions, each more intriguing than the last. Juicy olives and seasoned popcorn arrive in the snug, a reminder that we’re supposed to be choosing from the dinner menu. It’s packed with dishes made from local produce and sets our stomachs rumbling. Kildrummy’s own private beat offers salmon and brown-trout fishing, so I’m not surprised to see fish listed here. “It was suggested we might get better ratings in the guide books if we took fish and chips off the menu,” confides David. “But it’s really popular with our locals, and why would we disregard the people who keep us going through the winter? It’s as much their place as it is ours.”
It’s this approach that makes Kildrummy such a treat. We feel at home here, despite the exquisite interiors and luxury elements, because it’s so obvious that David and Sophie genuinely care about each and every one of their guests.
Three courses later (including a flawless portion of fish and chips), we’re blissfully happy and bursting at the seams. Bed is calling. But what’s that? Hark! ’Tis the whisky snug. We roll ourselves back into its leather embrace and coerce David into joining us for a tipple. We finally fall into bed in the wee hours.
When morning officially comes, nothing will stand between us and another meal prepared by the wizards of Kildrummy. The full breakfast includes award-winning sausages (I’d expect nothing less) from Huntly butcher Forbes Raeburn – they’re enough to bring a tear of ecstasy to my partner’s eye.
Obviously, we’re back just a few months later. No regrets.
Escape to Boath House, a serene Georgian manor that sits between Nairn and Findhorn
