Balbirnie House Hotel, by Glenrothes Fife

Balbirnie is a small luxury Georgian country house hotel situated within 400 acres of beautiful parkland, by the village of Markinch in the heart of Fife. Rated AA 4 Stars for 17 years, signifying Balbirnie as one of the top 200 hotels in the UK. The hotel is superbly located right between Edinburgh and St. Andrews, and very close to the picturesque East coast of Scotland with its many quaint fishing villages. Edinburgh is only 14 miles and the stunning scenery of Perthshire is an easy drive away and the vibrant city of Glasgow is just over an hour from Balbirnie. Privately owned and personally managed since opening as a hotel 25 years ago, Balbirnie House is widely recognised today as one of the country’s finest small luxury hotels, combining understated luxury with superb service and outstanding value. Offering 31 individually designed bedrooms, each quite unique in style and character. For a special stay, you may wish to enjoy one of the deluxe rooms or suites, many of which are enormous rooms with large comfortable beds and magnificent views over the gardens. Bedrooms are located over the three floors of the original mansion house, with a number of rooms on the ground floor for guests who would prefer not to take the staircase. There is also have one ground floor twin bedded room with wheelchair access.

Balbirnie House dates back to 1777, having been commissioned by The Balfour family who were a very influential agricultural and coal mining family at the time. The house was originally designed by the architect John Nisbet in 1777 and was then extended by Robert Crichton in 1815, and is now listed as Grade A of architectural and historical importance, most probably built as one of the largest and earliest Grecian style houses in Scotland. The hotel has a choice of dining options, enjoy the Bistro created from the old kitchens of the house. The Bistro offers casual dining, fantastic value, delicious and authentic Bistro cooking. Or for more formal dining why not sample The Orangery which offers classic Scotland on a plate, and has become one of Fife’s most special destination restaurants. All dishes priced individually allowing you to choose as you wish. Voted one of Scotland's five most romantic restaurants by The Scotsman newspaper and past recipient Scotland's Hotel Restaurant of the Year. The Chef's Room is a totally unique private room for up to 6 guests, located directly alongside the main hot kitchen plating area with full length mirror to watch the Chefs at work (one way glass, they can’t see you!). The Tasting Room can be booked just like a normal restaurant table but certainly offers something a bit different for a night out to remember! Enjoy after afternoon picnic - should you wish to explore the surrounding countryside, we are delighted to provide a range of picnic hampers to take with you. Induluge in a traditional cream tea available at Balbirnie between 3-5pm daily. For those of our guests who prefer to stay within the perimeter of the estate during their stay, many pursuits are available, including doorstep golf on the challenging par 71 parlkand golf course, jogging trails and woodland walks. For those who have a keen interest in history, Balbirnie even has its own stone circle and stob cross. The park is home to an abundance of wildlife (including a family of deer) and to a vast selection of plants and trees, including the East of Scotland’s largest single collection of specimen rhododendron trees. Within the park is also Balbirnie craft centre selling handcrafted gold and silver jewellery, pottery, leather goods and metal works. All bedrooms include the following facilities; ensuite bathroom with shower/tub combination, complimentary tea/coffee making facilities with homemade cookies, Arran Aromatic luxury Scottish toiletries, super comfy duvets and fluffy towels, 24 hour room service and porterage service, broadband access and complimentary WiFi, direct telephone cabling, plasma TV with a variety of channels, movies on demand, radio and hotel information. Same day laundry and dry cleaning service. Hypo-allergenic bedding, bathrobes, and wake-up calls on request. Therapy treatments are available at Balbirnie in the privacy of your own room. All treatments are provided by Lorna Mitchell, owner and founder of Elite Therapies. Lorna is able to conduct many popular massage treatments for our guests, in particular a variety of different massage therapies using a combination of aromatherapy oils and bees wax balms.

Facilities

• 17th century buildings
• Breakfast Included
• Parking (free)
• No smoking
• Child Friendly
• B&B
• 4 Star Official Rating
• Historic Property
• Free broadband access (wired)
• Shared gardens
• Garden furniture
• Children's cots
• Children's highchairs
• Towels included
• Telephone
• Restaurant
• Cooked breakfast (included)
• Lunch available (at additional cost)
• Dinner available (at additional cost)
• Recommended walks
• Pub (a short drive)
• Museums (a short drive)
• Golf course (walking distance)
• Recommended restaurants (a short drive)
• Theatre (a short drive)

Arrival information

Check In: From 2.00pm Check Out: By 11.00am Directions: From Edinburgh (35 miles) / Edinburgh Airport. Follow signs for the Forth Road Bridge – M90. Exit junction 2A on to A92. Follow signs to Glenrothes and the Tay Road Bridge. At Kirkcaldy end of dual carriageway go straight through 3 roundabouts still following Tay Road Bridge signs, then at fourth roundabout turn right onto the B9130 and follow signs to Markinch and Balbirnie Park. From GLASGOW (70 miles) / Glasgow Airport. Take M8 and follow signs to Forth Road Bridge, then directions as from Edinburgh above. From PERTH (23 miles). Take M90, exit Bridge of Earn at junction 9. Take A912 following signs to Glenfarg, Gateside, Strathmiglo, Falkland and Glenrothes. Just before you reach Glenrothes, turn left at roundabout signposted B9130 and follow signs for Markinch and Balbirnie Park. Alternatively take M90 to junction 3 and follow directions as from Edinburgh (this is a longer route but is motorway or dual carriageway all the way). From Dundee (26 miles). Follow signs to Tay Road Bridge. Take the Kirkcaldy road (A92 and A914) to Glenrothes. Just before you reach Glenrothes, turn left at roundabout signposted B9130 and follow signs for Markinch and Balbirnie Park. From Rosyth Ferry: (25 miles). Follow signs for M90 North, then continue as if coming from Edinburgh. By Train: Nearest train station is located in Markinch (just 5 minutes away) and it has direct links from Edinburgh station. A taxi collection can be arranged from the station. By Bus: There are regular bus services in and around Fife. For more information please contact Glenrothes Bus Station on 01592 610686.