What, I wondered as I wound my way up the tree-lined drive to Cromlix, swerving to avoid the pheasants doing their best to jump under my wheels, would a Wimbledon champion know about running a hotel? Even one who beds down in five-star hotel luxury for 80% of each year?

Andy Murray's swanky new hotel in deepest Perthshire opened on 1 April. There was no glamorous launch party, no A-listers whirring down to the helipad, no paparazzi – and no Andy Murray, in fact. A handful of children from local schools had been invited for a knockabout on the tennis court, a tour of the kitchen garden and a cookery lesson with Albert Roux.

The nation's newspapers have, of course, been clamouring for a sneak preview, and a few of us were invited to check in early – under a Zippy-like strict embargo.

So why Cromlix? Just three miles down the road from his hometown, Dunblane, this grand Victorian mansion built in 1880 as a "cottage" for the local laird and converted into a country house hotel in 1981, was where Murray family celebrations were always held. Andy's brother, Jamie, got married in the tiny private chapel, which is strung with drums from the Royal Scots Guards. Then, suddenly, the place closed. And a card popped through the letterbox of his uncle's optician's in Dunblane asking if Andy would be interested in buying it.

"When I heard that Cromlix was for sale, I jumped at the opportunity," he said in a statement. "The local communities were incredibly sad when Cromlix closed and a lot of people lost their jobs, so it wasn't a hard decision for me to step in and help out."

Murray is not the first tennis player to turn hotelier. Former world no 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero bought a 19th-century country house in Spain's Sierra Mariola mountains and turned it into the swish 12-suite Hotel Ferrero, in 2007. And just last year, Rafael Nadal invested a reported £13m in two resorts on the island of Cozumel, Mexico.

All that living out of a suitcase probably means you can spot a great pillow menu when you see one, but it's hard to imagine any sports star having much of a clue about where to source shower caps, or any of the other myriad details of luxury hotel management.

But he's not doing that stuff himself of course. Inverlochy Castle Management is a consultancy with eight independent five-star properties in its portfolio (from genteel Greywalls near North Berwick to The Atholl in Edinburgh). And it was them who managed to get a Michelin-starred French chef to oversee the restaurant. Albert Roux is sure to be a winner among the local golfing set.

So, first impressions? The grand turreted mansion is set in 34 secluded acres of woodland and landscaped grounds. As you crunch into the car park the first thing you spot – you can't really miss it – is a vivid purple and green tennis court: Wimbledon colours. It's the only reference to Andy's day job you'll find, however. This is no tacky theme hotel. It reeks of money.

For the interiors, Andy briefed Edinburgh-based designer Ian Smith to retain the history of Cromlix, but declutter and lighten the house, livening it up and juxtaposing old and new. Most of the antique furniture came with the house and was restored or reupholstered, and family portraits have been leased from the Eden family, who still own much of the land.

The main house still has a traditional Scottish feel: it's dripping with antiques, opulent fabrics and wood panelling. There are no fewer than nine open fires, and mounted stags heads in the grand games room. Some of the rooms look a bit chainy, and others (the bridal suite in particular) have gone a bit overboard on the heavy furniture. And I couldn't tell if the ultra-high beds and deep bath – resulting in a lot of clambering – were meant to feel luxurious or were the result of being overseen by someone well over six feet tall. But the overall feel is of an established, plush Highland hotel, without the naff tartan. The newer elements are strikingly contemporary – the restaurant is a vision of glass, with a theatrical open kitchen – complementing the more traditional areas of the hotel.

Andy and his girlfriend, Kim Sears, got involved with some of the fun bits, like choosing the names of the 15 rooms: all famous Scots, they range from Wallace and Connery, to Fleming and Ferguson (Sir Alex), via Lennox, as in Annie, the name of the Gate Lodge

Andy was away on my visit (battling it out in Miami), but his mother Judy was on hand. So after a quick soak and a liberal dousing in the bespoke bergamot and ginger Arran Aromatic toiletries, I met her in the bar, with its parquet floor and hand-painted turquoise-and-gold-leaf panelling. The Murray matriarch told how the family had insisted on a three-course set menu at £26.50 to ensure it remains affordable for locals.

She didn't say what the locals made of the room rates – from £250 for a small double ranging to a superstar-level £595 a night. Of the 10 rooms and five suites Judy's favourite is the MacKintosh, and in the restaurant she particularly recommends the soufflé suissesse (£9.50), Albert Roux's twice-baked cheese soufflé in cream, which is a Gavroche classic.

The next morning, after breakfast (a wicked porridge brulée with whisky cream and demerara sugar) I went for a wander, following a wood-chip path to the private loch. It's stocked with brown trout, and there are rods in a cupboard for guests to borrow – along with tennis rackets, of course, and wellies. You can also try your hand at clay pigeon shooting, archery and falconry. For golf, Gleneagles is up the road (Cromlix is already booked up for the Ryder Cup, which will be held there in September), and nearby attractions include Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument in Stirling, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park and a new state-of-the-art visitor centre at Bannockburn, where the 700th anniversary of Robert the Bruce's victory over the English king Edward II in 1314 will be celebrated in June (battleofbannockburn.com).

Dunblane itself, a short drive away, is worth a visit. It's a pretty little town with riverside walks and a magnificent cathedral, and for £1.95 you can pick up a fridge magnet of Andy Murray's gold postbox, painted after he won his Olympic title in 2012. But mostly I was happy watching the herons from a bench overlooking the water and soaking up the silence. A silence that will no doubt soon be broken by weekenders from Edinburgh and Glasgow, just a backhand lob away, keen to check out the latest gourmet bolthole – and have a knockabout on the Wimbledon champion's tennis court.

• Accommodation was provided by Cromlix Hotel (01786 822125, cromlix.com), doubles from £250 including breakfast