The Fife Arms, the award-winning hotel located in the village of Braemar, in the heart of the Scottish Cairngorms Mountains, has added a new bedroom inspired by fashion designer Gabrielle Bonheur ‘Coco’ Chanel, whose connection to the fabrics and pastimes of the Highlands inspired her legendary collections. Akin to the nest of an exotic bird, the bedroom pays homage to this free-spirited and wild character who first came to Scotland in the 1920s during her romance with Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster. Over the next decade, Chanel fell in love with the culture of the Highlands and became an avid fisherwoman and a renowned fly fisher.

Brought to life by Russell Sage Studio, the interior designer behind the Fife Arms, the opulent and elegant new guestroom draws diverse influences from Chanel’s life and designs. Known for her dislike of doors and her placing of screens in front of them in the hope that her guests might forget to leave, the new ‘secret’ room is hidden behind a trompe-l’œil door featuring details from her Paris apartment and discovered by following the path of a special Camelia symbol.

Specially commissioned tweeds in rich greens and burgundy from Linton mill, (discovered by Chanel in 1928 and who still have an ongoing working relationship with the house today,) feature throughout the room, complemented by decorative touches drawn from Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon apartment in Paris, including the wheatsheaf chandelier and Art Deco vanity mirror on the dressing table. The headboard and furniture throughout the room is painted in Scottish Chinoiserie and the wallpaper is a copy from Rosehall Hall, the Scottish manor house near Lairg, which Chanel decorated during her relationship with the Duke.

Warm and romantic, the room also houses a walk-in wardrobe, dedicated bar area, and freestanding copper bath tucked within an arched niche. The bathroom celebrates the monochrome colour palette that Chanel used regularly within her work.

The new room occupies the Fife Arms’ former Family Room, which has also been carefully relocated and recreated in a dedicated space on the ground floor of the hotel. A treasure trove for inquisitive minds of all ages, the room is filled with board games, books, craft materials and plenty more to spark imagination and play. Even the red squirrels have made the move, you’ll find them hidden throughout the new space, each one lovingly knitted by the ‘Deeside Knitwits’.

Starting rate: £ 1,000

The Fife Arms, Mar Road, Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Email: [email protected] | Telephone +44 (0)1339 720200 | www.thefifearms.com