- Location: Gorgeous, secluded retreat beside Loch Faskally and Ben Vrackie.
- Aesthetics: Luxury castle hotel blending historic baronial style with more modern design.
- Accommodation: 42 rooms spread across the castle, lodges, and a modern wing.
- Dining: Two restaurants, including the award-winning Sandemans with 3 AA Rosettes.
- Wellness & Activities: On-site spa plus outdoor adventures like hiking, rafting, and fishing.
- Enter your dates & check prices here.
Where Perthshire begins to edge into the Highlands, lies another of Scotland’s best castle hotels, Fonab Castle.
It sits proudly above Loch Faskally, partly hidden by woodland, and has lovely views across the water towards Ben Vrackie.
What looks at first like a single building opens out into something larger. The original castle is joined by lodges and a newer wing, spread across the grounds rather than clustered together.
Even so, it doesn’t feel particularly big. With only 42 rooms, there’s a nicely self-contained, low-key atmosphere to the place.
The castle itself dates from the late 19th century, built as a baronial style castle folly and adapted over time, most noticeably with the addition of the modern wing.
There are two restaurants on site, one of them multi-award-winning, along with an excellent spa and wellness club.
The Accommodation:
- Range of Rooms: Options across the castle, modern wing, and separate lodges.
- Entry Level: Woodland Lodge doubles as the most affordable rooms.
- Top Choice: Penthouse Suite covers almost the entire castle top floor with panoramic views.
- Design: More contemporary than historic, with elegant touches and modern flair.
- Comforts: Vispring beds, fine fabrics, spacious bathrooms, and luxury amenities.
- See each room on the booking page here.
Accommodation is spread more widely than you might first assume, with rooms not only in the castle but also in a newer wing and a number of lodges set slightly apart from the main building.
Which part you stay in can shape your experience, therefore. We prefer the castle rooms, obviously enough, though some may prefer the more independent feel of the lodges.
If you have the means at the top end of our list is the Penthouse Suite, which takes over almost the entire upper floor of the castle, with correspondingly lovely views.
Beyond that, there’s a mix of rooms and suites across the estate, beginning with the Woodland Lodge doubles generally being the cheapest/entry level.
Interiors, for the most part, are quite contemporary. The castle has, of course, been updated over time, and while the castle rooms do carry some olde atmosphere, you won’t find anything overly historic or theatrical.
What does remain consistent is the level of comfort: Vispring beds, crisp white linen, and spacious bathrooms with proper baths and well-chosen products run throughout.
Prices:
Check out all the details on the booking page here.
Facilities & Things to Do:
- Fine Dining: Sandemans Restaurant offers 3 AA Rosette dining with tasting menus.
- Relaxed Option: 1892 On The Loch with lakeside terrace seating in summer.
- Special Touch: Private dining pods overlooking Loch Faskally.
- Wellness: Spa and wellness centre for treatments and relaxation.
- Activities: Hiking, biking, rafting, fishing, clay pigeon shooting, and helicopter trips.
You have two good choices for dining at Fonab Castle. Sandemans Restaurant is the more formal of the two, and has three AA Rosettes and is widely seen as one of the region’s best restaurants.
The focus is on multi-course tasting menus, with wine pairings, served in a very atmospheric, dark wood-panelled dining room.
Over at 1892 On The Loch, things are more relaxed. It looks out across Loch Faskally and has seating on the terrace.
The menu is wider, with a clear emphasis on local produce—game, salmon, venison—and afternoon tea is also served here.
Private dining is also available in standalone pods within the grounds, as you can see from the photos.
We don’t know what to make of that, really, al fresco dining, but in Scottish weather, maybe it needs such innovation.
Elsewhere, there’s a spa and wellness centre, and plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do in the surrounding area.
Hiking, biking, boating, and fishing are all straightforward to arrange, along with activities like clay pigeon shooting, rafting, 4WD tours, and helicopter trips.
Some Guest Reviews:
“Fonab Castle is a fantastic luxury hotel we stayed as a treat. The castle is very close to the A9 within 15 mins walking to Pitlochry and is positioned so has a fantastic view along the loch. The staff were friendly, helpful and genuinely seemed to enjoy their work.
The health club had a great pool and a choice of jacuzzi- both indoor and outdoor. My wife had some treatments (massage) following our stay and said they were amazing. Don’t miss the opportunity for a drink on the balcony and breakfast in the dining room overlooking the loch. Our bed was so comfy too….”
“Fantastic, excellent, special, amazing. Everything about our short stay was exceptional. The quality we experienced exceeded our expectations but it meant we will definitely return soon….”
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