‘Does anyone actually like this stuff?” asked the man from the BBC,
spluttering over a dram of smoky 10-year-old Ardbeg. For a moment a hush hit
the room — after all, the whisky tasting in question was taking place at
Glenmorangie House, a small five-star hotel in Morayshire owned by the
eponymous distillers, and said guest from the Beeb had just turned his nose
up at one of the company’s finest products.
Happily, any unease was soon soothed by a bit of tactful banter. “It’s like
Marmite,” laughed Wayne, the tasting’s chatty host. “People either love it
or hate it”.
He would probably say the same about the hotel itself. While most would agree
that this brick-built version of the Glen of Tranquility, is perfectly
lovely from the outside, the sheer informality of Glenmorangie House may not
appeal to those who prefer a more conventional approach.
When you steer a neat course over the crunchy gravel driveway and up to the
front door to check in, there is no starched receptionist waiting to greet
you. Instead a friendly note on the hall table points the way to your room.
Likewise, there are no keys here — even the booze is on open access via an
honesty bar. Most laid-back of all, however, everyone eats dinner
house-party style, sitting at one big table rather than on little lonely
atolls around the room. For most visitors, the unpretentious atmosphere is
all part of the attraction (and for those who really can’t face making
conversation over their Aberdeen Angus, private dining can be arranged).
The swish whitewashed building sits north of Invergordon, on the edge of the
Moray Firth. Built for the local laird, Aeneas Macleod, in the early 17th
century, it remained in the same family until the early 1960s. A few decades
later, it was bought by Glenmorangie’s owners and after a comprehensive
restoration, opened as a lodge for visitors to the distillery over in Tain.
All log fires, fresh flowers and wellies, it feels very much like turning up
at a posh country house.
Depending on who is staying, various events take place. The night I visited,
the whisky tasting was followed by a ceilidh, with music provided by a local
piper and fiddlers and, while all guests are invited to join in, there is no
pressure to do so should you prefer to be left in peace.
A number of guests tend to have some interest in whisky, but not all of them
are real buffs. Many come just for the food. David Graham, the head chef,
makes the most of the fruit trees and salad beds in the hotel’s walled
garden to provide lavish dinners that are tailor-made each night to suit the
preferences (and, on some unfortunate occasions, five different food
allergies) of the various palates surrounding the table.
Most people come simply to escape. Glenmorangie House has only nine rooms. The
six in the main building are, like the lounges downstairs, decorated in
comfortable traditional style. Antique prints and oil paintings, chintzy
sofas, Molton Brown toiletries and the kind of nicely turned furniture you
might expect to inherit from a wealthy old aunt come complete with picture
window overlooking the wild Easter Ross shoreline. It sets a nicely relaxed
tone.
The three other rooms, cleverly crafted from a row of cottages that runs along
the back of the main building, are more like cosy suites, with separate
living areas and a slightly more contemporary style. The bold but tasteful
paintwork and subtle tartan furnishings here come courtesy of the Anta
factory nearby.
The emphasis is on discreet, pampered laziness. Best of all, if you can’t be
bothered to make your way down to the honesty bar, all rooms come with their
own small decanter of Glenmorangie’s 10-year-old malt.
Given all this, it’s not surprising that the hotel recently won the best
little Scottish inn award in America’s prestigious Andrew Harper Hideaway
report. Or that previous guests have included Ewan McGregor and Sting, who
stayed when he was attending Madonna’s wedding at Skibo Castle in 2000.
If the weather is bad it would be easy to hole up in your room and only
venture downstairs for dinner and a dram, but that would be missing out on
the area’s pleasantly low-key attractions. As well as distillery visits,
golf, fishing and trips to picturesque Fearn Abbey a couple of miles away,
one of the best things to do here is stroll down to the hotel’s private
beach. Reached via a short grassy path that leads through an avenue of trees
and, at this time of year, past coconut-scented gorse bushes, the beach is a
small but perfect arc of smooth pebbles, bright surf and the vast Moray
skyline. You will probably find you’ll have the cove all to yourself.
During my stay there were just 12 guests, including a couple celebrating a
birthday, the owner of a rival distillery and his wife and two members of St
Andrews University whisky society. And the man from the BBC, of course, up
in Scotland to research a story. He may not have been won over by the
ceilidh (judging by the look on his face, the idea of dancing was about as
appealing as a slug of Ardbeg), but the whisky-tasting team had one final
means of persuasion — a glass of Burr Oak Reserve, the latest special,
limited edition malt, and one which those of a Jilly Goulden bent would
describe as pure crème caramel. There was no spluttering over this one.
Before you could ask if anyone liked it, the stuff was gone.
Details: Stay at Glenmorangie House from £140 per person per
night, including dinner with a dram and breakfast (01862 871671; www.glenmorangie.com/house)
