One for the wishlist? 11-bedroom Scottish castle with hotel potential listed for price of a one-bedroom Chelsea flat
If a property hunt is at the forefront of your mind this festive season, you may want to daydream about all of the space this 11-bedroom Scottish castle complete with turrets, gilded ceilings and a ballroom would give you.
On sale for £1.1million – the same price as a one-bedroom flat in prime central London – the sprawling, Baronial-style Rothes Glen House is set in 9.3 acres of grounds.
Found just north of Rothes in Banffshire’s picture-perfect Spey Valley, this grand pile not only has eight reception rooms, there's also a dining room large enough to host a banquet, a library and separate reading room, a smoking room and a gym. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and dressing room and another bedroom has its own sitting room.
The property has been restored throughout, with features ranging from Italian mosaic tiled floors and stained glass domes to marble fireplaces and a coat of arms on the stately neo-Jacobean doorpiece.
Outside there is a double garage and multiple store rooms, including a game larder with walk-in fridge. Cherry trees line the drive and the gardens feature a fountain, rose garden and lake.
The history of Rothes Glen House
The house was built in 1893 as a summer getaway for the Dunbar-Dunbar family, later passing to a relative, Mrs Dunbar-Naismith, who lived there until 1921.
It was let as a shooting lodge and used by Gordonstoun in World War Two, before being sold in 1946 and run as a country house hotel until 1998.
It was fully refurbished in 2004 as a stunning private home.
Rothes Glen House has been on the market for over a year now, despite plenty of interest from both UK and foreign buyers.
Ruaraidh Ogilvie, property agent at Savills, describes it as “a big house to take on, but a big house in good order” that has been valued by a surveyor for the Home Report. He believes it awaits a “special style of purchaser” looking either for a big residential home or a property that they could run a business from, such as an upmarket hotel.
The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax has been impacting the higher end of the Scottish market since its introduction in April 2015. This tax can add an extra £45,000 to the cost of a £1million home bought in Scotland rather than England, making it possible that luxury buyers have been looking elsewhere, where tax rates are lower.
Nevertheless, Rothes Glen House remains an attractive opportunity for house hunters wanting a change of lifestyle, with the idyllic surrounding area famous for its salmon fishing, golf courses and malt whiskey distilleries.
Nearby Elgin has a 13th-century cathedral, shops, leisure centre and train station. Renowned boarding school Gordonstoun and sandy beaches at Moray Firth are also close, while Inverness airport with its short flights to London is an hour’s drive away.
Rothes Glen House is for sale through Savills. Call 01356 628 628 for more details.