• A relaxing country house hotel in a superb setting in south west Fife
• Excellent food on offer in the Cardoon Restaurant
• Comfortable and well equipped guest rooms, many with garden access
• Five function rooms catering for a wide range of weddings and conferences
• Self-contained leisure club and spa offering extensive facilities
• Just 6 miles from the Forth Road Bridge and 16 from central Edinburgh

Intro

The Best Western Keavil House Hotel is a country house hotel tastefully developed around its core of a historic house on the edge of the village of Crossford, near Dunfermline in Fife. The 73 guest rooms are distributed between the original house itself and two comfortable modern wings extending to its south, sweeping round the superb gardens. The public areas are comfortable and welcoming: and the staff are amongst the best and most professional you are likely to meet. The Cardoon Restaurant serves lunch, dinner and breakfast, and the food is of a very high standard. Other facilities include five function rooms in a range of sizes, and a leisure club and spa.

Character and setting/location

The core of the hotel is a fine country house developed and redeveloped over the centuries from what was probably a fortified tower house standing here in 1496. During the First World War the house was used to accommodate senior officers based at the nearby Rosyth Naval Base. Keavil House became a hotel in 1980 and has grown in size since, most recently in 2007 when a new wing increased the number of rooms from 45 to 73.

The hotel today stands on the very western edge of the village of Crossford, and about 1.75 miles west of Dunfermline. To its east are its large free car parks and the “Picture of Health Club”. To its west are the gently sloping mature gardens which form the true focal point and unifying feature of the hotel: most of the public rooms can open out onto the gardens, as do many of the guest rooms and some of the function rooms.

Public rooms/spaces

Walking into the reception area from the car park is like walking into an oasis of tranquility. Immediately beyond the reception area is the excellent bar, from which you progress, via what was once a fine window in the rear of the original house, to the guests' lounge. Turning right on entering the bar leads you through to the Cardoon Restaurant, much of which is housed in a bright and airy conservatory ideally placed to allow you to enjoy the gardens. Two adjoining smaller dining rooms, the “Wee Cardoon” and the “Club Room” offer opportunities for private dining, or are used for breakfast on busy days.

The largest function suite, the Elgin Suite, is completely self-contained and in effect forms a north wing to the hotel. The second largest, the Mountbatten Room, is also self contained but forms part of the main house, immediately to the south of the guest lounge. Both these function suites/rooms open out onto the superb gardens (as do the guest lounge and the restaurant) which allows them to be used as an integral part of the hotel.

Guest bedrooms

There are 73 en suite guest bedrooms, of which two are fully accessible for wheelchair users. 15 of the rooms are found in the original house, while the remainder are divided about equally between the “new wing” to the south of the original house, and the more recent “new extension” beyond it, which forms an arm helping enclose the south side of the garden.

Several different styles of room are on offer. Ground floor rooms facing the garden have doors allowing direct access to the lawns beyond. There is also a division between classic rooms measuring 18 square metres and offering a double bed or twin beds, and superior rooms measuring 25 square metres and offering a super king size bed. There are also family rooms, family suites, and master rooms with 4 poster beds.

The superior rooms come with nice touches like fresh fruit and bottled water in an ice bucket waiting for you on arrival. But whatever room you choose you are assured of comfortable beds, spotless cleanliness and a high standard of equipment including multi-channel flat screen TVs, tea and coffee making facilities, an iron and ironing board and a desk and chair.

Guest services

Both WiFi and wired internet access are available without charge in guest rooms, while the public areas benefit from free WiFi access. The desks in the guest rooms come with access to sockets to power your laptop or phone charger. Faxes may be received or sent via reception, and photocopying and printing can also be undertaken at any time.

At a more domestic level, a same day dry cleaning and laundry service is available on weekdays, and items like desk fans, extra pillows, blankets, towels and toiletries may be obtained at any time from reception. A room service is available, as are facilities such as secure luggage storage.

Disabled access is good. There are four disabled parking bays next to the main entrance, and access is flat to the reception as well as to public areas such as the bar, lounge and restaurant and the ground floor function rooms. Disabled toilets are provided, both in the main area of the hotel and in the self contained Elgin Suite, which is also fully accessible. A further disabled toilet is available in the health club and spa. Two guest rooms on the ground floor of the hotel are fully accessible.

Restaurant and dining experience

The Cardoon Restaurant is named after a type of thistle. As noted above, much of it occupies a conservatory on the west side of the hotel, overlooking the gardens. Lunch is served here from 12 noon until 2pm every day, and dinner from 6.30 to 9.30 every day. There is also a children's tea service from 5.30pm to 7pm every day. Meanwhile a food menu is available in the lounge from 11am to 6pm, and food is also available from room service.

The hotel describes its cuisine as “a selection of Scottish and international dishes”. Neither this description nor the single AA Rosette really do full justice to an excellent dining experience backed up by excellent service. From the moment you taste the warm bread rolls, available in a range of flavours including cheese and walnut, you know you are going to enjoy your meal: an impression only confirmed in our case by an amuse-bouche of tomato consommé that was outstanding.

An extensive menu provides plenty of choice, and vegetarian options. Amongst the starters, we found the “Trio of Shetland salmon” and the “Oatmeal crusted haggis” to be superb. Main courses ranged from the traditional “Grilled rib-eye of Scotch beef, sautéed mushrooms, onion rings and chips” to the, as far as we know, unique “Seared king scallops, cauliflower risotto, spiced carrot chutney and curry oil”. Both, in their very different ways, were outstanding. From the sweet menu, the “Eton mess” and the cheese selection can also be highly recommended.

Breakfast

Breakfast is also served in the Cardoon Restaurant, with additional space available in the “Wee Cardoon” and “Club Room” when the hotel is busy. Breakfast at Keavil House is a revelation, because it proves conclusively that a buffet breakfast can be done really, really well. Tea and coffee are served at your table, as is toast, and fried eggs are cooked to order. Some of the individual hot dishes such as the vegetarian breakfast, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, porridge and the Arbroath grilled kipper are also prepared to order. But otherwise everything is self service from the buffet.

And what a spectacular buffet it is, with a wide selection of just about anything you might want on offer, including fresh bread, fresh and dried fruits, juices and cereals. And the hot choice is equally appetising, a result of fine ingredients cooked with care, and obviously looked after with care once cooked.

Meetings and events facilities

There are five function rooms or suites on offer at Keavil House. The self contained Elgin Suite is the largest, offering accommodation for up to 300 in theatre layout or for a banquet. The next largest, the Mountbatten Room, can accommodate up to 150 in theatre or banquet layout. The remaining three rooms come in varying sizes down to the Club Room, capable of seating 16 in boardroom layout.

All the function rooms or suites come with natural daylight, and a strong selling point is the fact that the separation between the two largest rooms/suites and the degree to which they are self contained means that both can be used for events at the same time without any compromise or crossover between them.

Given the range and quality of facilities on offer, and the superb setting and gardens, it is no surprise to find that Keavil House is very popular for weddings. It is licensed as a civil wedding venue and can offer religious and civil wedding and civil partnership ceremonies.

Leisure

The health club and spa, know as the “Picture of Health Club” stands close to the east side of the hotel and is open to members and hotel guests. It is open from 6.30am until 10pm and has a 15m heated indoor swimming pool which extends to a depth of 1.5m, a poolside sauna and steam room, and a Roman style jacuzzi. Other facilities include a fitness gym, exercise classes, health and beauty treatments and sun beds. The health club also has a crèche and a bar and café, offering a range of healthy snacks and meals.

Meanwhile, the gardens and grounds offer a more informal and perhaps less strenuous option for those wishing to walk off their excellent dinner. Games and books are also available on loan from reception.

Service highs/lows

Every aspect of the service on offer at Keavil House is outstanding. Everyone you meet seems to take great pride in the hotel, in being part of a highly successful team, and above all in ensuring that each and every guest enjoys their stay. Staff are professional yet friendly, helpful and available but never pushy. Whether you are in reception, at the bar, or being served dinner or breakfast, the same high standards apply throughout. And the quality of the housekeeping is superb.

Local points of interest

Best Western Keavil House Hotel is a little under 2 miles west of Dunfermline, 5 miles from the ferry terminal at Rosyth, 6 miles from the Forth Road Bridge, 14 miles from Edinburgh Airport and 16 miles from central Edinburgh. Looking west, it is about 18 miles from Stirling.

This places it within easy reach of a very large swathe of central Scotland. The attractions of Edinburgh and Stirling are obvious, but Keavil House is also well placed for the Ochil Hills to the north west, historic Perthshire to the north, and the many attractions of the Kingdom of Fife itself. One of these is especially worth mentioning. On the north shore of the River Forth just five miles west of the hotel is the incredibly well preserved historic village of Culross, surely a “must see” for anyone staying this close to it! Find out more from the Undiscovered Scotland guide to the Dunfermline Area.

Target/ideal markets

Best Western Keavil House Hotel offers a location, a setting and a range of facilities which makes it very attractive to a wide range of different groups, and to very distinct markets at different times of the week. From Monday to Thursday it is predominantly a business/corporate hotel. In an interesting echo of its role during the First World War, the hotel is ideally placed for those visiting the nearby Rosyth Dockyards. It is also well placed for those on business in Edinburgh wanting to stay somewhere accessible from Scotland's capital city, but also a world away from it.

At weekends, the hotel turns itself into a wedding venue par excellence, offering a wide range of function rooms and suites in a great setting. And all week round it is a great base for a leisure break, ideally placed for touring or for simply 'getting away from it all' to recharge those batteries.

Facebook

Stumble It!

Delicious