Fife Arms

When this tired Victorian hotel in Braemar was given a revolutionary redesign by Swiss gallerists Iwan and Manuela Wirth, it was the most exciting hotel news to hit the Highlands this century.

Just down the road from Balmoral, the Queen’s Highland holiday home, this grand granite pad has put the eastern corner of the Cairngorms National Park back on the map for style-seekers.

The 46 rooms and suites, each inspired by local characters or famous figures who once schlepped up here – and the hotel itself, are maximalist in design, wreathed in rich fabrics, vibrant wallpaper and striking modern artworks. The cooking is equally theatrical; the restaurant’s centrepiece is a wood-fired barbecue.

It’s the ideal bolthole for extrovert art lovers and Highland history buffs with deep pockets.