Royal Deeside · Scotland
Douneside House
A charitable trust's country house, with an infinity lawn facing the Deeside hills
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Douneside belongs to the MacRobert Trust, and every pound it makes goes to charitable and armed forces causes — a fact worth knowing, though not one the house makes a fuss about. What guests encounter is a beautifully kept Aberdeenshire country house with ten bedrooms, nine cottages and seventeen acres of garden.
Those gardens are an RHS partner and include a walled kitchen garden that supplies both restaurants, plus the celebrated infinity lawn, which appears to drop straight off towards Morven and the hills of Royal Deeside. A health club with a twelve-metre indoor pool, sauna, steam room, gym and tennis court sits in the grounds.
Dining runs from the relaxed Conservatory to the six-course tasting menu in The Library, served Thursday to Saturday. Tea and scones appear daily at four, and complimentary golf at Tarland is included. Balmoral, Braemar and the Cairngorms are all close.
At a glance
What to expect
- Indoor pool, sauna and steam room
- Three AA rosette dining
- Six-course tasting menu
- RHS partner gardens
- Walled kitchen garden
- Tennis court and gym
- Complimentary local golf
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