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Aberdeenshire

Maryculter House

A four-star hotel on the banks of the Dee south-west of Aberdeen, on the site of a Knights Templar preceptory, with a Great Hall of 1460 and forty bedrooms.

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Welcome

On the south bank of the River Dee, a few miles from Aberdeen, Maryculter House has been a place of welcome for eight hundred years.

In 1187 King William the Lion granted this land to the Knights Templar, and in the early thirteenth century the Bisset family, Lords of Aboyne, founded a Templar preceptory here.

The stone-vaulted chambers of that preceptory survive beneath the Great Hall, which itself dates from 1460, and the ruins of the chapel and its burial ground stand in the grounds beside the hotel. The Knights of St John held Maryculter for more than two centuries after the Templars were suppressed.

Today it is a four-star hotel of forty bedrooms, many looking out over the river, with contemporary Scottish interiors. Poachers', the restaurant, has views of the Dee and a menu built from the local larder. It also hosts weddings on the riverbank.

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The Daily for 9 November, from Scotland with love. an autumn-wooded loch reflected in still water, rocks breaking the surface in the foreground
A short drive awayMurtle MarketAn organic refill shop, cafe and heritage hub at Bieldside, run as a social enterprise by Camphill School Aberdeen, by the Deeside Way.8 min by roadSee itMurtle Market, Aberdeen

Before you go

A hotel open all year, with Poachers' restaurant serving guests and visitors; check the hotel's own site to book a room or a table.

Where
South Deeside Road, Maryculter, Aberdeen AB12 5GB.
Telephone
01224 732124.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Open all day and night
Tuesday
Open all day and night
Wednesday
Open all day and night
Thursday
Open all day and night
Friday
Open all day and night
Saturday
Open all day and night
Sunday
Open all day and night

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Where it is

On South Deeside Road at Maryculter, on the south bank of the Dee, south-west of Aberdeen.

Close byLower Deeside.
  1. Restaurant dining room with white-clothed tables, wooden chairs and an arched doorwayBorsalino4 miles 9 min by road
  2. Tartan booth seating and wooden tables beneath an antler chandelier in a caféBlether4 miles as the crow flies
  3. Stone castle with square tower and archway, daffodils lining the drivewayDrum CastleA medieval tower with a rose garden, across the river.6 miles 15 min by road
  4. Milton of CrathesMilton of CrathesA courtyard of shops, a gallery and a heritage railway.8 miles 16 min by road
  5. Crathes CastleCrathes CastleA turreted tower house with painted ceilings.9 miles 20 min by road
Directions
Cattle grazing a field at Easter Anguston below dark woods.AttractionsEaster Anguston Farm1.8 miles as the crow flies
Murtle Market, AberdeenShoppingMurtle Market3.4 miles
Golf driving range with covered bays overlooking a putting green and treesAttractionsPaul Lawrie Golf Centre4.3 miles
Chalkboard sign for The Boxcar Coffee Car and Yard, established 2018CafeBoxcar Coffee & Yard5.1 miles
A standing stone of the Clune Wood circle beneath the Milky Way.AttractionsClune Wood Stone Circle5.3 miles
The Mains of Drum's upstairs restaurant, a long room of wooden tables under the roof.CafeThe Mains of Drum5.6 miles
Cookie Cult's pale blue shopfront on St Swithin Street, with its bright logo over the door and Freshly Baked written across the arched window.CafeCookie Cult6.2 miles
Symmetrical harled mansion with turret and stepped entrance, framed by lawn and treesWalksDrum Castle Walk6.4 miles
A table laid at Amuse with wine glasses, white napkins, a candle and a vase of orange flowers, in front of a wall of wine bottles.RestaurantsAmuse by Kevin Dalgleish6.4 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the hotel, and when each is next free.

A stone farmhouse covered in climbing ivy stands behind a gravel drive, seen through overhanging pine branches.Cuttieshillock
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Glen Dye
  • 14 miles from Maryculter House
Free 9–10 NovA stone cottage with a slated roof and black stove pipe sits beside a gravel drive, foxgloves and wildflowers lining the path.No 4 Steading Cottage
  • Sleeps 7
  • In Strachan
  • 15 miles from Maryculter House
Free 12–13 NovA stone steading with a slated pyramid roof and a chimney stands behind a green nameplate sign, a chair visible through the window.No 2 Steading Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Strachan
  • 15 miles from Maryculter House
Free 12–13 NovAn aerial view shows a white harled farmhouse with multiple chimneys set beside a gravel courtyard and stone outbuildings.The Coach House
  • Sleeps 12
  • In Strachan
  • 15 miles from Maryculter House
Free 9–10 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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