The Marcliffe Hotel is a name synonymous with prestige and luxury in Aberdeen, but it’s come a long way from humble roots as a boarding house for Tivoli Theatre.
It’s one of the few names left in hospitality that has endured the decades, attracting royals, politicians, and celebrities alike.
And despite the hotel’s longevity, the Marcliffe has had remarkably few owners in its 76 years.
With the news that Sir Jim Milne of Balmoral Group will be taking on Aberdeen’s illustrious hotel, Marcliffe at Pitfodels, we’ve taken a look back at its fascinating history.
Perhaps you might spot some familiar faces in our gallery of 1980s and ’90s photos at the end?
1947: Marcliffe boarding house founded by Tivoli theatre performer
While the name ‘Marcliffe’ might be reminiscent of a continental seaside resort, it was actually an amalgamation of the owners’ Christian names – Margaret and Clifford.
Well-known theatre star Cliff Jordan and his wife Margaret opened the Marcliffe as a boarding house at 2 Queen’s Terrace in 1947.
Cliff came to the city in 1938 as an orchestra conductor and musical director of the Tivoli Theatre.
The enterprising pair opened and ran a successful boarding house for touring performers appearing at the Guild Street venue.
But, spotting an opportunity, they sold their house for a “substantial profit” and bought premises on Queen’s Terrace for £6,000, and turned it into a ‘high-class boarding house’ in 1947.
The couple later bought number 3 Queen’s Terrace for £6,500 in 1948, and the Marcliffe Hotel was born.
1950s: Five functions held a week at popular Marcliffe Hotel
Now with 35 rooms, it welcomed a steady stream of performers. The small but popular Marcliffe Hotel did a roaring trade.
In 1952 alone, it welcomed 3,328 visitors, 418 of whom came from abroad.
And with a busy calendar of functions ahead, Cliff applied to the city council for an alcohol licence in 1953.
Functions took place in the Marcliffe ballroom about five times a week, and Cliff had to apply for 138 special licences – once, three times in one day – to cater for them.
He had to apply for an individual alcohol licence for each event because the hotel didn’t have its own licence.
Chief Constable McConnach was concerned giving the Marcliffe an alcohol licence would set a precedent for smaller hotels to become boozy boarding houses.
He even suggested the Marcliffe should be a temperance hotel and abstain from selling alcohol entirely, because he thought Cliff was “unsuitable” to hold a licence.
But Mr Jordan – who was president of the Hotels and Boarding House Association and a member of the Scottish Tourist Board – stuck by his guns.
Councillors came to the defence of Mr Jordan, believing the snooty chief constable’s claims to be unfounded, and granted the licence.
Clifford and Margaret were brimming with community spirit
As well as gaining a reputation for top-class hospitality, Cliff was brimming with community spirit.
During the Second World War, he was convener of Aberdeen Welfare Committee, and hosted auctions to raise money for the war effort.
And every Christmas, the Tivoli Theatre company would bring fun and frolics to the patients of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Artists, musicians and comedians would provide festive cheer to those convalescing at Foresterhill.
Cliff was also president of Aberdeen and District Angling Association for 12 years.
And he even put up the Scottish Empire Games swimming team for free in 1958 when the cash-strapped team needed to fund a summer of training in Aberdeen.
But wife Margaret was no wallflower either, and took a leading role in running the Marcliffe.
In 1952, she was the star of a feature in the Evening Express arguing that women made better head chefs than men.
It was a controversial opinion at the time – while housewives spent a lot of time in the domestic kitchen, commercial kitchens were the domain of men.
The Marcliffe challenged kitchen traditions
But Margaret broke away from tradition by having a female head cook, instead of a head chef.
Leading the charge in the Marcliffe kitchen at Queen’s Terrace was Peggy Adam, “a brown-haired, bespectacled woman”.
Margaret, “spoke fearlessly” when arguing that head cooks were better than head chefs.
She said women in the kitchen were “not so temperamental, more dependable, thriftier, more patient, and more adaptable”.
Peggy would often cater “for a few hundred guests at a time” when the Marcliffe was hosting a wedding.
She was famed for her perfect omelettes, lemon meringue pie and semolina snow. And Peggy exclusively shared her secret omelette technique with EE readers.
Her recipe was two eggs, one tablespoon of milk, salt and pepper, poured into a pre-heated, greased pan.
But the secret to her success was that the pan should never be washed. Instead it “should be rubbed over, first with some soft paper and then a clean cloth”.
1960s: Margaret and Cliff leave the Marcliffe
In January 1961, with New Year’s resolutions still swirling around, a host of local personalities were asked by the Evening Express what luxury they could never give up.
Olympic swimmer Sheila Watt said she could never give up her wireless, while Aberdeen architect T Scott Sutherland said he could never give up his Rolls Royce or chain smoking.
But kindly Cliff said: “My dog. If human beings were as good as dogs, it would be a much better world. My dog is faithful and its friendship is sincere.”
Soon after, the Marcliffe passed into new ownership for the first time in its history.
In May, the Marcliffe was bought over by Four Mile House with Fraserburgh solicitor Alexander Brown as majority shareholder.
And in December 1961, Tom Ballantyne succeeded Cliff as manager.
After an illustrious career on stage and in hospitality, Cliff moved back to London with Margaret in 1964. He died there aged 72 in 1973.
1970s: Stewart Spence takes on illustrious hotel
Throughout the 1960s, and still at Queen’s Terrace, the Marcliffe soon became the city’s most prestigious wedding venue.
By now, it was part of the fabric of Aberdeen’s West End.
The Marcliffe didn’t change hands again until 1979, when it was sold by the widow of Alexander Brown to Stewart and Sheila Spence.
The Spences already ran two successful hotels – the Atholl on King’s Gate and the Queen’s on Queen’s Road.
Under their tenure, the Marcliffe flitted from Queen’s Terrace to Queen’s Road in 1983 and became the ‘New Marcliffe’ (now Malmaison).
Ten years later, the hotel moved to the historic Wood of Pitfodels, Cults, once owned by the Laird of Pitfodels.
Marcliffe at Pitfodels loved by locals and celebrities
Over the decades Aberdeen’s only five-star hotel has hosted countless weddings and glittering events – and welcomed many celebrities through its doors.
And the brand-new Marcliffe at Pitfodels was even opened by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1993.
He and his entourage spent a night there when Gorbachev was given the freedom of Aberdeen.
King Charles and Princess Anne and politicians including Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair have all stayed there.
While Denis Law, Alex Ferguson, Rod Stewart and Elaine C Smith are no strangers to the hotel, guests got an unexpected surprise in 1999 when Robbie Williams threw an impromptu after-party there.
Other famous guests have included Sharon Stone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meat Loaf, Jack Nicklaus and actor Charlton Heston.
More than 30 years after moving to Cults, and despite various plans to sell up, the Marcliffe at Pitfodels remains Aberdeen’s top luxury hotel.
And 75 years on, Cliff and Margaret’s names continue – quite literally – in the hotel’s name, and their sense of community does too.
Mr Spence has raised millions of pounds for charity in his 45 years at the Marcliffe, and like Cliff, remained hands-on throughout.
Gallery: Were you at any of these Marcliffe functions in the 1980s?
1990s: More Marcliffe memories
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