The Torridon Hotel review
Location:
The Torridon was originally built as a hunting lodge holiday home in the late 1800s and sits on the shore of a magnificent sea loch, opposite the few homes that make up the tiny hamlet of Torridon. It was originally converted into a hotel in the 1960s and taken over by the family of the current owners in 1992. Since then the hotel has gone on to win various accolades and awards, eventually being recognised as the most northerly 5 star hotel in the UK in 2018.
Much of its recent success has been aided by the launch of the NC500 route in 2015, with the Torridon conveniently sitting on the south-westerly corner of this 500 mile North Coast of Scotland route, making it the perfect start or finish point for anyone taking on this epic road trip, often named as one of the most scenic road trips in the world.
The hotel is perfectly situated for a day trip round the stunning Applecross peninsula, a single track road taking in the stunning coastal views around the peninsula and home to a number of Highland cattle. Also within driving distance from the hotel is a day trip to the beautiful Isle of Skye. For those not wishing to drive far there are plenty of walks and mountain hikes to keep you busy, as well as the activities available at the hotel which include archery, kayaking, gorge scrambling, mountain biking and coasteering. Although there are plenty of things to keep the active among us busy, the situation of the hotel and its amazing grounds make it a perfect place to just sit and relax and take in the stunning views.
Rooms:
The Torridon Hotel has 18 individually designed rooms most of which offer stunning views over the loch and surrounding mountains. Each room is individually named and situated off of the homely corridors and hallways in the main house. There are 8 different categories of room (including 3 suites) to suit a range of budgets and tastes. However, in order to maximise your choice of room you will need to book up very well in advance. We hadn’t. But we had somehow been lucky enough to secure a last minute cancellation a couple of weeks before we were due to travel. This meant that we had an ‘obstructed view’ room, one of only 2 rooms in the house with no view, the only window in the room being fitted with obscured glass to deflect from the ‘view’ over the kitchen roof. However, the room itself was beautiful, newly refurbished with contemporary bespoke furniture and a lovely, large bathroom. It would also be remiss not to mention the dreamy bed and bedding, and the truly luxurious nights sleep in one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept on.
Food and restaurant:
The 3AA rosette main restaurant in the hotel is called the 1887, named after the year that the house build was completed and is used to serve residents breakfast, as well as being open every day to residents and non-residents for pre-booked afternoon tea and dinner. Being in such a remote location the hotels restaurant has its own extensive kitchen garden, livestock and fishing from the loch.
The restaurant is in 2 parts, the original dining room located off of the main hall in the house, leading through to a modern extension. This contemporary glass-walled addition manages to meld with the traditional main dining room and offers a lovely light area to the dining room, perfect for summer evenings. We had booked our room on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis which included a 3 course dinner in 1887 and were seated in the new extension with a table in front of the glass wall, affording us a magnificent view over the hotels gardens and surrounding mountains,
The 3 course menu included a chose of 3 dishes for each course. For starter I had the beef tartare and Rich chose the pigeon with pearl barley, accompanied by delicious homemade sourdough. We followed this with beef cheek accompanied by butternut squash purée for Rich and halibut with leeks for me. Both dishes were delicious with amazing sauces which just had to be soaked up with that beautiful sourdough. For desert Rich had a decadent chocolate tart and I had my all time favourite dessert, soufflé, which was served with a tasty raspberry sorbet. Having eaten many soufflés in my life I consider myself a bit of an expert and this was definitely one of the lightest and most delicious soufflés I’ve ever eaten.
Following our delicious meal the night before we were very excited about our breakfast. We chose to sit in the traditional dining room for our breakfast and were immediately served a lovely hot pot of coffee. The table itself was beautifully adorned with the addition of two tiny servers of the most delicious homemade jam and marmalade which I devoured.
The breakfast menu consisted of a limited choice of a cold course followed by a hot dish. I chose to start with a plate of fruit and Rich decided on the homemade granola served with yoghurt. For our hot plates Rich had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with brioche bread and I had a smoked haddock omelette, making the most of the locally caught fish. Whilst the breakfast was nice, we didn’t feel that it quite lived up to the standards of the evening meal the night before, with the exception of the amazing marmalade.
Public areas:
As soon as you enter the hotel it feels like you have been invited to stay in a large country home with fires roaring, cosy window seats and comfortable armchairs dotted around. There is no reception desk as such with someone miraculously appearing in the hall when you walk in the door. Off to the left of the main entrance hall is the dining room, with the stairs to the first floor rooms at the back of the hall and the enticing lounge area off to the right.
The main drawing room is large but cosy with another large roaring fireplace, plenty of sumptuous seating, another large window seat and perfect views. Just off this room is the intriguing Whisky bar. This small bar has maximised it space by stacking up its 365 malt whiskies and 120 gins in a unique wall of bottles.
The bar is manned by a very knowledgable staff who can advise their patrons on the many and varied spirits on offer. We chose to try the hotel’s very own Arcturus gin, perfectly matched with a locally bottled tonic water and served to us whilst we sat in the window seat and watched the sun go down on a glorious day spent in this sublime location.
As well as the main drawing room and the adjoining Whisky bar there is the more secluded library and games room which is situated off of the back corridor behind the bar.
Surrounding the hotel:
The Torridon is set in 58 acres of grounds at the end of a picturesque sea loch. The grounds are made up of more formal gardens surrounding the house, a kitchen garden, farmland pastures, meandering streams and loch side woods and parkland.
During our overnight stay there we enjoyed a pre-breakfast early morning 2 km circular walk through the woods to the boathouse making our way back to the hotel along the loch. The hotel-owned Boathouse is a self-contained 2 bedroom cottage which sits in a very secluded spot on the shore of the loch, perfect for a family or group complete getaway. It is available to rent on a weekly basis but with availability already limited for the next couple of years, this really needs to be a well planned stay.
One of the reasons we chose this hotel is that we were able to charge our electric car here, with the hotel having two Tesla destination chargers. This has many advantages, not least the fact that the main car park is quite small so using the chargers ensures somewhere to park close to the hotel. Making your way up the drive, passed the car park towards the perimeter of the immediate hotel grounds there is an outdoor activity centre which offers hotel guests a variety of activities throughout their stay. Experienced and qualified instructors offer guests the opportunity to take part in individual or group activities, including archery, guided walks and bike rides, kayaking, mountaineering and gorge scrambling. There are also mountain bikes available to hire on a daily hire basis.
Next to the Activity centre is the old stable block, situated around a courtyard and converted into extra accommodation, now housing 12 rooms with some able to accommodate families of up to 6. These rooms offer the same level of comfort as the main hotel but in a more informal setting. While these rooms do not have the same views as the main hotel they are dog and family friendly.
Alongside the Stables sits the large refurbished stable building housing the local pub and restaurant. The Beinn bar and Bo & Muc restaurant serves both locals and residents alike. The Beinn bar defines itself as a ‘proper pub’ serving real ale and regularly hosting live music. The Bo & Muc restaurant is the breakfast venue for guests staying in the Stables and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner for all residents and non-residents serving hearty locally sourced dishes such as burger, Mac and cheese, and fish and chips. Whilst we didn’t have time to eat here during our stay we did enjoy a drink from the bar and would definitely be tempted to eat here if we were to stay at the hotel again.
Overall, we loved our stay at the Torridon, only regretting that we couldn’t stay longer and didn’t live closer so that we could visit more often. We visited at the end of our NC500 road trip and it was so nice to be somewhere so relaxing and tranquil after a busy week on the road. We would have no hesitation in returning and would definitely want to stay longer and explore the surrounding area. And though our room was lovely if we were lucky enough to stay again we would do all we could to secure one of the first floor rooms with a view over the gardens and loch which we think would certainly be worth the extra expense. Hopefully we will see you some time in 2021 Torridon!
We stayed at the Torridon in September 2020 and booked our stay directly with the hotel, paying £425 for dinner, bed and breakfast in an obstructed view room - room 10, The Shieldaig.
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