Hotel Review: Newhall Mains, Ross Shire

Under a star speckled Scottish sky, we huddle around a fire pit comparing drams: a glass of peaty Caol Ila from Islay, some Rothshire’s Blair Athol on ice, Hibiki, a Japanese Suntory whisky and, in my hand, a Rhubarb and Rose champagne cocktail, blended with a generous shot of Edinburgh gin. It’s a medley of drinks that captures the interesting concoction that is Newhall Mains on Scotland’s Black Isle peninsula – a unique hotel blending modern Scottish luxury with Highland warmth and a surprising splash of Japan.

We arrived via a dark rural highway, a 45-minute journey away from the lights of Inverness and towards the Black Isle. It wasn’t until the following morning that we would get to see the spectacular windswept landscape surrounding us, with its agricultural farmlands conjuring Scottish Lairds, mountains peaked with snow and, across the icy water of the Cromarty Firth, Ardross Castle, where The Traitors is filmed.

Arriving at night, we pulled up to a floodlit quadrangle, a building of white stone and glass. Riffing on the Scottish term ‘Mains’, used to refer to the main buildings of a farm or estate, this once at-risk 18th century property has been carefully restored by a team of Highland-based craftsmen into a luxurious, design-led hotel that feels like a gem dropped into the rural landscape. Forget the dark woods, heavy tartans and moody interiors synonymous with the smart Scottish hotels of the days of yore. Instead, Newhall Mains encapsulates modern Scotland: creative, eccentric and welcoming.

Spearheaded by owner Euan Ramsay in 2020, this small hotel offers four double bedroom suites and a smattering of cottages, all uniquely designed with the help of Kelling Design. Our cottage comprised a suite of generous rooms, popping with dashes of colour like Quality Streets. In our living room, bright wallpaper designed by Melissa White for Zoffany depicted a windswept scene of willow trees, waterfalls and doves in flight over churches, set off by a bright turquoise suede couch, an accent of colour repeated in turquoise Murano glass ornaments. A yellow ottoman topped by a black lacquer Chinoiserie tray sat beside a wood burner – a lovely feature of all five cottages – opposite a grand dresser of Royal Dalton and Wedgwood.

It’s a fresh take on Highland elegance, blending rural glamour, contemporary design and Ramsay’s own love of Japan, having grown up in Asia. ‘I am also a massive fan of their bar culture and a huge fan of their cocktail culture, in particular their use of whisky in highballs,’ he tells me. Hence the hotel’s Ginza-style bar and extensive whisky menu, featuring more than 100 whiskies from around the world, but mostly Scotland and Japan.

Newhall Mains mingles a rich sense of place with Ramsay’s personality playfully. Take the mini bar, with its Tunnock’s teacakes, handmade Skye sea salt dark chocolate from Glenshiel and apple juice made from Newhall Mains’ own orchard. In keeping with the Japanese-Scottish blend, both Roku gin and Iron Bru sat beside Skye IPA. In the hotel’s main lounge, where guests relax on sofas, a Japanese tea urn sits alongside a selection of curling stones. Rooms are also equipped with walking guides and The Observer’s Book of Birds, stamped with Newhall Mains’ library stamp. Artwork, curated by the Royal Scottish Academy, predominantly draws on 20th century Scottish colourists.

For dining, Newhall Mains’ on-site restaurant, Spruce, boasts Mediaeval-worthy candelabras suitable for a Scottish Laird’s banquet. And the cuisine is suitably Highland haute couture: think dry-aged Aberdeen Angus steaks and hen of the woods mushrooms, all exquisitely prepared. Through the dining room’s gallery windows, spot the hotel’s vintage aeroplane, nicknamed Bessy, coming in to land on Newhall Mains’ very own airstrip. The only luxury hotel in the UK with its own airstrip, it’s a reminder of how remote this place is, and how unique.

C&TH KEY NOTES

– Drink to order: The Rhubarb Rose: Champagne with rhubarb cordial, rose water and a sugar cube, served in a rose petal covered glass.

– Treatment to book: The private Japanese sauna overlooking fields of Highland cows, followed by an in-room massage by Sylwia Rudnick.

– Dish to order: Peterhead cod lion with parsley root and salsify squid.

– Room to request: The Grant Family cottage, complete with a double-sided log-burner and freestanding bath.

– Must-do: SHY Lifestyle can organise a tour of the Highlands by chauffeur, private jet or helicopter. Our brilliant guide Gary showed us Loch Ness, nearby Singleton Distillery, and royal tweed tailor Campbell’s.

THE LAST WORD 

A refreshingly modern yet distinctly Scottish weekend break complete with Highland warmth and a surprising splash of Japan.

BOOK

Cottages start from £600 per night, and bedrooms from £290 per night, all including breakfast. newhall-mains.com