The hotel that does Highland lux with a quirky design twist
With crackling log fires, serious cooking from the local larder and rooms oozing elevated comfort and opulent style, Glenmorangie House is a place to indulge and be indulged. Neil Armstrong checks in, and discovers that the wonderfully oddball exuberance of it all just adds to the experience
There’s a piano in the ‘Buffalo Room’ at Glenmorangie House, the stylish boutique hotel in the Scottish Highlands. According to hotel legend, Sting and Billy Joel once duetted together at it. Details are sketchy and history doesn’t record whether they did Fields of Gold or Piano Man — what happens in Glenmorangie House stays in Glenmorangie House — but it was at the time of Madonna’s wedding to Guy Ritchie in 2000 at Skibo Castle, just up the road.
Were Joel or Sting to visit the house now, they’d find it much changed. An exuberant refit by celebrated interior designer Russell Sage two years ago is heavy on the quirk and has transformed a special destination into an unforgettable one. Owned by the makers of the whisky, Glenmorangie House is on the east coast of Scotland, an hour’s drive north of Inverness and just a few miles from the Glenmorangie distillery at Tain on the Dornoch Firth. The 17th century building used to be a farmhouse — it is still surrounded by golden fields of barley — and the nearest village, Hilton of Cadboll, is a mile along the beach.
There are six bedrooms in the main house and three one-bedroom cottages in the large grounds. Each of the bedrooms — Home, Reserve, Autumn, Nectar, Sunset and Wild Wood — is unique and related to a different expression of Glenmorangie. The Reserve bedroom, for example, is linked to Glenmorangie’s finest 19-year-old reserve, a whisky apparently inspired by a fantasy about being shipwrecked on a desert island laden with tropical fruits. Design details in the Reserve include hidden letters in a bottle, a tiger painted inside the wardrobe, pineapple lamp bases, coconut-shell pots and prints of jungle scenes painted by Henri Rousseau. Nectar takes its cue from Glenmorangie’s Nectar D’Or, a playful ‘dessert whisky’ finished in casks that once held Sauternes wine. It features a knitted arrangement of French cakes by local artist Inge Smith (whose works can be viewed at Studio Smith in Tain). See? I said it was quirky.
Fine dining at Glenmorangie House might consist of a saddle of venison
The three cottages (Cask, Malting and Marriage) are themed according to different elements of the whisky-making process. Cask and Malting are self-explanatory. Marriage revolves around the approach to blending of Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation. It features a vintage alchemy set and a lab coat hidden within a wardrobe.
‘Design details in the Reserve bedroom include hidden letters in a bottle, a tiger painted inside the wardrobe, pineapple lamp bases, coconut-shell pots and prints of jungle scenes painted by Henri Rousseau…I told you it was quirky’
The hotel’s communal rooms are similarly eccentric. Sage has used the surrounding barley fields as his inspiration for my favourite, the wonderful Morning Room. It’s a large, comfortable reception room with a golden ceiling and walls on which are delicate hand-painted wildflowers. ‘It’s like being in a Klimt painting,’ one of my fellow guests said. It put me in mind of sunlight slanting though a glass of scotch. There are framed corn dollies on the walls and a cunningly concealed, lovingly-stocked honesty bar, groaning with Glenmorangie, swings out from one corner. Every home should have one.
The Dining Room reflects the heat of the copper stills used in the whisky distillation process. There are molten-style light fittings and the long dining table is shot through with copper. The table sits 22. Guests are encouraged to dine together – Glenmorangie’s philosophy is that whisky is all about being sociable – and a set menu is served. A typical dinner (for a non-vegetarian) might consist of partridge breast followed by baked halibut, with saddle of venison as the main course and chocolate mousse for pudding. At breakfast, there were cereals, cold meats, smoked salmon, bowls of thick, creamy yoghurt, mixed berries and a variety of artisanal Scottish cheeses including crowdie (said to ameliorate the effects of overindulgence in fine whisky). And that was before a cooked breakfast which could be a huge traditional fry-up (vegetarian option available), Eggs Benedict, an omelette or porridge with double cream.
‘Postprandial liveners are important because there are no televisions at Glenmorangie House although arrangements could be made in the event of there being a broadcast of sufficient global import and gravity, such as Scotland playing rugby’
The cosy Buffalo Room – essentially the living room – with its crackling log fire is perfect for lounging around in after dinner. Ideally, you want a storm outside and horizontal rain lashing at the windows while guests tell tall tales over a dram or two or maybe a whisky sour. Postprandial liveners are important because there are no televisions at Glenmorangie House although arrangements could be made in the event of there being a broadcast of sufficient global import and gravity. I asked the hotel manager what might constitute such a broadcast and after some consideration he came up with the perfectly reasonable example of Scotland playing rugby.
One of the typically ornate bedrooms
Throughout the house there are several references to giraffes, in paintings, ornaments and fixtures. What has a mild-mannered ruminant hailing from the tropical savannahs of Africa to do with a fruity spirit originating in the rarely tropical Scottish Highlands? This is a mystery solved by a visit to the Glenmorangie distillery.
Glenmorangie’s copper stills are the tallest in Scotland and supposedly the same height as an adult giraffe. The single malt has adopted the beast as its spirit animal. A trip to the distillery is highly recommended. There are a variety of different tours and tastings available. I suggest one that takes in the warehouse where the whisky is maturing in casks and the atmosphere is heady with the ‘angel’s share’, the whisky that inevitably evaporates into the air no matter how well made the barrel.
‘Glenmorangie’s copper stills are the tallest in Scotland and supposedly the same height as an adult giraffe. The single malt has adopted the beast as its spirit animal’
Glenmorangie is rightfully proud of its green credentials. Parts of the distillery are powered by biogas created in its own anaerobic digestion plant from the by-products of distillation. Glenmorangie is also heavily involved in a project that has restored native European oysters to the Dornoch Firth more than a century after they disappeared through overfishing. The scheme will have wide-ranging environmental benefits. Research suggests that the restored oyster reef habitat can act as a long-term carbon store. Also, the oysters will play a key role in purifying the water which contains organic by-products from the distillery and the local area. One oyster can purify up to 200 litres of water a day.
The cosy Buffalo Room with its crackling log fire is perfect for lounging around in after dinner
Incidentally, the good people at Glenmorangie are pretty relaxed but they do like you to get their name right. Glenmorangie is pronounced not, as I have been for my entire life, ‘Glenmorangie’, with the emphasis on the third syllable, but rather with the stress on the second syllable, ‘Glenmorangie’. So it rhymes with ‘orangey’.
The distillery is just one of the area’s attractions. There’s plenty more to do. The fishing village of Portmahomack, an energetic walk away, offers whale and dolphin-watching trips and the nearby Tarbat Discovery Centre is an excellent wee museum housed in a former church and telling the story of the enigmatic Picts. The stunning Dunrobin Castle and its magnificent gardens are a 40-minute drive away. If golf is your thing, the Royal Dornoch links course is 18 miles away.
‘The hotel can arrange a cocktail workshop or for the head chef to take you on a foraging walk in the surrounding countryside and then help you cook your ingredients. There is a telescope for stargazing’
But you might feel there’s more than enough to keep you occupied at Glenmorangie House. Not for nothing was it the winner of Visit Scotland’s Best Luxury Experience award this year. The hotel can arrange a cocktail workshop or for the head chef to take you on a foraging walk in the surrounding countryside and then help you cook your ingredients. There is a telescope for stargazing. Have a wander around the large gardens – there are a few remains of a ruined ancient castle. Take a stroll along the grove of trees that leads to a beautiful, secluded little beach. And make sure you leave plenty of time for simply enjoying the house itself, with its absolutely unique, slightly bonkers ambience.
Rates start from £310 double occupancy, inclusive of breakfast and dinner. The Tale of the Tokyo experience takes place from Friday 17-Sunday 19 November 2023 and Friday 24-Sunday 26 November 2023, to celebrate the new limited edition single malt whisky, Glenmorangie A Tale of Tokyo. For more details visit theglenmorangie.com.
