Hotel set for £1.6m upgrade

dornoch venue revamp will include eco-technology heating system

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Million-pound changes have been announced for long-established and historic Dornoch Castle Hotel.

Redevelopment plans revealed yesterday will result in six full-time jobs being created, with a coffee shop, bar and bistro, luxurious spa, 12 luxury bedrooms, and the installation of an eco-technology system, the first of its kind in the area.

The first stage will see the 15th-century historic castle become the first in this part of the Highlands to embrace a “Scottish Biomass Heating and Hot Water” scheme, run by the Scottish government.

Installation of this system, which costs £75,000, will cut carbon emissions by 77 tons per annum and save more than £15,000 a year in gas, oil and electricity, will be completed by this autumn. It received a grant of £33,700 towards installation from the recently announced scheme.

The new luxury bedrooms and other facilities aim to keep the hotel on Castle Street at the forefront of the tourism and wedding industry.

This project, valued at £1.6million, will also incorporate private dining rooms formed from the castle’s original cellars and an upmarket retail shop.

Work on this will start in the middle of next year, with completion scheduled for spring 2011.

Colin Thompson, owner and managing director of the hotel, said: “We are delighted to announce these two important redevelopments happening at Dornoch Castle, the first of which – the installation of the biomass, solar heating and hot water system – will start immediately.

““It will dramatically reduce our heating and hot water bills both from a cost point of view and in reducing environmental impact."

The historic castle passed into private hands in 1922 when it was considerably modernised. Further extensive work was carried out after it became a hotel in 1947. The current owners took over in June, 2000, and have gone some way to restore some of the former glory to this fascinating building.