{"id":665586,"date":"2026-06-30T06:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665586\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T06:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:25:14","slug":"andy-and-kim-murray-are-embracing-life-after-tennis-we-arent-the-same-people-we-were-in-our-20s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/665586\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy and Kim Murray are embracing life after tennis: \u201cWe aren\u2019t the same people we were in our 20s\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Murray lowers himself onto the stool of the grand piano in the entrance hall at Cromlix, the luxury hotel near Dunblane he co-owns with his wife Kim. Around him, the hall unfolds in Scottish grandeur: a handcrafted wooden staircase, velvet furnishings in rich jewel tones, theatrical red walls and playful contemporary art by David Shrigley, Damien Hirst and the Edinburgh-based artist Susie Leiper. He launches into the opening bars of Hoagy Carmichael\u2019s \u2018Heart and Soul\u2019, not entirely successfully; each time he hits a wrong note, he starts again, with the determination of an athlete unwilling to concede a point without a fight. Across the room, Kim laughs fondly. \u201cYou\u2019ve got no rhythm,\u201d she says, before coming to sit on the stool beside him, taking over the melody while Andy accompanies. <\/p>\n

\"drawingVerena Wood<\/p>\n

The Drawing Room at Cromlix<\/p>\n

Together since their late teens, the couple have spent most of their adult lives side by side \u2013 through Wimbledon victories, Olympic medals, injuries, four children and now the ambitious reinvention of Cromlix. They bought the 34-acre Victorian country estate in 2013 after the hotel\u2019s former incarnation had ceased trading, but long before that, it had occupied a cherished place in their family history. Andy grew up in Dunblane and went to school in the area before he moved to Barcelona at 15 to train professionally; his grandparents celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at Cromlix in 1982 and his brother Jamie married in the chapel in 2010. \u201cIt meant so much to Andy\u2019s grandfather,\u201d Kim says. \u201cFor his 90th, four years ago, everyone kept asking, \u2018Where do you want to go?\u2019 And he just wanted to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"cozyVerena Wood<\/p>\n

The piano lobby, with works by David Shrigley: I\u2019m So Excited; I Try to be Friendly; Enjoy Each Moment; and Witness my Joy, all 2022<\/p>\n

It was at that birthday celebration that the couple began discussing the future of the property, whose management they had initially outsourced. \u201cWe realised it needed refreshing,\u201d Kim explains. \u201cThat was the beginning of us thinking much more ambitiously about what Cromlix could become.\u201d So, three years ago, Kim took on the task of overseeing the transformation, working closely with the interior designer Suzanne Garuda to modernise the hotel while preserving its historic character.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started thinking much more ambitiously about what Cromlix could become\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy has paid off: in 2024, Cromlix was named Scotland\u2019s AA Hotel of the Year and awarded a Michelin Key. Following a further temporary closure, it has reopened with three new bedrooms, a wellness cottage and a dramatic glass-walled extension. Inside is Cradle, a 16-seat fine-dining destination with moody midnight-blue interiors, and the Garden Room restaurant and bar, a high-ceilinged space featuring rust-hued banquettes and oversize green-petal chandeliers. <\/p>\n

\"theVerena Wood<\/p>\n

The bar, featuring Ashley Cook\u2019s Living in the Magic Garden (2019)<\/p>\n

The interiors bear Kim\u2019s unmistakable touch: layered textures, contemporary fabrics, statement wallpaper and floral motifs, with beloved British brands including Colefax and Fowler, Jane Churchill, Oka and Mulberry Home all represented in the furnishing choices. Each of the new bedrooms is named after a flower grown on the property: Rose, Peony and Zinnia. Kim is a keen gardener who is particularly obsessed with sweet peas. \u201cI love cut flowers \u2013 I\u2019m constantly making bouquets,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\"kimVerena Wood<\/p>\n

Kim in the kitchen garden<\/p>\n

As for Andy, his passion outside tennis lies in contemporary art, of which he is building a substantial collection. Several of his acquisitions can now be found in the hotel, complemented by loans from the Royal Scottish Academy. In the reimagined library, formerly the billiards-room, hangs one of his more recent purchases: a Banksy x Damien Hirst collaboration featuring the street artist\u2019s signature rat embedded into one of Hirst\u2019s spot works.<\/p>\n

\"andyVerena Wood<\/p>\n

Andy in the library next to the Banksy x Damien Hirst collaboration Banbituric Acid Ribose<\/p>\n

Yet one particular Banksy creation has eluded him. \u201cMy favourite is Girl with Balloon \u2013 the shredded one,\u201d Andy says, referring to a work that famously self- destructed at a Sotheby\u2019s auction in 2018 to create a new piece called Love is in the Bin. \u201cI was in Philadelphia in a swimming pool doing rehab and I asked Kim to bid on it remotely.\u201d As it turned out, the price went well above their cut-off point. \u201cIt was probably a good thing she was the one bidding \u2013 I\u2019d definitely have gone higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"andyVerena Wood<\/p>\n

Andy and Kim outside Cromlix\u2019s new restaurant<\/p>\n

Andy\u2019s favourite spot in the hotel is a turreted window seat in the Hyssop suite overlooking the tennis court, which is painted in Wimbledon green and purple. \u201cDunblane still feels like home,\u201d he says. \u201cMy mum and my closest family are all nearby.\u201d Judy Murray is a regular presence at Cromlix, hosting tennis-themed afternoon teas and lessons. <\/p>\n

\"womanVerena Wood<\/p>\n

Kim in the Library<\/p>\n

The couple are creating those same attachments for their own children: Sophia, 10, Edie, eight, Teddy, six, and Lola, five. When they visit \u2013 which they do three or four times a year, Kim even more often \u2013 the family usually stay in the Tulip suite, although Andy has been known to apologise to guests for them being there. \u201cIf I were staying in a lovely hotel, I probably wouldn\u2019t want the owner\u2019s children running around in pyjamas,\u201d he says dryly. \u201cThey wake up ridiculously early.\u201d On other occasions, they choose to stay nearby \u2013 and then, says Kim, \u201cwe come here and completely abuse the food. Our youngest refuses to eat breakfast anywhere else, but she adores the cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e porridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aVerena Wood<\/p>\n

The Library, which features wallpaper by Effinger<\/p>\n

Retirement appears to suit Andy remarkably well. Since stepping away from professional tennis after the most recent Summer Olympics in Paris, he has been surprised by how little he misses competing. \u201cThe only moment I really felt it was driving through Wimbledon<\/a> before the tournament last year,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought, it might be nice to play there. But honestly, that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"andyVerena Wood<\/p>\n

Andy and Kim in the Garden Room, which features chandeliers by Pure White Lines<\/p>\n

Kim believes parenthood has softened the transition. \u201cBy the end of Andy\u2019s career, life already looked different,\u201d she says. \u201cWe had the children, there were injuries, then Covid. We weren\u2019t the same people we were in our twenties.\u201d<\/p>\n

And where better to enjoy their new-found freedom than the serene surroundings of Cromlix? \u201cWe didn\u2019t buy the hotel from a business perspective,\u2019 says Andy. \u201cThe reason for buying it, rather than letting a developer take it on, was because it means something to our family and the community.\u201d Thanks to their stewardship, it will mean something to the next generation of visitors as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Murray lowers himself onto the stool of the grand piano in the entrance hall at Cromlix, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,9262,222968,381,96,190731,1156,222967,188913,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-665586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-a18d2d9c-7f73-4212-a905-c1dbb9cc7b3e","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-inside-andy-and-kim-murrays-scottish-hotel","tag-subsection-homes-lifestyle","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}