Business of the month: Achnagairn Estate
Escape the Ordinary!
Located just a 20 minute drive from Inverness, Achnagairn is the perfect location for starting and finishing your NC500 trip! Situated 200 metres from their exclusive use luxury castle are their 7 large luxury lodges available to hire. You can choose from an individual en-suite room or if you are traveling as a group you can hire the entire mini manor – each of their lodges sleep between 10 and 12 people in 5-6 bedrooms.
You can choose to go self-catering or try their fabulous and award winning 2 AA Rosettes onsite restaurant, Table Manors for dinner (they have recently been awarded for culinary excellence).We caught up with Marina Huggett, chairman at Achnagairn Estate to find out more.
Marina Huggett
1. Hello Marina! First of all can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am passionate about tourism and hospitality in Scotland and have dedicated my career to making a difference to the industry. Having a strong practical hospitality background set the scene for setting up my own tourism consultancy business. Prior to being involved in the Achnagairn Estate I ran that business for 25 years and am proud to say that we supported over 300 tourism businesses towards achieving continuous improvement through the framework of the EFQM excellence model.
As well as being Chairman at Achnagairn Estate I am involved in a voluntary capacity as Vice Chair of Visit Inverness Loch Ness and on the Board of Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards. I also represented the Highlands and Islands on the board of the Scottish Tourism Alliance until a year ago. I am very honoured to be included in the top 100 women in tourism. I am also very pleased to be a trustee of HIT Scotland the charitable trust which provides unique and bespoke scholarship opportunities for everyone in the industry to develop their skills.
I truly love working with the team at Achnagairn as its such a beautiful property and has gone from strength to strength in the last 10 years. I see my role as supporting the owners ,Gillian and Michael Lacey Solymar to grow and develop the business. We have a policy of only employing truly genuine people and I can put my hand on my heart and say that we now built up a wonderful team whom we know can deliver the best service. I passionately feel that looking after the team and developing their skills and confidence is one of the most important elements of a successful business and I work hard to ensure that we do just that on a continuous basis. We have such a varied client base and we pride ourselves in tailoring what we do to each clients individual needs. In essence we all love Achnagairn and we are very proud to say that we put our heart and soul into making every guest experience truly unique and individual.
2. Achnagairn is positioned near the start and end of the NC500! What makes Achnagairn Estate the perfect stopping point for NC500 visitors?
Achnagairn Estate has a brilliant location for any NC500 visitor. We are only 7 miles away from Inverness and so it’s the perfect place to start and end your tour. But to be honest it has far more to offer than just the convenience of the location. We love being a key partner of the NC500 and our chefs have been inspired to create special NC500 menus.
At Achnagairn our motto is ”Escape the Ordinary” and that drives all we do. It’s a mantra we use to framework our discussion about every aspect of what we do…. we ask ourselves – is that truly extraordinary? With luxury accommodation (5*), excellent food and staff who are always happy to provide more, to smile more and to go not just the extra mile but maybe a whole league further!
We offer something for everyone. We have luxury accommodation in the form of individual bedrooms, whole properties for self-catering and a gorgeous castle too for exclusive use.
You may wish to stay in one of our Mini Manors, perfect for individual travellers, family and group of friends. These spacious, comfortable lodges each sleep up to 12 guests –you can hire the entire lodge, starting at £ 450 per night for a five bedroom or an individual room (B&B) from £ 100 per night. If you are looking to indulge in gourmet food, our award-winning Table Manors Restaurant, located in the estate grounds, is the ultimate culinary experience (price for a 2 course meals starts at £ 20).
Come and see for yourself!
3. And, what options do you offer for groups?
Well, we’re fortunate to be able to offer two superb options for groups. If you are looking for a self-catered property, Achnagairn’s seven luxury Mini Manors are the solution. We have some with five bedrooms, and others with six, so if you’re going with family or friends, this works really well.
On the other hand, if you really want to push the boat out and have a major celebration with a bigger group, why not go for the castle? Achnagairn Castle with its 24 bedrooms and ballroom would probably wow the most critical of your friends! The bedrooms are to-die for and the ballroom is something out of Harry Potter! (Exclusive use for 2 nights, Price on Application).
And If you are a group and you are looking for a truly memorable culinary experience that your whole group will remember long after you return home, why not hire one of Table Manors Restaurant’s chef to cook a tailored menu for your group? When hiring the castle, you can also enjoy the privilege of a tailored menu in the ballroom or more intimate wood-panelled dining room for your group.
3. What sort of sights and activities does the surrounding area offer?
Where do I start? There’s so much to do and see – Achnagairn provides the NC500 visitor with a really great base for exploring the surrounding areas and attractions in Inverness and the Black Isle.
You can find out whether Nessie really does exist with Loch Ness boat trips. Jacobite organises cruises and tours of Loch Ness. Only 7 miles away from Achnagairn Estate, you can also visit Glen Ord Distillery, located in Muir of Ord, the home of Singleton. It is the only remaining single malt scotch whisky distillery on the Black Isle. Visitors can expect a range of different tour and tasting options.
If you are interested in fly fishing, TroutQuest has a base just off the Black Isle to provide custom guided fly fishing excursions for individuals and small groups of anglers throughout the counties of Ross-shire, Sutherland and Caithness. Also if you are looking for a brilliant day trip and want to venture a little further afield, why not visit the breathtaking Dunrobin Castle, which is around 47 miles away from the estate in Golspie, Sutherland.
4. You have recently received the ‘’Restaurant of the Year’’ Award and your Executive Head Chef, the Rising Star Award , Tell us more …
We have so many reasons to be proud of our award winning restaurant. If you are looking for gourmet food and locally-sourced produce, Table Manors Restaurant – located in the estate grounds- is the ultimate culinary experience.
Our highly talented young chefs, both of whom have won the Young Highland Chef of the Year award, have received the coveted AA Two Rosettes for culinary excellence and a Best Breakfast award and five gold stars for service. In November we were awarded ‘’Restaurant of The Year’ 2018 by Highlands and Island Food and Drink Awards. Our Executive Head Chef – Euan Walker – has also just been awarded the Rising Star of the Year 2018 by Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards.
We are thrilled that our talented young team have been recognised for the hard work that they have put into getting the restaurant on the map. These awards are a lovely sequel to the two rosettes that the team were awarded by the AA in April last year.
Come and enjoy their creations at the restaurant for an exquisite experience that will both amaze and delight your senses!
And let me say again, because I’m so delighted about it, a special NC500 tasting menu is also available on request at Table Manors for all NC500 visitors! So escape the ordinary and start planning your NC500 adventure with Achnagairn.
5. And is there anything new or exciting planned in the next few years?
Well we work on the basis of never standing still and Gillian our owner is so creative and full of energy to develop and grow the business. Our pipeline plans include:
- Spa in development
- Glamping Pods
- Clubhouse
- A variation of our award winning Table Manors restaurant in Inverness
….just watch this space
6. How do you think the NC500 has impacted the North Highland area and your business?
The NC500 route has been very successful in raising awareness of this beautiful area. It has reached a huge audience, with over ninety thousand followers on social media, and there’s been loads of national and international press coverage.
It’s certainly boosted our numbers and now it makes pressure on rooms in key seasonality huge for us which is a nice problem to have! We certainly see a lot of our visitors coming specifically to do the NC500. The same people come at the start and finish but they seem almost to be different people by the time they’ve done the route – genuinely moved by the strange lyrical beauty.
7. And finally… The prestigious magazine Harper Bazaar has put you at the top of their list of the best UK wedding venues… Tell us more!
Yes, we felt very lucky to be selected by them. So many brides have come to us after reading their coverage. At first, we were equally delighted and intimidated – it’s quite something to be picked out as one of the best! But then we listened to our brides and grooms and they reassured us that the mixture of superb staff, individually decorated bedrooms (with the most indulgent bathrooms you’ve ever seen!) and the breath-taking ballroom do justify the title! Long may it continue!
