Innseagan House Hotel: ‘Relax, enjoy and be yourself’
The west of Scotland is so beautiful that when you visit you want to stay somewhere with a good view. The countryside in the Highlands is stunning and the Innseagan hotel near Fort William has peaceful views over Loch Linnhe. Located a mile and a half south of the town it is located on the edge of the 30 mile long sea loch. We visited in early March when the loch was misty and atmospheric and the photo below shows just how close the hotel is to the loch.
Run by the designer and maker Alexandra Brydon the Innseagan is full of fresh flowers and when we visited it had a roaring log fire in the large guests’ lounge. Completely dog friendly, the hotel has two four-legged full time residents called Bear and Sheila. The hotel was recently the venue for a CD launch by Drever McGuire Young and has musical evenings throughout the season.
The Innseagan is a large Victorian building with two more modern wings added on either side. Alexandra is extremely welcoming and full of information about the local area and places to visit. She advised we visited Glen Coe – only twenty minutes away – describing it as like driving into an oil painting. Some scenes from SkyFall were also filmed there and will be recognisable to anyone who has seen the 2012 James Bond epic. The hotel has books about Scotland that guests can peruse, as well as an Xbox and access to a plethora of on-demand films from block busters to little known gems. In the evening we watched a moving Sino-Australian drama called 33 Postcards on the hotel’s large TV screen.
Our bedroom overlooked the Loch and was a warm retreat from the Scottish weather. On the wall there was a sunny print by Ed Hunter of a Mediterranean scene and a freeview flatscreen TV. There were tea and coffee making facilities and complimentary wifi and the bed was firm and comfortable.
The residents’ lounge is a large room with leather sofas at the end overlooking the Loch. There is also a log fire in the middle and more sofas and a large TV at the other end. When we visited it was early spring and there were daffodils and tulips around the window sills and on the fireplace. There is also a bar with a good selection of drinks and 100 year old Highland cow horns on the wall! There are also pictures and paintings, some by Alexandra’s great uncle Robert Brydon. The bar also has a view of the Loch and is a good place to try a dram of some of the malt whiskies that they have in stock.
Staying in a hotel is a chance to indulge in breakfast and the breakfast at Innsegan was delicious. We could have chosen pastries and croissants as well as the cereal and full-cooked Scottish breakfast with toast that we enjoyed. The locally-sourced sausages were particularly good, as were the perfectly poached eggs. It was the sort of breakfast that you wish you could eat everyday.
We had a great time at the Innsegan hotel, which is a warm and welcoming place to spend your time in Fort William. It is near to all the local sites and can be used as a base for trips to – amongst other places – Mallaig, Oban, Glen Coe and Nevis Range. With a large free car park and a dining room for evening meals the Innseagan is a friendly home away from home.
For more information and to book click here
Innseagan House Hotel,
Achintore Road,
Fort William,
PH33 6RW
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