Andy Murray's hotel wins big at 'hotel Oscars' - with plans for expansion and Michelin star

Before dinner in The Glasshouse, we have a refreshing gin cocktail in the garden. It’s the kind of evening where a location - and grounds - such as this come into its own.

The colourful array of potted tulips, bobbing in the breeze as the sun sets, showcases more than just decoration. They are part of a wider sustainability drive to use only home-grown flowers in the hotel.

Head gardener Kathy Beckett is also working closely on the kitchen garden with new executive head chef James Mearing, who moved to Scotland from his role as executive chef at the three AA Rosette Summer Lodge Country House Hotel and Restaurant in Evershot, Dorset.

These culinary and horticultural changes are the seasoning to another huge change that is coming to Cromlix.

The team submitted plans in October last year for a new restaurant and kitchen and three new bedrooms, with the proposal now approved.

This means that a new 80-cover restaurant will replace the hotel’s existing dining space, The Glasshouse, and will be an extension to the existing footprint of the Victorian mansion, sitting in a new location overlooking the hotel’s extensive back lawn.

The Glasshouse will remain a dining space, but will be used mainly for afternoon teas and private events. A new fine dining restaurant space is also in the pipeline where the garden room private dining space is.

General manager Barry Makin explained this new space, saying: “There will be 16 covers and we can really push the boat out and let the chef loose, if you like, with his artistic culinary skills.”

Three new ground-floor bedrooms will also be created within the main building, converting kitchen space into an accessible suite and two cottage rooms.

An additional bedroom is also being added onto the first floor, meaning that in total the main house will go from 15 bedrooms to 19, with a further bedroom in the Gate Lodge.

All of this comes after an extensive refurbishment in 2023, a project overseen by Kim Murray, which saw the renovation of all of the bedrooms and bathrooms, the creation of a new bar area and entrance, and the upgrading of the restaurant and all other common areas of the hotel.

The refurbishment has led to the hotel winning AA Scottish Hotel of the Year, Independent Hotel of the Year and Chef of the Year at the Scottish Excellence Awards. Earlier this month Cromlix was awarded best boutique hotel and best historic hotel at the ‘Hotel Oscars’, the Innis and Gunn Prestige Hotel Awards.

The venue was also awarded a Michelin Key in late 2024, one of 15 Scottish hotels to receive the new accolade and one the team hope may entice Michelin Star inspectors to their new restaurant.

Mr Makin said: “We’re very much on Michelin’s radar [after having been awarded a Michelin Key] and they’ll be coming every year to inspect us. When we have this restaurant [The Glasshouse], which is all things to all men. It’s very hard to get the level and consistency to deliver the Michelin experience.

“But not everyone wants that when they come here, so we kind of have to be a bit of a hybrid at the moment. But what we will have is the [new] larger restaurant, which will be more relaxed. But if you really want to come for a fine-dining experience, then the 16-seat restaurant is more at that level.

“Our aspiration is to have Michelin-standard food without question. That is why we are putting on the fine dining restaurant.

“The space works well at the moment as a private dining space, so for us to take that away four days a week, and put in a fine dining restaurant, we have to make sure that it’s special - four rosettes, Michelin-standard special. I’d like to think we can achieve four rosettes in that space [given the restaurant has 3 AA rosettes at the moment].”

As for what will be on the menu? Anyone who has visited Cromlix for dinner will know there is a seasonal tasting menu and a la carte offering.

Mr Mearing is putting his stamp on things with dishes such as salt aged St Bride’s duck, cured Mowi Scottish salmon and duo of rabbit, with vegetarian options available.

But when it comes to the new fine dining offering, Mr Mearing said he wants to “really strike a difference”.

He said: “There will be whole new concepts as well as menus. If guests are staying with us for multiple nights, we really want them to have different dining experiences each night.

“Our ambition is to really capture the connection between the estate, the garden and the kitchen. The big thing for me in my cooking is trying to be ultra seasonal and local and you can’t get any more local than what’s been grown and foraged from the garden.”

Cromlix will close in January for the build of the new restaurant, which will feature the original garden wall within the space, with plans to reopen in May next year. Whether that comes with more rosettes and a shiny star, we’ll just need to wait and see.