It was one of those magical stays at the end of the winter that is one of the greatest blessings in this job. The place was amazing. Fife Arms, the 19th-century coaching house in the Scottish Highlands transformed six years ago into a whimsical temple of art, food, whisky, and heritage by Manuela and Iwan Wirth of the powerhouse gallery Hauser & Wirth. The Artfarm Collection of Hospitality Ventures, which includes the charming restaurant Fish Shop nearby, was the focus of the hotel. Hot List, Our annual compendium of world’s top hotels, cruises, restaurants and the year they opened. The hotel has also made it to the Gold ListYou have twice been selected as Editors’ Favorites in our annual roundup, Readers’ Choice Awards Six years in a line. It’s obvious that everyone finds it pretty special.
As I do often, I thought about the hotel’s role as a refuge while I was there. It had been a long, cold winter for me and the rest of the world. And a sanctuary is what the Fife Arms gave me: Sitting with a book beneath a late Picasso in the highly curated but also utterly easygoing drawing room, drinking an Elsa Schiaparelli–inspired cocktail or a cup of tea; eating fish and chips and crushed peas in the taxidermy-mad pub the Flying Stag; learning about the history of Scotch whisky amid the warm glow of hundreds of bottles in Bertie’s Whisky Bar (“jewel box” is one of those travel-writing clichés, but this room certainly is one), I felt my quotidian struggles recede. Hill walking in the Cairngorms Mountains, which I did every day, was perhaps even more restorative. I encountered golden eagles, red squirrels, and cute little frogs. The Fife Arms, both inside and outside, provided me with a sense of peace that I needed.
In some ways, the job of a travel writer and that of a hotelier is not very different. Both of us strive to package beauty, happiness, and storytelling to make people feel good and give them ideas for a more fulfilling life. In these confusing times, I believe that this is an important mission.
This article was published in the June/July 2025 issue. Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the Magazine here.
