A remote Highland hotel, which has long been a popular retreat of privacy-seeking celebrities and politicians, has been put on the market for offers over £695,000, with Colliers International acting for the seller.
Then-First Minister Alex Salmond is said to have taken a break at the Summer Isles Hotel in Wester Ross during the long run-up to last year’s Referendum, while it has also hosted film stars from Charlie Chaplin to Sir Ian McKellen and Labour politicians John Smith and Robin Cook.
The Summer Isles Hotel is being sold by Terry Mackay, who has owned and operated the business since 2008. He said: “The hotel’s location and style have appealed to many famous people over the decades because of its remoteness and privacy, combined with the opportunity to enjoy fine food and wine at the end of a bracing day in the great outdoors.
“Charlie Chaplin stayed here multiple times in the late 1960s and one of the bedrooms is named after him. More recently, senior Labour politicians such as John Smith and Robin Cook have been guests, and stars of the theatre and films like Sir Ian McKellen and Richard Wilson have also enjoyed the hotel’s facilities. In 2013 First Minister Alex Salmond came for a short break in the lead-up to the Scottish Referendum.
Outstanding cuisine
“The hotel has been renowned for outstanding cuisine for 30 years, and for 13 consecutive years it was awarded a Michelin Star. It has one of the finest wine cellars in Scotland with over 400 bins, including some seriously impressive wines.”
Situated on a peninsula west of Ullapool, the Summer Isles Hotel provides a range of accommodation, including suites in a terrace of cottages, alongside a log cabin with three individual bedrooms, as well as conventional hotel rooms in the main building.
Alistair Letham, a director in the UK hotels agency team at Colliers International, said: “The Summer Isles Hotel has been described as an ‘oasis of civilisation’ and it is undoubtedly a fantastic hotel business. It would be ideal for anyone who is looking for a unique lifestyle business, along with an excellent home and a well-established and good income.”
Offers over £695,000 are invited for the Summer Isles Hotel, Achiltibuie, Ullapool, Ross-shire, IV26 2YG – with the separate Matthew’s Cottage and the croft land available in addition by separate negotiation.