Where does the time go? Another year is over and trying to remember what we accomplished last year is hard enough never mind trying to remember what it was that we set out to do for 2012! The “to-do” lists got drawn up, re-drafted, torn up, drawn up again, thrown away, picked out of the bin, re-written..…the never ending circle of strife. Sometimes it’s what wasn’t planned that is most easily remembered and on reflection, for Raemoir and all the staff that have worked so hard to help re-establish the business, it has to be retaining the Country House Hotel of the Year title. We can plan to paint rooms, renew carpets, change curtains, upholster seats – the list is endless but getting recognition from your peers is probably the most reassuring event that you are doing the right thing. The bigger picture for us is always to keep raising the game at Raemoir and take it to new levels of product and service so 2013 will be another year of challenges…although the priority list is being amended as I type!

Although it looks like a deceptively mild start to the year, I think it would be naïve to think that we will avoid any snow later in the month and no doubt into February as well. This brings its own beauty to Raemoir but also brings the inevitable leaks that are a continual source of head-scratching for Dennis. Ironically, the unwanted water that does occasionally come into the building seems to be balanced by the amount of water that doesn’t come into the building – by way of a couple of showers on the top floor.  Having exhausted all the obvious reasons, we have not been able to yet determine why the water pressure is more of challenge than in the rest of the House so some deeper investigative work will be required although I envisage unearthing more extraordinary plumbing ‘solutions’ as a result of some less than considered DIY arrangements from years gone by….

Carpets upstairs are on the list, a simple lift downstairs, lay upstairs and lay new downstairs was planned however the “boss” (well at least when she is in the hotel at the same time as me), Mrs Rae, has been attracted to a new design for downstairs so the simple plan has become a little more convoluted. The Sitting Room and Dining Rooms are due a refurb which will need scaffold for the ceilings so my apologies in advance for any upheaval or inconvenience over the next few weeks. Already I am looking forward to March!

Our best wishes for 2013.

Enjoy your stay.

Neil and Julie Rae              

We are all proud and delighted to announce that we presented the funds from the 2012 Summer Marquee Ball over to Gastrocan last night.

THE GRAND SUM OF £30,050.00

This will be used for research into gastric cancers in the Grampian area. Our heartfelt thanks to all at the Gastrocan team and everyone who supported this years event.

The last few months have seen continual changes at the hotel inside and out. The grounds have been tended wonderfully by Derek and given the weather he has had to cope with even now they look good on the way up the drive. It’s hard to recall that two years ago everything was so overgrown, the front lawn was a field, the drive potholed, no parking or flower beds  – the whole place looked so grey and dreary. It really has been a remarkable transformation and almost single handed as well. The trees are now beginning to turn so we can look forward to a final burst of Autumn colour for a couple of weeks before the Winter comes in.  I am not sure what the long term forecast is, for the last two years we have had the extremes – 2010 saw up to 3ft of snow and temperatures dipping to -20degC whereas last year we saw +15deg at 10.30pm one February night! What we (hopefully) can say now is that at least the temperature should be warmer now in the hotel than we have known!

When we came to Raemoir in September 2010 the enormity of the task ahead became apparent quite quickly and prioritising jobs became a challenging but tedious, and daily changing, ritual. We were always aware of the heating and that its eventual inadequacies would give us a headache and so it came to pass two weeks ago when the boiler finally failed. The weather was on our side fortunately so it wasn’t an insurmountable problem – the angst of wondering whether all our guests would all be able to use the showers and baths at the same time was the greatest concern but it passed reasonably smoothly and finally the new boilers were fitted.  With a great sigh of relief it was fired up and now runs silently (which we are still trying to get used to – previously when entering the boiler room silence meant a problem!) however not without its foibles! As expected, due to the efficiency of new technology, we are now finding leaking radiator stems and header tanks overflowing due to the increased temperature effect on the system water volume. The old boiler didn’t allow us the luxury of temperature control so this is now a novelty for us so please be patient with us while we try to get the balance – we’ve not experienced it cold since the new boiler was fitted but we have had it stiflingly hot!! The biggest issue that we’ve not quite mastered yet is the hot water – it can be very hot so please be careful when running taps!

The 2012 Summer Marquee Ball will be changing both date and venue this year. After the event going out to tender, the 2012 Summer Marquee Ball with now be held on Saturday 25th August at Raemoir House Hotel, recently voted Scottish Country House Hotel of the Year for the second year running.

Neil and Julie Rae, owners of the hotel are delighted to welcome the Ball to Raemoir.

The Summer Marquee Ball, last year broke through a fundraising landmark by raising over a quarter of a million pounds for local charities since it began back in 1998. Over the years the ball has supported many charities including The Archie Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Children 1st, Click Sargent, Altzheimers Scotland, Friends of Glen O’ Dee, Aberdeen Special Nursery and The Scolty Centre.

Last year was one of the most successful events raising £28,500 for Homestart Deeside.

This years beneficeries are to be Gastrocan.

Gastrocan is the only charity raising money specifically for the research into stomach and oesophageal cancer. All funds donated to Gastrocan are used to support local research efforts in NHS Grampain, and the University of Aberdeen into this devastating disease, allowing local patients to benefit from the latest new treatments and enable the University of Aberdeen to lead national and international research projects.

By supporting research, Gastrocan aims to improve the treatment of stomach and oesophageal cancers, and at the same time, raise awareness of the disease to enable earlier diagnosis.

Banchory based Fundraising Co-ordinator for Gastrocan, Laura Tulloch, commented that “the charity was delighted to be chosen as this years beneficery from the Summer Marquee Ball and the Gastrocan team were looking forward to working alongside the Ball committee and Raemoir House”.

Anyone wishing to support the Ball by either a donation for the charity, a Fine Auction or Grand Raffle Prize, or even some company branding, please contact Logan Sangster or Dawn Law on 01330 824300.

We take this opportunity in thanking Mrs Margaret Jaffray and team at the Banchory Lodge Hotel for all their support over the last few years.

From Logan Sangster – Ball Organiser

Neil and Julie took over Raemoir House in September 2010 and embarked on a refurbishment programme to help restore the hotel to its position as one of the leading Country House Hotels in the North East of Scotland and the result of this was to win the 2011 Award. “To be recognised and awarded the accolade of Scottish Country House Hotel 2011 was fabulous. To be awarded it again this year is a remarkable achievement. To be recognised so highly by the Scottish Hotel Awards is a fantastic compliment and we can only thank everyone that has been involved in the hotel from the start, it’s reassuring to know that all the efforts so far have not been in vain.”

At the same ceremony Raemoir’s Executive Chef, David Littlewood, won the category Hotel Chef Médaille d’Or. “David and the team have been with us from the start and they have been widely recognised for their food. It was wonderful to see his efforts being rewarded with a Gold Medal.”

After the extremes of a dry, warm March into one of the wettest April’s on record the weather seems to have returned to some sort of normality – four seasons in one day have not been uncommon over the last few! The grounds remain wet enough for us only to have managed one cut of grass so far this season, and even that had to be done between showers. The flowers are opening up nicely though and the tree foliage thickening heralding a more colourful few months ahead at Raemoir.  Hopefully the occasional overnight frosts will not take their toll.

With the swings in weather the River Dee has been proving a challenge to the fishers, or at least those that have been staying with us.  I dare not lay any claim to my expertise on the water but so far catches have been recorded as depressingly low with an early return to the Bar for a consolatory dram or two! The weather has been so erratic that one group told of farmer friends who were thinking twice about planting a potato crop this year as the cost and effort would likely not provide a commercial return. I dare say we will see the price of potatoes rise as a result and therefore so will our Haddock & Chips! It is extraordinary to believe that such a pleasant warm spell in March will have implications on our business later in the year.

With the Marquee finally in place we now have to consider the landscaping and grassing of the surrounding ground. The rain has meant we have lost the first sewing so hopefully the second will be more successful. We originally expected an upfill of around 2 feet to have the base for the Marquee level with the house and kitchen but in the end, at the furthest out point, it was nearer 5 feet so a use was found for the redundant tennis court. However the excavation has now left us with a bit of an eyesore so a pond would seem the obvious feature. I had thought it would be best placed at the far side but having observed the water there stagnant and that the near side seems to have a natural flow across it there is not much point in fighting that which already exists so as soon as everything dries up it’ll be back in with the diggers to shape out something a little more attractive.

Inside the house some of the bedrooms have come under Mrs Rae’s eagle-eyed scrutiny again (no, that’s not her sitting on the stair window sill..) but planning in her intended works is the next challenge. With business increasing there are less opportunities to close rooms for a few days (if the truth were told after 18 months of trying to re-establish the business I am not inclined to do so for any length of time!) but in order to progress it must be done so my apologies for any upheaval and the smell of paint once again. Hopefully the results will be worth it.

With our Michelin Guide recommendation, David Littlewood heads the kitchen brigade in grand style. Three of the brigade, Alexandria, Sam and Mike are all through to different categories in the Grampian Chef of the Year competition finals this month so hopefully we will have more news next. Fabrice is the new man on the team and is shaking up the Restaurant so be ready to succumb to his Gallic upselling techniques. Stephenie and Tamarah can be found at reception and Kim keeps the place clean so if there is anything you need, please just let us know.

We hope you enjoy your stay

Over the last few weeks our main challenge has been the heating system and a temperamental boiler both of which are near impossible to understand.

Guests last month will be aware of the radiator and plumbing issues we have discovered however after weeks of trial and error we finally managed to get everything working as best we could to contend with the expected seasonal weather. However, on the last Monday in February, the temperature outside was so unseasonably high that we turned the heating off as inside the house it had risen uncomfortably. There is no thermostatic control over the heating system apart from a dial on the boiler so the house temperature has no effect on the output!

As we drew into the afternoon a light breeze started to make it feel airish inside so thinking ahead for the evening, the heating was turned back on. An hour later the radiators had not warmed up so the boiler was checked. It had tripped for some reason so we switched it on again only to have to repeat the whole process half an hour later. The boiler appeared to be pumping against a restriction in the line then shutting itself down. The main circulation pump was suspected and a quick call to our friendly plumber confirmed our suspicions and that a new one was needed. As the boiler also provides heat for the hot water supply we left it on to ensure there was enough for all our guests next morning. But the story doesn’t end quite that simply.

When driving home later I noticed the temperature on the gauge in the car. It’s hard to remember when we felt 15.5 degrees at any time over the last year never mind at 10.30pm on 27^th February but the picture tells the story.  What a strange experience being able to drive home at this time of night with the window open and not suffer a frostbitten right ear!

It was a slightly cooler, but still arguably unseasonal, 10 degrees when returning to work at 6am the next morning, but inevitably, on reflection, the condemned pump had decided to take on a new lease of life overnight and the temperature in the house had risen to a degree just below suffocating! So much for our planning. It never rains but it pours…. with hot water in our case! The priority list is not getting any shorter. Onward and upward…

August 2011

At Raemoir we are always looking for something different for our customers so we have started taking brides and grooms up the Hill of Fare for a unique photo opportunity. It’s a fabulous setting and it was during one of these shoots that we came up with the idea of possibly serving dinner there. This year for the Banchory Summer Ball auction, organised for charity by Logan Sangster, we decided to offer Dinner, Bed & Breakfast for 2 with the dinner being served on top of the Hill. The lot was so successful that we were encouraged to enter another for Dinner for 10. The bidding was extraordinary to say the least and we were absolutely delighted that the combined lots raised almost £4000 for charity. Of course, with such endeavours, there are always things that are not thought about initially – in this case some form of shelter, and given the “summer” we have just had it was completely necessary! We asked Esslemont Marquees if they could help out and…..well the picture tells the story. The dinner for 10 turned into 14 and the original dinner for 2 into an 8 such was the excitement and desire to share the experience. David, our Executive Chef, created a fabulous menu, all prepared in the marquee and the weather thankfully remained dry, although we did think that our own Hurricane Irene was determined to join in for a while! Would we do it again? Absolutely – how unique an experience do you want?

Straight on the back of being awarded 2 Rosettes for food we can now announce the arrival of our new Commis chef Sam Ritchie who was recently crowned Grampian Seafood Chef of the Year 2011 at the same ceremony where our Sous Chef Alexandria Hay won the seniors Chef of the Year award. Sam joins us from the highly respected Cock & Bull Restaurant and we are delighted that he now takes us up to a unique position – the only hotel in Grampian and Scotland with four regional Chefs of the Year in the kitchen. We have a lot to do at Raemoir to re-establish it as one of the leading Country House Hotels in Scotland and such commitment to the kitchen underlines the importance we put in providing a top quality product that cannot be matched elsewhere.

We are delighted to announce that Raemoir has been accredited by the AA with 3 Star status for the hotel and 2 Rosettes for its food. This is a fantastic award, especially as they have rated Raemoir with an exceptional 85% merit score which is on par with some of the top hotels in the UK, the national average being just over 76% so we are thoroughly delighted. Such recognition so early in our time at the Hotel is a reflection of the all hard work that has gone in by everyone involved at Raemoir and to receive 2 Rosettes immediately demonstrates that we are on the right track to making Raemoir a truly exceptional and unique Country House Hotel. A great achievement.