The Jacobite Rising of 1745 is a turbulent period of British history. Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, grandson of the deposed King James II of England and VII of Scotland, led a failed attempt to try to restore his family, the Stuarts, to power. On the march south, on November 5, 1745, he spent a night at his friend Lady Chatto’s home. While he was there, he’s believed to have planted a white rose bush in the garden, a symbol closely associated with the Jacobite cause.
What was then known as Sunlaws House (or Sunlaws Estate) is now, nearly three centuries later, SCHLOSS Roxburghe, a 5-star manor house hotel in the peaceful countryside of the Scottish Borders area in southern Scotland. Plenty has changed in that time, not least the 18-hole championship golf course, Par 72 championship golf course, the modern 1,100 square metre spa with heated outdoor pool, and the hotel’s own helicopter pad for direct access, as well as a celebratory fine dining restaurant named in Charlie’s honour.
SCHLOSS Roxburghe, part of the Destination by Hyatt brand, is an hour’s drive south from Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, or from the northern English city of Newcastle. The house was once owned by the Duke of Roxburghe. With over 300 acres of land, taking in 2.5 miles of the River Teviot, a trout lake, parkland and gardens, it’s a lovely space for a quiet getaway, and not just for golfers. There’s also fly-fishing on the river and lake, archery and clay pigeon shooting at the newly refurbished Shooting Centre, and opportunities for country walks, with the historic market town of Kelso also nearby.
In 2022, the hotel went through extensive changes and expansion, with the opening of the new Estate House, which added an extra 58 rooms, and with the creation of dozens of new self-catering cottages across the property.
Arriving down the long driveway, the striking main house looms up ahead in light and dark grey stone, a Scotland flag flapping from the top of a castle-like turret. After a speedy check-in, the reception next to an inviting Bar 1745 (which is stocked with over 300 whiskies), we’re shown to our self-catering cottage in rows behind the quiet woodland behind the main house. The cottage’s main lounge area has dark wood floors, a tartan rug, high ceilings, a dining table, and pictures on the walls of Scottish stags, black horses and Scottish plantlife. There’s also a comfy sofa and chairs, a coffee table with the hefty book The Secret Life of Tartan arranged on it, and a kitchen area to one corner with a fridge, oven and everything else you’d need during a stay. Glass doors open out onto a peaceful lawn area, looking out towards the woodland and hedgerows.
There are two bedrooms, the master room with a comfy, large bed, a wall-mounted TV and wallpaper patterned with oak trees. The cottage has two bedrooms, too, one creamy modern ensuite connected to the master bedroom, and a spare down the corridor, both with walk-in showers, the larger one with a bathtub.
The Bonnie Prince would no doubt be impressed by Charlie’s, the ‘Scottish bistronomy’ restaurant that’s named after him. The room has a grand, celebratory feel, and the food is also hearty and indulgent, enjoyable, rather than stuffy fine dining. It starts with a warm ball of freshly baked sourdough bread and butter placed on the table. There’s plenty to look forward to getting stuck into, on both the food menu and the wine list. We order a bold, fruity bottle of Malbec from Argentina, then begin with a plate of creamy, grilled, half-shell scallops with Café de Paris butter and sea herbs, while my wife goes for the apple-glazed pork belly with burnt apple puree and Nastursium. For mains, there’s more seafood for me, a satisfying dish with fillets of sole with courgette, lemongrass, Champagne sauce, and gnocchi, my wife enjoying the treacle-cured pork chop with apricot ketchup and garden chard. It all makes for a memorable evening.
After a peaceful night out in the woods, we rush over to the main spa for a quick swim. The warm outdoor pool is lovely, though pool times are severely restricted for children, just 1-2 hours around breakfast time in the morning, far from ideal if you’re travelling with a child. Then, we’re back inside Charlie’s for breakfast, where there is a vast buffet, the counters loaded up with cereals, juices, yoghurts and hot trays filled with everything from bacon to black pudding. Further along, there’s smoked salmon, fruit, salads and a fresh, dripping honeycomb. A chef is on-hand too to cook dishes from scratch, including omelettes.
We wander the grounds in the morning, up through the woodland to a large trout pond, a lone swan gliding across the reflective surface. Later, we take a drive into Kelso for a look around, the atmospheric town famous for its historical buildings, including Kelso Abbey (founded in the 12th century) and Floors Castle (the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe), as well as Kelso Bridge (built in 1803) and the cobbled market square, one of the largest in Scotland.
Back at the hotel, we settle into a quiet dining room with crisp white linen on the tables for Afternoon Tea. It kicks off with a refreshing watermelon and cucumber gazpacho before a mini banquet of savouries (sausage rolls, smoked salmon and caviar quiche, Prawn Marie Rose on malted bread…). The next level down contains sweet treats: an Eton Mess Choux Bun, a delicately created rhubarb and rose frangipane tart, and a light peach mousse on an almond sponge, each one of them pretty in white, pinks and rosy red. The final act, as with most Afternoon Teas in the UK, is the scones, both plain and with fruit, served with clotted cream and dollops of strawberry and elderflower jam.
We’re not exactly famished later but make our way anyway in the late evening over to Charlie’s Terrace, just on the other side of the windows from the main restaurant, with outdoor heaters to take the chill out of the Scottish evening air. As our bottle of rosé from Veneto arrives, we watch our son enjoy the opportunity to join the chef at the outdoor cooking station to help roll out dough and load up his own pizza with ingredients, before seeing it loaded into the fiery oven. The menu is more casual than the main restaurant, but just as enjoyable, with fantastic pizzas, including the North Sea (with smoked haddock, Mornay sauce and leeks), as well as burgers, lobster and brisket. We share a couple of dark chocolate mousses to finish, then take a slow walk back to our cottage in the woods. SCHLOSS Roxburghe is not a place where you’ll go hungry. In fact, you could feed an army. Maybe they’d have better luck this time around.
SCHLOSS Roxburghe, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel, Heiton, Kelso, Scotland, TD5 8JZ: https://schlosshotel-roxburghe.com/en/home Standard double with breakfast from £299. Self-catering cottages from £325.
