Melanie Henderson stays in Kinfauns Castle Hotel, a stunning Scots mansion that has been restored to its former grandeur with a great deal of taste and a lot of loving care.

I am wearing a fairly ordinary winter coat, but find it irresistible, on entering the passage leading to the entrance of Kinfauns Castle Hotel, to imagine myself in attire more appropriately grand. Something long and heavily brocaded, I think, would definitely do. Checking that no one but the busts and stag heads are watching, I attempt a vague interpretation of a stately sweep, although I imagine that previous elegant residents, particularly the ladies Gray, would have something to say about my deportment.

Still, if there are ghosts in Kinfauns Castle – and there is so much history contained in its walls that you feel there must surely be several – they are bound to be contented spirits who have only hung around in order to oversee the recent renovations and admire the dramatic furnishings. For, thanks to Scots-born businessman James Smith and his wife Julia, Kinfauns is once again a residence befitting the former Barons and Earls of the area. Authenticity is all – from the minute you turn off the Dundee-Perth road onto the narrow drive leading up the hill to the castle, you really feel you are entering a different world. In fact, it comes as something of a surprise to see cars outside. Somehow, you expect to meet a horse and carriage on the way up.

Around �1.25 million has gone towards transforming what was only recently a back packer’s hostel into one of Scotland’s most stunning hotels. Furniture, art and artefacts combine to create the most extraordinary surroundings - old-fashioned splendour and Oriental opulence with loving touches of traditional Scots homeliness. You feel you really are going to find out just what it was like to stay here in the 19th century – without, of course, foregoing any modern comforts.

You cannot look at anything without wanting to look at it longer – from the large squat Buddhas to the busts of the Gray family to the painted ceiling to the breathtaking staircase. There is a story to be had from every object and every structural element. The oak staircase, for example, was put in by the Earl of Moray and the 12 heraldic carvings were completed by Robert Lorimer, who was responsible for Edinburgh’s famous Thistle Chapel, in St Giles Cathedral. It is one of the finest examples of wood carving in Scotland and so compelling that you have to watch your footing as you stare in awe.

It’s up this echoing staircase that manager Nigel Liston leads me, and by this time I am beginning to really get into period. Once in my room – an endearing "junior suite" with a four-poster bed clad in Black Watch tartan – I wonder who would once have stayed here and how the ladies of the house might have dressed. Still, corsets before dinner are, I reckon, a bad idea.

Nigel tells me that getting the doors open was something of a panic, following an all-hands-on-deck effort in the final stages. But there is no chaos left here now – the building is infused with perfect calm, which might have something to do with the owner’s consultations with the Feng Shui man. Having lived in the Far East for 40 years, James Smith knows his yin from his yang and you will not find a corner facing a door, or anything else likely to encourage negative energy flow, anywhere in the castle.

There’s a holiday programme on TV as I get ready for dinner, but somehow, despite all the Tuscan sun on the screen, I find myself looking out from the floor-length windows, preferring the dreich, rain-lashed evening that only serves to add to the castle’s enchanting powers.

There are 16 rooms here, each with its own individual look, some, like this one, with splendid views of Perthshire. There is a comfy leather suite, a quaint writing desk, a black lacquered mirror above the fireplace and a spacious bathroom finished in – according to my brochure – Verona Rose marble, no less. If it wasn’t for the occasional clatter of footsteps on the wooden stairs, I really could imagine myself the sole lady of the house.

Kinfauns’s absorbing history begins with James Stewart, keeper of Edinburgh Castle, who was granted the lands of Kinfauns, by Robert II King of Scotland. It then became part of the lands of Sir Thomas Charteris, related to the Earl of Wemyss. The first Thomas Charteris was also known as Thomas de Longueville, a French pirate who made the mistake of attacking William Wallace’s ship en route to France and, feeling overmatched, subsequently offered to defend him from the English. He was also the first nobleman to follow Robert the Bruce at the capture of Perth in 1313. For his bravery and devotion he was awarded lands in the Perthshire area.(more)

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In 1741 the castle came into the possession of the Gray family – the lovely Lady Jane Gray is among their stock – and in 1822 the 15th Lord Gray, also the Earl of Moray, built the present castle. It remained with the Morays until its eventual sale in 1933, after which it became a centre for walkers.

The rooms have all been taken back to their original size – there were 32 when James Smith bought the castle around five years ago – and things are now very much as they would once have been. It was usual, says Nigel Liston, for these types of houses to contain the collections of seafaring men returning to Scotland, so the furnishings are probably entirely suitable. In fact, the place once had a strong Chinese influence, including a Chinese state room, and much of the furniture would have been Chinese Chippendale, made by an Edinburgh firm.

Nigel, a cabinet maker to trade, was initially brought in to help with the renovations – particularly the woodwork, which had become blackened over the years. Everyone did their bit to help with such tasks as the gold leafing on the ceiling, most of which is the work of Julia Smith.

There is much else to see – including the seven huge carved marble fireplaces in the public rooms and the wood-panelled ceiling in the dining room, painted with coats of arms connected with the ladies and mistresses of the lords Gray. The entrance vestibule is lighted with stained glass and draped with six tartan flags depicting the families who lived here, as well as the Black Watch, billeted in the castle during the Second World War, and Kinfauns itself (a Kinfauns Castle tartan was specially commissioned by the Smiths). Lady Gray’s Room, detailed in the 1820 plans of architect Robert Smirkes, is now a private dining room retaining its original white marble fireplace and its William Morris machine-painted wallpaper dating from 1910.

Later, I find myself sipping pre-dinner Chardonnay in the Dragon Boat Lounge – the dragon in question came from the Hilton in Taipei – and I think that there is absolutely nothing out of place here. It is the kind of renovation that seems almost unplanned. It takes great taste indeed to effect something so truly fitting.

If you ever get beyond trying to comprehend the history of the place, or just soaking up the atmosphere and the excellent cuisine, you can indulge in hill walking, horse riding, golf and archery in the surrounding area. And if you’re not staying in the hotel, it’s worth coming for afternoon tea just to get a sense of place, a little Far East magic and a smell of the past.

If you’re lucky, you might even catch the scent of Lady Jane Gray. As I leave, I’m pretty sure I do.

Now meet head chef Jeremy Wares and join Melanie Henderson for dinner in the Library Restaurant.

Contact: Kinfauns Castle
Near Perth
Scotland
PH2 7JZ
Tel: (01738) 620 777
Fax: (01738) 620 778