 |
|
|
 | | | |
|
Claire Macdonald, the wife of Lord Godfrey Macdonald of Macdonald High Chief of the clan that once ruled swathes of the Scottish Highlands, is the driving force Kinloch Lodge. She is an award-winning cook, food writer, founder of Kinloch's lovely little kitchen shop, inventor of daily five-course dinner menus and putter of all things useful and comfortable in every room; you get the impression that, like all good mothers, she knows where everything is at all times and could remedy any bad situation in a flash. Whoever you are, however you come to be here, she will treat you as a long-lost friend who has done her an immense favour in travelling all this way to stay. Kinloch itself is an attractive former shooting lodge in a dramatic lochside setting, but despite being filled with ancestral art and roaring fires, it is in no way palatial. This is simply a place of comfort, where the home fires burn perennially. The mastery here is the atmosphere. So many hotels like this get it wrong, with not-quite-good-enough food or a too-hushed dining room or guests who feel a bit lost. Lady MacDonald has managed, with her family and staff, to make every stay special. Dining-room tables are arranged so that everyone ends up chatting. She insists it is down to her 'wonderful' guests, but it's probably all down to the local wonder woman herself.
CONTACT
Sleat, Isle of Skye (01471 833 333; www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk).
COST
Doubles from £190, half-board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
