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Daily Record
21-07-2025
- Daily Record
Scotland's 'best boutique hotels' for unique holiday named including Skye lodge
Luxury accommodation up and down the country was singled out. Scotland's "best boutique hotels" have been named. Hotels up and down the country were singled out for their delicious food and stylish guest rooms. With summer more than halfway over, many Scots will be looking to book a last-minute getaway. Others will already be looking ahead to autumn, which is the perfect time for a cosy rural retreat. Travel specialists Hidden Scotland shared a list of 10 of Scotland's top boutique hotels. The experts rounded up small hotels from across the country. One boutique hotel featured on Hidden Scotland's list is Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye. The hotel and restaurant is situated in the island's hills, overlooking sea loch Loch na Dal. Kinloch Lodge offers a range of double rooms and suites that reflect Skye's unique landscape through their colours and fabrics, while its restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a separate all-day dining menu. The experts praised the hotel for its laid-back ambience and comfy rooms. Hidden Scotland wrote: "There's a gentleness to how the place is run. Fires are lit before you ask. Tea appears when it's needed. "The drawing room has the kind of furniture people actually use—sofas you lean into, shelves with books that have clearly been read, and a view that tends to slow the conversation. Some guests talk, others stay quiet. Either way, it works. "Rooms are comfortable without being styled into anything too defined. There are antique pieces and family touches, but the standout feature is often the light through the window, especially late in the day. Nights are still and the quiet settles in without effort." Meanwhile, another boutique hotel that earned a spot on the travel specialists' roundup is Glenmorangie House in Tain. The hotel, which is nestled in the remote Highlands surroundings near the Glenmorangie Distillery, includes six double en-suite bedrooms and three cottages that have all been individually designed. Hidden Scotland praised Glenmorangie House for its cosy and inviting atmosphere. The hotel was also singled out for its unique and homely interiors. Hidden Scotland wrote: "Inside, it's not what you expect from a whisky-branded hotel. The fire's on in the drawing room and the shelves are stacked with books that feel thumbed-through. "The tartans are warm, not loud. You get the feeling things were chosen because they belonged, not because they matched. "The welcome is easy too. Not overly polished, just friendly in the way you hope for when you're this far north." Elsewhere, the experts also singled out Cromlix in Dunblane. Cromlix is a Victorian mansion and estate situated within acres of hidden Stirlingshire countryside. The luxury hotel is known for being owned by Scottish tennis legend Andy Murray and his wife Kim Sears. The five-star accommodation includes individually designed rooms and suites, as well as a separate one-bedroom gate lodge. Hidden Scotland praised Cromlix for its "bold" interiors and amenities such as a tennis court, croquet lawn, and even a chapel. Meanwhile, the hotel's restaurant earned acclaim for its locally sourced menus and opulent dishes. Other hotels featured on the experts' list include The Fife Arms in Braemar and The Witchery in Edinburgh. The former is a 19th-century hunting lodge that was noted for its extravagant and stylish interiors, while The Witchery is situated at the gates of the legendary Edinburgh Castle and was singled out for its dramatic flair. The full list of Scotland's "best boutique hotels" can be found on the Hidden Scotland website.
The National
29-05-2025
- The National
How Skye has 'flourished' in the 30 years since the bridge opened
The Isle of Skye is the second most visited destination in Scotland after Edinburgh. This year the Skye bridge is 30 years old and is the gateway to the island for the majority of visitors. For an island with single-track roads and rural infrastructure, it's a lot to manage. Visit Scotland works hard to market other parts of Scotland yet the pull of the Cuillins is magnetic. The dramatic cliffs and peaks of Skye, the miles of coastline, the constantly changing light . . . there's nowhere quite like it. I'm far from immune. Growing up in Lochaber, the mountains of Skye were always on my horizon and, as an adult, I take every opportunity to visit, particularly out of season. Whether out hiking, visiting distilleries or eating my way around Skye, every visit I discover somewhere new and fall a little further under the island's spell. In the 30 years since the bridge opened, the hospitality industry has flourished. Today Skye's restaurants, cafés and distilleries are as much of a draw as the mountains and beauty spots. Isabella Macdonald runs Kinloch Lodge ( at the end of a single-track road on the Sleat peninsula. It's one of my favourite hotels in Scotland. Isabella remembers Skye before the bridge. 'I have so many childhood memories of queuing for ferries, or just missing the last one,' she says. 'A lot of the dislike for the project was because of the tolls. I'd liken it to the Edinburgh trams: initial grumbling but very quickly people grew to love it. Now we wouldn't be without it. It's made Skye so much more accessible. As a business owner you're not worrying about your guests missing the ferry or booking one in time. It definitely helps with attracting visitors year round too.' Dinner at Kinloch Lodge is a treat, with the menu changing daily depending on available produce, the weather and what chef Jordan Webb and his creative team dream up. When I visit that's Skye venison tacos as a snack, a beautiful seared Skye scallop in a light dashi with pak choi and peanuts, then poached Shetland cod with home-smoked lobster. (Image: UNKNOWN) The hotel still feels like the Clan Macdonald family home with portraits ranging from ancient oil paintings to recent school photos of the current youngest generation. It also offers a tapas-style lunch menu. I delight in west coast crab with foraged Alexanders on toast, and scallop sashimi, all in the idyllic garden overlooking Loch na Dal. A little further south on the Sleat peninsula is Torabhaig Distillery ( a newer rival to the island's mighty Talisker. Both make fine whisky but I prefer the intimate tour experience at Torabhaig. When the distillery opened it trained up members of the local community for all the new roles including the distillers. 'We meld into the community because we brought the community here,' tour guide manager Anne says. Having the bridge meant building this new island distillery was far easier, particularly when transporting huge wooden washbacks. The café at Torabhaig is excellent, with tasty soup and sandwiches, and whisky-infused traybake to fuel walks. Talisker is still worth a visit, particularly with a booking at The Three Chimneys at Talisker ( which has just been made a permanent fixture in the lochside building opposite the distillery. I've eaten at The Three Chimneys restaurant before and adore it but it's a big budget treat of a place. This café style offering brings the talent of this famous kitchen to a bigger audience. I sit at the elegant bar and enjoy oysters with a spritz of Talisker 10 and a hearty bowl of Cullen Skink. (Image: Lynne Kennedy Photography) On the road to Talisker is Café Cùil ( run by Skye local Clare Coghill, who relocated her café from London after the pandemic. In the iconic red-roofed building I sip a dried flower topped 'machair matcha' and eat delicious blood orange and beetroot cured local trout with crowdie creme fraiche, and hot sweetcorn fritters with chilli. It's a café that arguably could thrive anywhere but here on Skye with local ingredients and Gaelic language and culture celebrated, is where it truly belongs. It's a bright, joyful place to eat and everyone in the queue knows it. Clare says: 'The bridge is our link to civilization. It does more than you think it does. It makes island living more realistic and more appealing to younger people too.' Chef Calum Montgomery at Edinbane Lodge ( agrees: 'Having the bridge has helped my career too. I can finish service then drive to Edinburgh or Glasgow for an event or a meeting and get back on the island when I want, without worrying about missing the last boat.' Calum and Claire are part of a young generation of returning homegrown culinary talent. Calum says: 'We're all deeply rooted in Skye. A lot of us left and worked elsewhere. We'd be seeing the produce we knew arrive miles from where it was landed and it's just not as good as what we grew up eating. I'm so proud of the whole place now.' At Edinbane Lodge I eat an enormous scallop with a dulse butter sauce, and local hake with wild garlic. Calum calls his menu 'A Taste of Skye', and it's exactly that: an embrace of the very best Skye ingredients. The menu shows the distances the produce travels to the restaurant, for the scallops hand dived in Loch Greshornish, the Edinbane venison, the sea herbs and garden vegetables, it's zero miles. Skye can get busy, that's undeniable, but by visiting off-season and exploring beyond the island's tick-box attractions it doesn't have to feel that way. It's a big island with so much to see. Part of the joy of the bridge is visiting Skye is easier year-round: you never need worry about a rocky winter crossing, just look forward to a quiet week of big skies and dramatic scenery. (Image: Michael_Dickie_Square_Foot) More businesses are staying open in winter than ever before, which also creates permanent rather than seasonal jobs. Upgrading infrastructure takes time, and money, but it is happening. There are now good car parks at the Fairy Pools, the Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr, and Neist Point (but only a small heavily rutted one at Coral Beach so be aware). Car park fees help maintain and improve facilities and contribute toconservation and community projects. Potholes do remain an ongoing issue. I try to stay somewhere different each time I'm on Skye. This time it's Bracken Hide Hotel ( on the hill overlooking Portree. Above a spacious hotel restaurant and bar, little wooden 'hides' are dotted up the hillside. Inside the rooms are surprisingly spacious and fitted out in a luxurious Scandi-Scot style. From my front deck I have a panorama of the sky and mountains to myself. The hotel restaurant Am Braigh ( is a great new discovery. I eat leggy langoustines with garlic butter and local samphire. Later my wee deck is a perfect stargazing spot. I also stay a night at sister-hotel Marmalade ( on the other side of Portree. The rooms here are large and lovely, overlooking trees with a distant view of the Cullins. It's an ideal location for exploring Portree, and just a five minute walk from Birch Cafe ( one of Skye's best spots for coffee or brunch. I leave here with a hearty slice of topped focaccia and a perfect pistachio pastel de nata to sustain me on the drive home. As I cross back over the bridge, I glance longingly in my rear-view mirror, already plotting my next trip.
