The Altnaharra Hotel

Lovely hotel in the North of Scotland. There is a restaurant and the meals are great. The bar was limited at the time we visited as they were winding down for the end of season.|The bedroom was comfortable and complimentary tea/coffee and bathroom products make sure you don't get caught out.|The seating area around the fire had old world charm and encouraged residents to sit and chat.|The outside of the property could do with a bit of work.|The manager was friendly and helpful, ensuring our stay was great.

We had an absolutely wonderful night at the Altnaharra Hotel. From the minute we walked through the door we were treated with amazing care and attention from Valentine. Our room was spotless and luxurious, Valentine came along and lit the fire for us. dinner was amazing, Henry is an exceptional cook, we both had steaks and they were cooked to perfection. The ambiance was second to none with fires lit in the reception area and lovely music playing in the background.|Breakfast was also wonderful, one full cooked breakfast and one scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.|All in all, perfection.

We stayed here for one night and wished we had been able to stay longer. When you drive into the property, don't let it fool you. We wondered what we were getting ourselves into. But, wow, when we walked in the door, we were very pleased. The main floor has beautiful, cozy lounges to relax, have a drink, read a book, etc. As others have mentioned, the 'resident' stag was in the yard, just watching us arrive. What a treat! Our room (Hope) was very big, beautiful decor to go with the period hotel; the bed was very comfortable and we had a great sleep. The bathroom is big and very modern, even with heated floors! Our dinner and breakfast were tasty, the staff were very attentive, in particular the fellow at the desk, who also is the bartender during dinner. So very friendly and made us feel welcome. We absolutely loved staying at this beautiful hotel and if you have time, we recommend staying more than one night, for some relaxation in a country setting.

The staff were exceptionally friendly, Valentin was so helpful and accommodating. The food was exceptional and the room clean and in good condition. Very nice location.

Avoid and stay elsehere! In need of a refurbishment and the place is tired and lacks owner management and the Hotel is way under resourced. The staff (on-site) were excellent and tried their best and this review is not aimed at them but the owners / operators of the Hotel who were absent for our entire stay.||Friends recommended the Hotel from previously stays some years ago but we should have looked at the recent reviews and when the Owner (Alan) failed to reply to 3 x emails sent to him over 2mths the alarm bells should have been ringing.||Hotel wise it was comfortable and the food created & produced by the resident Chef was to a good standard but the level of services the Hotel provides is very poor and needs immediate improvement.||If you arrive at this Hotel prior to the 3pm check-in you could easily believe the Hotel is closed and gone out of business as the place was deserted. No cars in the car park and front door locked with no signs of life, and no bell on the door etc.||It seems the Hotel staff comprises of 3 x live-in full time workers (Chef, Assistant manager + assistant) with some occasional part time workers helping out. Excluding the chef, the Hotel staff (2 No.) do eveything which might be quite normal?....including cleaning, check-in, dinner service, bar etc.||The Hotel advertises itself as providing light lunches (also advertised on their external sign board outside) but this is not the case and no food is available at lunch time. Having travelled a long way being offered a packet of crisps as the only lunch option is nowhere near adequate (nearest store / shop being 45-50mins away by car).||I witnessed several none-resident visitors call in for Food & drink only to be turned away.||1st Night stay, no Hot water in our room! Apparently its a volume thing and we just had to wait for the demand to be lower (less users) before the shower sprung back into life (matches other guest reviews).||Rooms were not made up daily during our stay, assume this is purely a resouce issue but I would expect we could have asked for fresh towels if need be?||Bar was poorly stocked and ran out of draught beer, bottled beer and wine (again mathces other reviews) during out stay.||Laundry bags were piled up in the general areas and visible to all and not something you would expect to see in full view of all guests.||Now to my biggest gripe....the Hotel advertisies itself to this day, as having "some of the most experinced ghillies available" which is sadly untrue. As I found out from the owner, the Hotel had 2No. ghillies but due to personal circumstances the Hotel no longer has any ghillie service and the only person available to offer some assistance is the Chef.||If you are an experienced angler with local knowledge and permits (pre-arranged) you will be OK but if, like myslef you need the invalueable experience & knowldge of a ghillie then look elsewhere. The Hotel is fully relying on its reputation of older years and despite me contacting the owner by email over a period of several weeks (months) he simply failed to reply to any of my emails regarding fishing and venues.||I took it upon myself to try and sort out ghillie services independrently but left it too late but not sure why the Hotel / Owner with all their local knowledge could not have reached out to others? Without doubt, I wont be the only person encountering this issue and I expect the Hotel to stop falsely advertising Fishing ghillie services and to get their website updated accordingly also with lunches etc.||With regret, my experience was truly unforgettable but for the wrong reasons.||Location & setting of the Hotel is great but a lot of investment & time is needed to restore it to its former best.

The hotel was so deceptive, when we pulled up it looked as though it was closed but when we got inside WOW. The decor was amazing and really reflected the age of the property with lots of original features, open fire and lots of comfy living room furniture. The food was absolutely amazing, the restaurant was spotless and the staff were amazing. We even had 3 stags come down from the fields into the car park. The rooms were clean and tidy with the most comfortable beds and pillows. The little bar was so cosy and welcoming.

Off the beaten track with excellent food. We were greated by a huge wild dear stag next to the hotel. Beds were comfortable and it is quiet - best sleep of this trip. Nice bar with good staff. Nice walks nearby and good fishing if tou are into that.

I cycled Land's End to John o Groats in late June. All my other nights (11 of them) were at campsites. At every campsite we had hot running water. The overnight at Altnaharra was a generous gift from my friends who drove the support vehicle for my charity ride. I do not, therefore, know what the cost of the room was. We arrived at Altnaharra and I was very much looking forward to a long hot leisurely soak in the bath after 11 days of cycling and 11 nights of camping. There was no hot running water. We were informed that the boiler was malfunctioning. There was expressed some vague hope they could get it sorted. They never did get it fixed during our stay. I boiled the water in the tiny kettle to fill a basin to have a 'military wash'. Appalling experience and little to no verbal acknowledgement or apology for the failure. Will not be going back in a hurry. I'd rather spend the night in a bivvy bag and shower at John o Groats than patronise this establishment again.

Small hotel in the wilds of Scotland North of Lairg. Has a traditional hunting-lodge feel to it. Rooms are pleasant enough. Small comfortable bar area. The restaurant serves good food, although there is something of an emphasis on presentation to the detriment of service, which could best be described as random. Rather pricey for what it is.