Carlowrie Castle

Dining at Carlowrie is a culinary treat; our Head Chef is passionate about two things: exceptional quality local produce and innovation in the kitchen. He is a firm believer that we have the best ingredients available on our doorstep, his menus are inspired by seasonal and local, and his skills developed through stages in some of Scotland’s top boutique hotels and restaurants. Chef and his brigade see Carlowrie at the forefront of our thriving culinary scene, continuing to delight and inspire our eclectic range of discerning clients.

The Castle is an exclusive use venue, the perfect retreat for families and friends to gather, or equally for colleagues who wish to escape to a perfectly serene country estate.

David Rhind, a celebrated Scottish architect was commissioned to design Carlowrie Castle by Lord Provost Thomas Hutchison, he and his descendants lived at the Castle for the next 130 years. Thomas’s granddaughter Isobel Wylie Hutchison is the most intriguing member of the family. Born at Carlowrie in 1889, Isobel was a successful Arctic explorer and botanist. Defying convention, she travelled alone on expeditions that few would attempt, even today. She risked life and limb collecting plants for the Royal Botanic Gardens and Kew, pioneering new routes across inhospitable terrain, boarding ghost ships and capturing some of the earliest documentary footage ever recorded.

Isobel’s legacy can be seen across the Carlowrie Estate, in the grounds there are rare species of plants that she brought back from her travels. In between expeditions Isobel worked tirelessly in the Victorian glasshouses and carefully preserved the layout of the formal gardens which still exist today. With Isobel’s death in 1982 the Hutchison line ended and Carlowrie Castle was acquired by the Marshall family.

I transformed Carlowrie into the spectacular venue it is today that is now being recognized as one of the top 3 boutique venues in Europe. Each one of the Castle’s 9 luxurious bedrooms has been individually designed and decorated with original works by some of the world’s leading contemporary artists. Carlowrie’s bedrooms all incorporate handmade beds and cabinetry from Atelier 1852 and feature sumptuous soft furnishings. Each bathroom features handmade roll top baths, marble tiles, underfloor heating and walk-in showers. Duvets and pillows are filled with Hungarian goose down. There are a further 5 bedrooms available in our luxurious Gate Lodge located on the estate.

The Walled Garden has a tennis court, perfectly manicured lawns to play croquet, boules and 32-acres of estate to keep busy, including picnicking in one of the grass paddocks to abseiling down the castle walls. For those who enjoy pampering they can relax with a yoga or Pilates session or lose themselves in a tailored massage or get creative at an art class in the Orangery.

Dining at Carlowrie is a culinary treat; our Head Chef is passionate about two things: exceptional quality local produce and innovation in the kitchen. He is a firm believer that we have the best ingredients available on our doorstep, his menus are inspired by seasonal and local, and his skills developed through stages in some of Scotland’s top boutique hotels and restaurants. Chef and his brigade see Carlowrie at the forefront of our thriving culinary scene, continuing to delight and inspire our eclectic range of discerning clients.

The Castle is an exclusive use venue, the perfect retreat for families and friends to gather, or equally for colleagues who wish to escape to a perfectly serene country estate.