Update: Since this 1997 review we have received a very full and well written account by a reader of his summer 1998 visit to Kinnaird House
In February 1999, Sandra Harkins wrote: "Had a lovely night at Kinnaird Hotel 20th February, beautiful house, staff excellent, food wonderful."
Or this one: in March 2000
From the moment you arrive, you know that you are in an exceptional place. The welcome is warm and efficently informal. There are no "checking in" formalities. You are shown to your bedroom (there are only nine in all) and it is likely to be large and will certainly be attractively and elegantly furnished. My room was some 22 feet square, with a 7 foot bed (and a teddy bear propped up in it), with splendid curtains and a bed-head and canopy to match. There were two arm chairs by the gas/log fire; a couch or day bed; some fine antiques; a CD player with a selection of discs which included both Louis Armstrong and Mozart; a radio, TV and some fresh flowers. There were plenty of books scattered around, just as in a private house, and a decanter of dry sherry and some mineral water. The view from the bay window was over the river Tay, where I could imagine the salmon waiting for me!
The bathroom was also splendidly spacious and I have danced on nightclub floors which were distinctly smaller. There are huge fluffy towels and bath robes, a "same day" laundry box and every sort of Penhaligon unguent, giving no excuse for going down to dinner smelling otherwise than divine. A large window looked out over lawns and a well tended garden.
One may feel a little under-privileged not arriving by helicopter, as some do, but the staff are so friendly and courteous that I think one would get an equally good welcome arriving in a mini as in the more usual Bentleys or Range Rovers.
The original wing of the house was built in the 1770s and became the Dower House for the Blair Atholl Estate. In 1927 the house was bought by the Hon. Lady Ward; Mrs Constance Ward, the present owner, renovated it completely in 1990. There is an attractive billiard room with glass cases displaying magnificent salmon, mostly taken in the 1920s and 1930s, to remind you of those happy days when the Tay was regularly teeming with fish, many of them in excess of 40 lbs. Many billiard rooms are rather isolated from the main part of the house, but this one opens out of a fine panelled drawing room, with a log fire and full of fresh flowers, so non-players can keep comfortably in touch.
The Chef is John Webber who trained under Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester Hotel and then went to Gidleigh Park, that gastronomic haven on Exmoor, and from there to Cliveden, winning awards along the way. First courses might be deep fried fillet of red mullet, with pancetta and sage; a consomm‚ of quail and wild mushrooms; a brochette of king scallops with parma ham and braised lentils; a warm salad of squat lobster and smoked mussel. Main courses could include grilled breast of pigeon; chump of lamb; breast of duck; a pot roast of Guinea Fowl.
Cheeses are excellent and the staff know all about them - Waterloo, Colliston, French triple cream, Orkney and others. Desserts are adventurous and might be sugar glazed lemon tart with sauces of raspberry and vanilla; banana and galliano soufflé with toffee ice cream (a particularly good mixture); a salad of winter fruits mulled in red wine and port; a light lime mousse - very cleansing. Lunch is 19.50 for 2 courses and 24.00 for three courses. Dinner is 39.50 for four courses, inclusive of mineral water, coffee petits fours and VAT.
Wines are mostly in the 18.00 to 28.00 range and, as well as France and Germany, countries such as Italy, Spain, South Africa, California, Australia and New Zealand are all well represented. There is an Aloxe Corton '78 at 60.00 and the oldest wine on the list is a La Lagune 3e Cru Medoc '61 at a steep 110.00. There is a good selection of half bottles, starting at ten pounds.
The dining room itself is attractive, candle-lit in the evenings, with an open fire, painted panelling and plenty of fresh flowers.
Not surprisingly, there are excellent sporting facilities. The estate has about two miles of double bank fishing on the Tay, about 8 miles north of Dunkeld, for salmon, grilse and sea trout. It is an eight rod beat but generally there are fewer rods fishing. Ghillies are available. There is also trout and pike fishing on three lochs. Shooting can be arranged - mostly pheasant - with driven birds or walking up. Some of the country near by lends itself to magnificently high birds. Tennis and croquet are available at the hotel and there are a number of golf courses in the area - as well as many historical places and houses to visit.
With only nine bedrooms, Kinnaird is ideal for private house parties, for shooting or fishing, or for corporate purposes, and it is often possible for a party to take over the whole hotel. It is delightful to be so well looked after in such a wonderful house for a week or so.
Kinnaird also has seven attractive and fully equipped cottages on the estate, accomodating two to eight people and available for renting throughout the year. Weekly rates start from 177.00 and guests in the cottages are welcome to use all the facilities of the hotel.
Kinnaird Estate, By Dunkeld, Perthshire PH8 0LB, Scotland.
Tel 01796 482440
Fax 01796 482289.
Double/Twin bedded rooms start at 200 per room per night
including VAT and full breakfast. Low season rates available in the winter.
Michael Pelham is proprietor of Pelham Tours, who organise gastronomic, sporting and other tours in the UK and elsewhere.
Pelham Tours, Old Way
House, Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7YL.
Tel 01590 612264 Fax 01590 612747
Email peltours@interalpha.co.uk
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