Sir Andy Murray’s wife Kim has revealed that the tennis star’s hobby has forced them to move some prized possessions out of their home
Sir Andy Murray’s art collection has grown so vast that he and his wife Kim have had to move pieces out of their Surrey home and into their luxury hotel. The tennis legend, who hung up his racket after last year’s Paris Olympics, has a penchant for art, and owns works by the likes of Damien Hirst and Maggie Hambling.
His passion was ignited when he sat for a portrait by Hambling during his playing days. However, it seems his hobby may have gotten slightly out of hand, with overflow from his collection now adorning the walls of their five-star Cromlix Hotel in Scotland.
Speaking to Homes and Interiors Scotland, Kim revealed: “Andy is constantly buying large-scale artwork and we are running out of space at home. So we end up bringing a lot of it to Cromlix on a sort of rotational basis so that our guests can enjoy our personal collection as much as we do. Freeing up space at home is, of course, an added bonus for me.”
Despite his love for collecting, Murray’s own attempt at creating art didn’t go quite as planned. In a 2019 interview, he confessed that his wife was less than thrilled when he left their house splattered with paint after trying his hand at the craft.
“It’s like most things, really,” he said. “You think, ‘I could do that’ or, ‘That’s not difficult’. My wife was out that night. I was by myself in the house.
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“She came back from dinner and was like, ‘What the hell have you done?’ I ended up with paint on the ceiling and all over the floor. It was horrific.”
The Murrays’ choice to relocate some of their art collection to their hotel comes after they received warnings over their plans for additional renovations to the venue, which sits close to the three-time Grand Slam champion’s hometown of Dunblane.
The pair bought the hotel for a reported £1.8 million in 2013 and hosted their wedding reception there two years later, having transformed it into a five-star luxury destination. Major refurbishment has made Cromlix one of Scotland’s most coveted locations, with rooms priced at up to £950 per night.
However, since taking control of the venue’s operations in 2022, the Murrays have faced multiple warnings regarding their further renovation proposals.
They recently submitted plans to convert crumbling stable and kennel sheds on the grounds into extra storage space, only to receive warnings about potentially disturbing roosting bats and birds during the work. In a statement submitted to Stirling Council, the Scottish Wildlife Trust informed the pair that a bat survey must be conducted by a specialist before any decisions are made regarding the proposals.
Bats are safeguarded under UK law, making it an offence to kill, possess or handle them without a licence, or to interfere with their habitat in any manner.
“Bats and their roosts are fully protected by law from damage and disturbance,” the trust said. “The reason this protection includes bat roosts which are not currently in use, is that bats use different roost sites at different times of year.
“Bats may be disturbed by movement, noise and outdoor lighting during work, and by movement, noise and outdoor lighting even afterwards. A bat survey should be carried out by a suitably qualified ecologist or bat specialist before decisions are made. All recommendations about minimisation of damage/disturbance and about mitigation measures should be followed.”
Set within 34 acres of private grounds and woodland, Cromlix boasts 10 bedrooms, five suites and a one-bedroom lodge, along with its own private chapel, tennis court, pickleball court and a restaurant operated by an award-winning chef.
Constructed as a Victorian mansion, it was handed down through generations of the Drummond family, before the Murrays assumed control of running the venue three years ago.