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First look inside Highland Coast Hotels’ Plockton and Tongue property revamps

Highland Coast Hotels has significantly upgraded two properties to reflect areas of outstanding beauty where they are situated.

Plockton Inn
Highland Coast Hotels has lavished £1.8m on the makeovers. Image: The PC Agency.

Highland Coast Hotels (HCH) has unveiled a first virtual peek at its £1.8 million makeover of two hotels due to open this April.

Tongue Hotel on the North Coast 500 route and Plockton Inn in Wester Ross will re-open to visitors in early April following a three-month refurbishment by Highlands-based Rona Douglas Interiors.

HCH has released some computer-generated images of how the two hotels may look before the public starts visiting.

Both venues are being given a new look inspired by their locations in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

CGI image of Plockton Hotel bar
CGI picture of Tongue hotel bar. Supplied by MCIPR.

Last year HCH received a £4.45m publicly-backed investment as a loan from the state-funded Scottish National Investment Bank to boost jobs and training for the local area.

Tongue Hotel, which is a former 19th century sporting lodge, will offer 19 individually-styled guest rooms and a newly-refurbished restaurant and bar, including original wood panelling, antique furnishings and open fires.

The venue will also feature local artwork by Rona Kant and Katherine Sutherland, as well as black and white photography of the surrounding landscape by photographer Glyn Slatterly.

Tongue Hotel takes restaurant name from nearby Viking castle

Tongue Hotel’s new 40-cover restaurant, Varrich, takes its name from the remains of the Viking Castle Varrich on the headland opposite.

The hotel will benefit from a new protected decking area for al fresco dining for up to 30 guests, with the Brass Tap Bar also having a makeover.

CGI image of Plockton Hotel
CGI image of Plockton Hotel room upgrade. Image: MCIPR

Plockton Inn will see its 14 bedrooms reduced to 12 to allow for some larger en-suite bathrooms.

The makeover of Plockton Inn will also include Sorley’s House in the building opposite, which takes its name from the famous Scottish poet, Sorley MacLean, who lived on the site for a number of years.

The new 80-cover restaurant, dining areas and bar at Plockton Inn will retain existing period features.

We’ve invested a significant amount of time, money, care and attention to detail.”

David Whiteford, chairman, Highland Coast Hotels

The inn will showcase local artists and photographers including Danny Campbell, Cath Waters of Skye and Sam Bilner.

Hotel renovation will be sympathetic to history of buildings

HCH chairman David Whiteford said:  “The history, architectural features and locations in areas of outstanding natural beauty are what make these two venues stand out from the crowd.

“We’ve invested a significant amount of time, money, care and attention to detail to give both venues a sympathetic makeover.

Highland Coast Hotels chairman David Whiteford standing in front of Royal Marine Hotel sign
Highland Coast Hotels CEO David Whiteford outside the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora. Image: The PC Agency

“As with all our venues, the focus is also on creating environmentally-friendly hotels and supporting local communities, suppliers, producers, designers and artists.”

Since 2021 HCH has acquired another four of the region’s properties.

These include: Kylesku Hotel, overlooking Loch Gleann Dubh in the far West Highlands; Newton Lodge overlooking Loch Glencoul; Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch, which is positioned on the first tee of one of the top four most revered links golf courses in the world and the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora.

The redevelopment of Tongue Hotel and Plockton Inn has been supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

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