Changes at Andy’s hotel
Guests arriving at tennis ace Andy Murray’s luxury hotel between Braco and Dunblane could get an even more impressive welcome.
Stirling Council planners have conditionally approved plans for a turning circle drop-off at the entrance to the C-listed Cromlix House Hotel, along with landscaping works to form a centrepiece.
There will also be regrading and resurfacing of the existing approach road and the access roads that lead to the car park and the north west of the hotel, plus soft landscaping consisting of grass lawn, shrubs, trees and bark chippings.
The planners said:“The proposal seeks to update the existing access and drop-off arrangements for the hotel as guests currently have to go through the car park, located on the southern elevation, in order to access the hotel.
“The proposals would reinstate a more formal front entrance to the hotel and enable a concierge service for guests, a feature and service that is common for this type of business.
“The updated layout would provide a more functional arrangement for a busy hotel while the increase in soft landscaping at the front entrance, due to the removal of large areas of gravel, would enhance the building and its setting but also encourage biodiversity, which is to be welcomed.
“The proposed turning circle and landscaped centrepiece complements the shape of the small chapel, with its circular wall, on the front elevation and would enhance the setting of the subject listing by providing a more formal, tidier arrangement than what is there at present and would not significantly alter views of the front elevation of the building from the approach road.”
The five-star hotel closed on January 3 to allow it to undergo around three months of refurbishment.
The 15-bedroom hotel, which was bought by Andy and Kim Murray in 2013, is also upgrading bedrooms, bathrooms and communal areas – including the award-winning restaurant – as well as new landscaping and planting. It is due to reopen on March 22.
Situated in 34 acres of private grounds, the hotel also features a self-catering lodge house, a chapel, loch, kitchen garden and tennis court.