Our story

Darroch Learg is an independent, family-run hotel located in the Royal Deeside town of Ballater.

In the care of the Franks family since 1961, the hotel is a refined and relaxed retreat not far from the banks of the River Dee—and boasts spectacular views into the Cairngorm mountains.

A private house above the Dee

The last house to be built along the ‘Darroch Brae’, on Ballater’s Braemar Road, Darroch Learg was finished in 1888.
Designed in an Arts and Crafts style, the building has three storeys: the first two are built in solid stone; the third is clad in fish scale tiles and half-timbering.

When it was first inhabited, there was no mains water at Darroch Learg. A private, roadside well and pump house provided the supply and a member of staff was employed to carry water up to the house.

Water was eventually piped into the building, but didn’t reach the top floor until 1961 (these days all our bedrooms are en-suite!).

Royal connections

Over its 130 year history, Darroch Learg has had various interesting owners. A royal physician once lived here (we are a short drive from Balmoral Castle), as did a shipbuilder and an accountant.
The house was also used as a sporting lodge by one owner and—during the Second World War—it became a Royal Navy convalescent home.

From house to hotel

After the war, Darroch Learg opened as a hotel for the first time. There are tales of its increasingly eccentric, inaugural hotelier (remembered fondly by guests of the time). By the late 1950s the hotel was up for sale.

The Franks family

In 1961 the hotel was purchased by Douglas and Helen Franks.
The Franks had enjoyed holidaying in Ballater with their two children, Janet and Nigel, and now moved the family from their home in the south of England to begin a new life in the Highlands.

Across the Dee valley from Darroch Learg Hotel.

A destination hotel

Douglas and Helen transformed Darroch Learg into a popular holiday destination, which had a very busy season between April and October every year.
In the early days of Scottish skiing, the hotel even had a resident skiing instructor.

Fiona and Nigel

The second generation of Franks took the reins at Darroch Learg when—following his father’s death in 1988—Nigel moved back to Ballater with his wife, Fiona.

Over the following thirty-five years, under their stewardship, the building has been sensitively extended and refurbished.