"Why book?To eat and drink like a king or a queen, in the company of a lord and a lady (possibly) and their irrepressible daughter (almost certainly), in a place that is as grand as all get-out but feels totally down to earth, in a setting of surpassing natural beauty.
Set the sceneGetting to Skye used to be like getting to the moon. It’s easier these days—but even so, arriving at Kinloch (near Sleat, towards the southeastern end of the island), you still feel as though you’ve earned it. Unless you chopper in—and some do.
So what’s all the fuss about? Kinloch Lodge is a 17th-century farmhouse, later a shooting lodge. Just a couple of stone buildings, whitewashed and slate-roofed in the old Highland style, wedged between a pretty little cove on Loch na Dal and thickly wooded hills, in the midst of a substantial wilderness on an island of uncommon beauty that sits at the edge of a great raging ocean.
The backstoryFor half a century, Kinloch Lodge—tiny, remote, eccentric—has been among the best-loved of Scottish hotels. Yet when it opened in the spring of 1972, its proprietors, Claire and Godfrey Macdonald, were far from sure it would still be a going concern by the autumn. A couple of years previously, Godfrey had inherited a roster of ancient titles along with a vast estate. He had also inherited colossal debts. Kinloch, at that time very run-down, was practically all he and Claire had left. They welcomed their first guests to a hotel that had no electricity, only two log fires for heating, and a single telephone under the stairs. Kinloch’s reputation grew, however. The sheer beauty of the place. The unstuffy charm of the owners and their four kids—each of whom became adept at taking bookings and making beds. The food.
In 2002, Godfrey and Claire retired, and their daughter Isabella took over as manager. She has inherited her parents’ hands-on commitment to doing simple things very well and taking proper care of guests.
The roomsThere are 18 rooms across two buildings, all revamped in recent years with sensitivity, flair, and discreet contemporary flourishes. There’s still an heirloom-forward, country-house grandeur about it, but zero pomposity. Lots of lovely textiles from Skye Weavers, a fair bit of Cole & Son wallpaper, a few glimpses of tartan, a hint of chinoiserie. The tone and character of the rooms vary considerably; regulars will soon work out their favorites. There are loch views for everyone.
Food and drinkEssential, defining. Claire Macdonald’s ultra-local, entirely seasonal cooking was decades ahead of its time. Foodies will be familiar with the dozens of books she’s written; completists will want to get a copy of a new book, hot off the press, published to mark Kinloch’s 50th anniversary and containing recipes and reminiscences from Claire as well as contributions from current head chef Jordan Webb, who’s been there since 2020. It isn’t enough to say that Jordan works, as Claire did, with whatever’s to hand—mussels, scallops, langoustines, salmon, venison, beef, and lamb—and that he likewise does interesting things with beetroot, carrots, and leeks. It’s all about the execution, the when and where, the there and then. Expect minor miracles.
Kinloch’s cellars are famously well stocked, and the wine list is increasingly dominated by top-notch new organic and biodynamic producers. The bar is small but mighty, with no fewer than 122 whiskies at last count. And, yes, you can still have Claire’s creamy pinhead oatmeal porridge with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar for breakfast.
The neighborhood/areaWhen all the familiar beauty spots are teeming on busy summer days, it can seem as if Skye has become the victim of its own success. Kinloch is far enough off the beaten track for this not to be the case, though it’s surrounded by loveliness. The Point of Sleat, Fairy Glen (not to be confused with the Fairy Pools), and the picturesquely ruined hamlet of Leitir Fura are all within striking distance. So too is Armadale Castle, the family seat of Clan Macdonald, There’s the serene Drover’s Path that runs behind the lodge; and dreamy Loch na Dal is simply there, right in front, lapping at your doorstep. If that’s not enough, all manner of outdoorsy pursuits—fishing, shooting, stalking, guided walks—can be arranged.
The serviceExemplary. It flows from the top down. Even though they’ve retired from active duty, Claireand Godfrey are still much in evidence; and their daughter Isabella inherited their goodmanners, easy charm, and ability to make every guest at Kinloch feel not only welcome butalso uncommonly dashing/elegant/fascinating, as the case may be. And, above all, they make everyone feel at home. Good vibes of this kind permeate every inch of the property, every interaction.
For familiesThere are no adjoining rooms, but three of the suites have separate sitting rooms whereroll-out beds can fit effortlessly. Kinloch’s ghillie, Mitchell Partridge, loves nothing more than to take weans out into the wilds to teach them character-forming, Lord of the Flies, bushcrafty stuff. It’s up to them, though, to decide how they prefer to end a long, muddy foraging expedition, having lit their own campfire from a pile of twigs and some flaky bits of lichen and a magnifying glass: to join Mitchell in chowing down on weird-looking sautéed wild mushrooms, or to indulge in a stack of infinitely more tempting and relatable goopy-chocolately s’mores. Back at the lodge, there’s no set menu for kids in the restaurant. Instead, staff will chat with young diners and their parents and cater to them individually.
Eco effortA big deal from the start, initially out of necessity (candles are always a romantic option butalso a practical one when you haven’t got mains electricity or a functional generator), laterout of choice. You’ll notice it most at mealtimes—a truly remarkable amount of what you’lleat at Kinloch will have come from Kinloch, and if not, from within a few miles of the property. There’s a handy little map on the back of the menu that gives you the names and addresses of their suppliers. Stay for more than a night or two and you’re likely to meet several of these suppliers in person, either on your travels around the island or at Kinloch itself.
Chef Jordan, not otherwise an obviously excitable fellow, undergoes some sort of chemical transformation in the presence of the vegetables and herbs that flourish in his ever-expanding network of polytunnels. You’ll see something of the same reaction if you accompany him to the loch shore or the hills, which are also, of course, full of tasty bits and pieces, hazelnuts, berries of various kinds, sea aster, scurvy grass, and what have you; but for the full transformation, it has to be in and around the polytunnels.
Accessibility There’s one fully accessible room with an adapted bathroom. The North Lodge, the main bit of the hotel, has wheelchair access on the ground floor.
Anything left to mention?The tap water looks rusty because it’s filtered through peat, though it comes from the estate and is, in fact, as pure as the driven snow. Though rusty-looking tap water is not in and of itself a great reason to love a place, somehow, with Kinloch, it is—or at any rate one of many great reasons." - Steve King
