Cringletie

Accommodation

Guest rooms in the hotel are individually decorated and range from a small Turret Room, Classic, Luxury and Junior Suites, each category distinguished by size.

The premier room is the Selkirk Suite with separate sitting room and large en-suite bathroom with a double-ended jacuzzi whirlpool bath, separate jacuzzi shower and wall mounted TV. 

The guest cottage, Ardean, is located away from the main hotel and features 2 bedrooms, each with its own en-suite, fully fitted kitchen and sitting room. The cottage has an outside furnished deck with hot tub in an enclosed garden area. Ardean is also available on a self-catering basis. 

Dining

The 2 AA Rossette Sutherland Restaurant offers fine dining with daily changing menus celebrating local produce, including some from the estate's own Walled Garden. A 7-course tasting menu with matching wines is also available on Sunday nights. An informal menu supplements lunch Monday to Saturday and a traditional Sunday lunch features Tweed Valley Beef carved by chefs from a trolley at the table.

Afternoon Tea, including a selection of homemade savouries, is served daily in the Maguire Lounge or Conservatory, both with extensive views of the gardens and surrounding hills.

Luxury picnic hampers are available during summer months and may be taken in the Conservatory, Walled Garden or indeed anywhere on the estate; hampers may also be taken off the estate.

History

Sir Alexander Murray of Black Barony obtained a Crown charter of the lands in 1666 and had a house built for his second eldest son. This was the first Cringletie House. Two centuries later the house had fallen into disrepair and its then owner, Brigadier General James Wolfe Murray, decided to replace it with the present house. 

It was designed by the famous Scottish architect, David Bryce (1803 - 1876) who is responsible for many landmark buildings across Scotland. With numerous features of Bryce's work, such as the distinctive small towers at the corners of the top floor, the house was completed in 1863.

In 1904 Elizabeth Wolfe-Murray married Sir George Henry Sutherland, who subsequently assumed ownership of the estate. To commemorate the marriage an artist was commissioned to paint the ceiling in the drawing room. Based on an Italian painting and personalised to include the monogram of the couple, GES, this artwork has been restored and now forms the centrepiece of the Sutherland Restaurant.

The Sutherlands left Cringletie in 1962 following the death of Lt-Col Arthur Sutherland. Recently introduced death duties prompted the sale of the estate. In November of that year the Ashdale Land & Property Company bought the entire estate, then comprising about 319 acres and subsequently split it into 11 lots. Three of these lots - comprising the house, woodland, Walled Garden and back field, 28 acres in all - were acquired by Dr George Morris of Edinburgh in 1963 for use as a nursing home.

Dr Morris sold the estate in 1967 when it first became a hotel. In 1971, during the ownership of the Maguire family, the historic significance of the house was recognised by Historic Scotland when it was granted Grade B listed status. Shortly after that the Walled Garden was also listed.

Extensive upgrading was undertaken from 2003 by then owners Jacob & Johanna van Houdt, who operated it until sale to the present owner, Cross Hotels Limited, in 2019.

People

Cross Hotels Limited is owned by ex-pat New Zealander, Bill Cross and his English wife Ann. Bill has spent many years in hotel operations and hotel property consulting and brokerage; his industry qualifications include attendance at the School of Hotel & Restaurant Administration at Cornell University in upstate New York. Ann has a degree in hotel management from the William Blue Hotel School in Sydney, Australia.