Multi-million pound plans to resurrect Braemar’s Invercauld Arms could bring a swimming pool, gym, yoga studios and even a mini-cinema to the Deeside village.
Artfarm, the firm behind the nearby five-star Fife Arms, have promised a “renaissance” for the centuries-old hotel.
Wealthy art dealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth, who run the global company, have now unveiled new plans for the closed hotel.
They bought it about four years ago, after the final guests checked out in the autumn of 2018.
A vision for the site unveiled shortly afterwards has now been scrapped, in the face of major changes to the industry since then.
Gone are plans for a 63-bedroom model, with a coffee shop and pizzeria, to make way for something much different.
The reborn Invercauld Arms is now planned to have just 23 serviced apartments, with space for about 50 visitors.
The Fife Arms has become something of a retreat for the rich and famous since being reopened a few years ago under the Wirths.
But those leading the project say the Invercauld Arms will “cater to a different clientele” than the luxury resort – and “any other tourist attraction in Deeside”.
Invercauld Arms plans unveiled in busy Braemar event
The C-listed building has been in the village since 1700.
Architect Ben Addy and Artfarm’s property director, Colum Kelly, revealed the revised plans during a packed public meeting at Braemar Village Hall on Monday evening.
The scores of attendees were poured tea, coffee and mulled wine after braving the drizzle to attend.
Mr Addy, the founding director of Crathie-based Moxon Architects, has been working with the Wirths on their various Deeside plans for a decade.
He explained that the “most impactful” part of the Invercauld Arms project for those gathered in the hall would be the leisure building.
It would include a 25m, four-lane swimming pool, a gym, yoga studios and a spa – which would be open to residents as well as guests.
Amid increasing worries about the price of operating pools, Mr Addy said the facility would be “more or less self-reliant” – with power coming from solar panels on the roof.
“It would be a very low carbon construction,” he added.
And with huge windows offering expansive views of the surrounding Cairngorms scenery, Mr Addy says taking a dip will feel like “swimming in the beautiful Highland landscape”.
Plans could be perfect for potters…
Pottery and kiln workshops would be created too on the ground floor, with space for people to practise metalwork and woodwork skills.
Meanwhile, a patch of “waste ground” at the rear of the building would be transformed into a “new public space” for villagers to enjoy.
There would be art studios in the south wing, where students could hone their craft.
And there would be space for weddings and ceilidhs in the storied venue too.
The “comfortable” 18-person cinema room would be for the use of guests – but available for locals to book too.
How would new model work?
Artfarm told villagers the rooms would be “somewhere between a normal hotel and a self-catering establishment”, with a mix of room sizes and three fully accessible units.
In total, there would be 45 beds, with nine sofa beds offering some flexibility.
That’s down from 70-75 in the hotel’s previous incarnation.
Happy memories of visiting Scotland and staying at the beautiful and historical Invercauld Arms Hotel in Braemar, in 2009,with my daughter. Visited Crathie Kirk where the Queen worshipped when she was at Balmoral. Also visited Ballater, her nearest village ❤️ pic.twitter.com/eJywqI2Xz6
— Denise Duddy (née D'Arcy) (@d_arcy07) September 12, 2022
There would be a kitchen but no restaurant, encouraging guests to boost the local economy by venturing elsewhere for meals.
What about staff?
The change would also mean the number of staff required plummets from about 120 to just 35-40.
Many of them will be able to live at a renovated dairy building on the site, while others could stay at a complex being created in the former Craigard House care home 15 miles away in Ballater.
The accommodation would be shared with workers from the sister venue a short stroll away over the River Clunie.
It comes as well-publicised recruitment struggles blight the hospitality industry.
But Mr Kelly would not be drawn on the extent to which that had influenced the change in plans.
‘It deserves a renaissance’
Ewan Venters, the chief executive of Artfarm, hailed the moves to revitalise the “much-loved” landmark.
He said: “This is a much-loved facility that welcomed visitors from far and wide to beautiful Deeside for hundreds of years.
“It deserves a renaissance and upgrading that befits its position standing guard at the entrance to the village.”
GLOBAL EXCLUSIVE – Dame Judi Dench gigs with Sharleen Spiteri at The Fife Arms, Braemar – future dates are in the planning. Watch this space, meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR! #damejudidench #judidench #sharleenspiteri #thefifearms #braemar #scotland 🏴 #newyear #happynewyear pic.twitter.com/5iOcl3SuB3
— Ewan Venters (@ewanventers) January 1, 2023
Mr Venters added: “Our aim is to give a different offering to that of the Fife Arms, but encompassing the same high-quality service our guests expect of us.
“This approach will also encourage our guests to continue to explore the offerings and businesses of the wider region.”
A planning application for the hotel is expected to be lodged with Aberdeenshire Council in about a month.
Conversation