Highland Coast Hotels Acquires Coastal Hideaway - Plockton Inn
Left to right: David Whiteford, Chairman, Highland Coast Hotels, and Susan Trowbridge, Kenny Gollan and Mary Gollan, previous owners of the Plockton Inn
We are absolutely delighted to welcome the Plockton Inn into the fold of Highland Coast Hotels. Located on the western seaboard of the North Highlands, the hotel is situated in the lovely village of Plockton adjacent to the sheltered bay, a haven for yachtsmen and others exploring the region. The Plockton Inn will retain its name and become part of the Highland Coast Hotels Collection.
Plockton Inn joins our four other hotels; Kylesku Hotel, Newton Lodge, Unapool, the Royal Golf Hotel Dornoch and the Royal Marine Hotel Brora.
The Highland community is at the heart of every decision we make, and as with our other hotels, we will set up a Community Liaison Group in Plockton which will act as a forum for locals to give feedback on our development plans. Our Highland Coast Community Card will also extend to the local residents of Plockton and those living within a 15-mile radius. This provides a 30% discount our restaurants and bars, all year round, and a 50% discount off an overnight stay at any of our hotels, from October to March inclusive. Application forms are available from the team at the hotel.
As we continue to evolve the guest experience at the Plockton Inn, suppliers and experience providers in the local area are also invited to get in touch. There are exciting opportunities for partners to expand and develop with the potential for new businesses to be created in and around Plockton which, in turn, should create further tourism and hospitality careers.
We take pride in nurturing and developing our people to be the very best they can be and there will be additional training and development opportunities for the current team. There will also be wage increases in line with our new accreditation status as a real Scottish Living Wage Employer.
Our Chairman, David Whiteford (pictured, left) explains: “We are absolutely delighted to be acquiring the Plockton Inn, one of the West Coast’s best-loved hotels. It’s a daunting prospect to be picking up the baton from Kenny and Mary Gollan and Susan Trowbridge, who have nurtured and developed the hotel into such a landmark in this beautiful part of the world. However, with a clear focus on working closely with the local communities around our properties, and investing back into the local economy, we very much hope we can add even further value to the hotel and the surrounding area. We will continue to operate the hotel on a year-round basis, and expect to create further permanent employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly through our support of local producers and activity providers
Whilst its early days, we have exciting plans for the hotel which we anticipate will undergo a substantial refurbishment this coming winter.’’
Over the course of the last year, we have built a strong leadership team who will implement these changes, our CEO Roddy Watt explains: “As someone who was brought up in a hotel on the West Coast at Ballachulish, I am thrilled to be involved in another wonderful hotel in this beautiful part of the world. I very much look forward to meeting the many members of the local community and to working with all to support the Plockton Inn on the next stage of its journey of excellence.’’
Kenny Gollan (pictured, second right), departing owner of the Plockton Inn, commented: “After 25 years of ownership of the Plockton Inn, Mary, Susan and I are very sad to be handing over our wonderful hotel after all these years. It has been a source of huge satisfaction and pride to us, and we will be forever grateful for the unstinting support we have received from the local community, and our many regular guests from further afield.
To you all, ‘Thank you’. We have also been very mindful of ensuring that we only sell the hotel to a company that we believe share our values, and will carry on the hard work we have personally invested over the years. We are delighted to be selling to Highland Coast Hotels and from our dealings with the senior team, we believe they will build on our legacy, and we wish them every success in taking the Plockton Inn on, on the next stage of its journey. We also very much see that the opportunities for our team will be opened-up by being part of a larger organisation, and one that clearly respects the importance of ‘community’, understands this part of the world, and is very focused on supporting the local economy and the broader environmental agenda.”
Bookings and Reservations at Plockton Inn:
For hotel bookings please contact reservations@highlandcoasthotels.com
For restaurant bookings and all other enquiries please contact info@plocktoninn.co.uk
For media enquiries please contact The PC Agency at HighlandCoast@pc.agency