We travel hundreds and thousands miles away from where we live for a relaxing vacation, but fail to explore what’s at our own backyard. We did not want to miss out what lies in our backyard, and hence set off to explore the places around Edinburgh every weekend. In an attempt to succeed at this, we started off exploring the gateway to Scottish Borders, Lauder which is 25 miles away from the Edinburgh city.
We chose to stay in The Lodge Carfraemill, a family run business which provide luxurious and comfortable stay and amazing food. When we started from Edinburgh, we stuffed ourselves with lunch and after what seemed like 45 minutes, we reached Carfraemill.
We were welcomed to the chit chat and noise of people who were busy having lunch with their family and friends. The place seemed super busy. The soothing light, lovely carpeted flooring and walls decorated with vintage wallpaper and elegant paintings immediately captured our heart. The staff came to receive us with a big smile and then we met Jo Sutherland, the managing partner of Carfraemill.
We were booked for the “Romantic Breaks” Package which included Dinner, Bed and Breakfast with a free bottle of Prosecco or Wine. Jo walked us to our designated bedroom which was looking cosy, stylish and all that’s required for a great night sleep.
We refreshed ourselves a bit, and went down for our “Vintage Afternoon Tea”. Before I say any further, let me just say that Carfraemill has an award winning restaurant and the busy environment was a testimony to their quality service. We sat down near to the fireplace where a table was reserved for us.
Having an afternoon tea is a quintessential ceremony in itself. It’s one of the best kept traditions of British, and one that every outsider should experience and enrich. Carfraemill are well known for this tradition and serve the best home bakes and hand cut sandwiches.
Our vintage afternoon tea (and coffee for Sri) came along with a 2 tier cake stand – first one filled with freshly prepared veggie and cheese finger sandwiches, and the bottom tier with warm scones topped with jam, clotted cream and strawberry on top.
The history of the hotel dates back to 12th Century. It was said that the hotel was originally an Inn, and a popular stopping point for coaches and horse carriages. Over the last century, this has become a meeting point for family and friends, and comfortable place of over night stay for people travelling either north or south. We can see why. The place is so ideally located just by the junction of A68 and A697. It is also well connect with Midlothian buses which takes roughly 1 hour journey.
The bedrooms are individually designed with tastefully decorated lights & bed linens, and they felt so cosy, elegant and home away from home. After all, that’s the mission of the hotel. There’s free Wi-Fi(a must for us!), Flat screen TV, telephone, hair dryer, Coffee/tea, a tin of Scottish short bread & a bottle of water. Not just that, all rooms came with great views!
The Lodge has family rooms, wedding and conference rooms that suit any kind of social gatherings. Whether the crowd is small or large, the staff at Carfraemill know how to make it look best. They also provide bespoke wedding packages. The stunning Marquee is available for weddings which can host 150-300 guests (picture below).
Picture Courtesy: Carfraemill
For dinner, we already notified the chef about our food requisites (being Vegetarian). They also checked with us about any allergy prerequisite. Since we were already stuffed from afternoon tea ceremony, we wanted to have something light. Hence we settled for a Veggie Pasta, Tomato soup, Roasted Vegetables.
The food are sourced from local producers around Scottish Borders so utmost care is taken in getting quality items. The organic herbs & vegetables are from Tweed Valley Organic Greenlaw, Oats from Hogarths Mill, Kelso; Organic Lauderdale Lamb from Hillhouse,Lauder and so on.
The Bistro is a nice place for lunch, dinner or evening tea. With a wooden fireplace, this is just the perfect warm and cosy corner. There’s also bar attached to the Bistro.
The breakfast area is set in the extended room Jo’s Kitchen set as a proper farmhouse kitchen with rustic and antique kitchen items decorated along the wall.
Overall, it was an amazing stay, not to forget the delicious food served here. They won our heart with courteous smile and providing a very warm and cosy environment to stay. We are already planning to have a lunch get together with friends in Jan or Feb. We totally recommend this place for anyone who plan on road trip either up North or down South. This is THE place to either stop over for tea/coffee/meal or stay put overnight.
Disclaimer:
We were guests at The Lodge Carfraemill. We were not compensated or asked to write a positive review. As always, all the opinions are our own.
Destination Infinity
The photos of the wedding hall and breakfast hall are too good! For food, I'd be careful, as anything too tasty might be unhealthy as well. Doesn't seem like that here, but still…
Destination Infinity
Ken miller
I visited two to three times there and i loved the food and the place cause of pleasant atmosphere.