Roaming Numeral

The Torridon is one of the most luxurious and fanciest hotels I’ve ever stayed in, and paradoxically it had some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced.

Let me explain.

The Torridon was originally a hunting lodge built in 1887 by William King-Noel, the first Earl of Lovelace (Ada Lovelace’s husband!).

The hunting lodge has since been turned over to private ownership, though it’s kept and restored it’s Victorian-era architecture.

These days, the hunting lodge has been turned into the most Northern 5-Star hotel in Scotland.

Most of the original Lodge has been turned into guest rooms, but the first floor is almost entirely accessible to all visitors.

The ground floor is comprised of the Lobby, the Whisky Bar, the 1887 Restaurant, the Drawing Room, and the Library.

I very rarely saw other guests in these areas during my visit, but I was happy to take advantage of such a beautiful setting.

Activities

The Torridon sits on a perfectly manicured lawn on the shores of Loch Torridon and they take advantage of the view with huge windows in nearly every room in the original Hunting Lodge.

The mountains in this area are particularly stunning- even the drive from Inverness was incredible.

The hotel encourages its guests to take advantage of such beautiful surroundings by offering a slew of activities including Falconry, Clay Pigeon Shooting, and Archery- basically all the fancy royal stuff! There are also options for kayaking, snorkeling, guided hikes and, of course, whisky tasting in their fabulous Whisky Room.

The there are a few hiking trails that launch directly from the Torridon hotel and even more great options nearby! Torridon is a great location to explore.

You can even check out the hotel’s Kitchen Garden, where they grow vegetables and herbs used in their restaurant. It doesn’t get fresher than that!

Rooms

There are a few different areas available to stay in.

The eighteen hotel rooms located within the original lodge are referred to as the Hotel rooms and are the most luxurious (and more expensive!) option.

Next are the twelve rooms at The Stables- which used to be actual stables for the hotel! I was on a horse trek, so it was pretty on brand to stay here. I was in a Standard Twin room, and despite being away from the main lodge, it still felt super luxurious with comfortable beds and fluffy pillows.

I was also very impressed by their modern bathrooms that boasted instant hot water and excellent pressure- which was very needed after a long day on the trails!

I had laughed when I saw that the hotel had specifically listed their fluffy bath towels and robes as amenities, but having now tried them, I absolutely get it- they are definitely a special feature!

Lastly, The Boathouse is an option for larger families to stay together. The single reservation includes two bedrooms and an equipped kitchen, along with board games, freshly prepared snack, and a wood burning stove. It’s sort of like an incredibly fancy Airbnb.

Since these rooms are so unique and so limited, expect to pay a pretty penny for your stay. Luckily, my reservation was included in my horse trek, so I was able to avoid the sticker shock.

Restaurants

There are two main areas to search for food and drink. The first option is the fancier 1887 Restaurant, which is located in the Hotel. The fixed menu is designed to tell a story of the Highlands.

Although I didn’t have the opportunity to eat dinner at this restaurant, I was able to get breakfast here instead.

There was a fairly extensive menu for breakfast, but the stand out item was definitely the fresh juice that was served each morning.

The room itself was lovely, with comfortable chairs and almost casual table arrangements in front of huge windows overlooking the property.

This is also where Afternoon Tea is served!

The more casual Bo & Muc Brasserie is another option for those looking to have a more laid back meal.

Located next to the Stables and just a hundred feet or so from the main hotel, this restaurant puts more of an emphasis on seasonal menus to maximize the freshness of the ingredients.

Both restaurants use vegetables and herbs grown in the Torridon’s very own cooking garden, which is open to visitors (though slightly difficult to find with its out of the way location).

The downside of the fresh and local menu did mean that there was a pretty limited variety even at the more flexible Bo & Muc. During my stay, there were only a half dozen or so main dishes to choose from and with my dietary restrictions, that left me with only two options for my stay.

This likely wouldn’t be an issue for the typical visitor, but the repetition can be noticeable if staying for more than a night or two.

Additionally, since the hotel is so remote, it can be difficult for the hotel to accommodate for dietary restrictions on the fly. It’s always best to call ahead and see if arrangements can be made before arriving!

Bars

The front half of the Bo & Muc building hosts The Torridon’s causal Beinn Bar. This bar is the place to go for anything from pints on tap to a wide selection of liquors and mixed drinks.

There are plush chairs scattered around the tables for a relaxing night in, and comfortable high tops with friendly waiters at the bar.

Alternatively, check out The Torridon’s famous whisky bar in the main hotel area. With over 350 bottles and expert bar staff to help with your selection, this was the perfect place for me to learn about whisky!

There are also 80 types of gin to choose from here- including Arcturus Gin, which is the hotel’s own brand!

I was very impressed by the knowledgeable staff here, and the way they knew exactly where each bottle of whisky was on the massive shelves.

I was poured exactly 1oz of whisky and got a little walkthrough about the best way to drink it. I was provided with a little water to add as my preference along with some peanuts and olives which felt very fancy.

The Whisky Room is a gorgeous place to spend some time in, with comfortable chairs, beautiful decor, and a great view of the loch!

Service

With a whole page of rave reviews for the Torridon, it’s hard to see why I might be unhappy with my stay!

Unfortunately, I had such a difficult time with the inexperienced staff, it really put a damper on the whole visit.

The meal service was what I’d generously called “leisurely”. Breakfast regularly came out to the table 30-40 minutes after we ordered, regardless of what was ordered. I struggle to understand how it takes 30 minutes to pour a bowl of granola.

Dinner at the Bo & Muc once took a spectacular two hours to arrive after ordering our meals- and they weren’t even made correctly! One of my companions was very disappointed to receive a well done steak after he ordered a medium rare, but with a two hour wait, he wasn’t about to try his luck with another order.

We also consistently experienced a communication issue between the staff and our tour guides- our meals were included in the price of the horse trek we were on.

The staff would repeatedly try to get at least one person to sign off on the dinner to put the charge on our room regardless of our explanations that we were not responsible for the charges. Ideally, the staff should have had this conversation with their manager or even our guides before they tried to block us from leaving the restaurant, which was frustrating and bad form.

It seemed clear that the staff was trying their best- referring to us as “sir” or “ma’am”, making sure that all of our meals got to the table at the same time (hence the massive delays), by the execution just wasn’t there.

To be fair, the service in the Whisky Bar was phenomenal and we had no issues with the housekeeping staff (though we were gone for such long periods of the day that it would have been a surprise to run into them).

I was surprised to see that our bartender at the Whisky Bar had automatically added a 12% tip for himself on my bill.

To be fair, I am American, so I tend to tip without a thought, but I was very caught off guard by the fact that the tip was manually added but the bartender without him saying anything to me.

I called him out on it, mostly because I wanted to clarify the prices on the menu, and he offered to take it off if I wanted. I left the tip on because the service was good, and I was going to tip anyway, but perhaps a Brit can chime in and tell me if this is normal?

Overall the staff seemed to be extremely inexperienced, and I would have felt bad for them if the rooms didn’t start at £300 per night.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed staying in this hotel. The location, historical relevance, and even just the architecture of the hotel make it pretty unmissable. It’s one of the most unique hotels I’ve ever stayed in! Unfortunately, this does mean that the hotel is able to get away with a lot in terms of their relative pricing.

I felt like the service brought the hotel rating down to a 4 star for me, and made the nightly rate a little hard to swallow.

On the other hand, my complaints are easily fixable- and may even be resolved by the time of this post! Since most of my complaints have to do with the staff’s inexperience, the several months that have passed since my stay may have worked in their favor.

I imagine that the remote nature of the hotel may lead to a high turnover rate, but a girl can dream.

If you can find a good deal on the hotel (and keep a little humor about you regarding the service issues), this hotel is a wonderful treat to stay in for a night or two while exploring the gorgeous Northwestern Highlands.