Husband and wife Rohaise and Dan Rose-Bristow have been running The Torridon hotel for almost 30 years, bringing it from a “zero star hotel” to the five star hotel it is today.
The family-run hotel was recently named on The Times 100 best places to stay list, achieving the title of best hotel in Scotland.
“We were up against some amazing properties in Scotland,” Rohaise told The Press and Journal.
“We reinvested a big amount of money this year.
“So to get the award on the back of all that hard work is so great.”
The award comes following an almost £1 million renovation at the hotel between January and February.
“The inspector came in on the day we reopened,” laughs Rohaise.
“It was a bit crazy, all of us running around.
“The fact that we got this award on day one of opening was really, really special.”
How did The Torridon become ‘the best hotel in Scotland’?
I asked Rohaise why she thinks The Torridon achieved the award.
“Initially, it’s our location,” she tells me.
“It’s part of the journey. You come down a ten mile single track road.
“Then you arrive, and you’re surrounded by mountains coming out of the water.
“Right away, your heart melts. So we’re onto a winner.
“And then you open the door and meet our team who are really striving to deliver the best.
“The service is exceptional and faultless, that’s what we drive for.”
Creating a perfect experience for the 60 guests across the resort requires a great deal of work from Rohaise, her husband and the rest of the team.
“It all comes down to attention to detail,” she adds.
“You can’t have a day off – you wake up thinking about it, you go to bed thinking about it.
“That’s what it’s like when you run your own business.”
‘Where we live is magical’
Rohaise and her husband got married and spent their honeymoon at The Torridon.
It is clear that they fell in love with the place.
“We got married in ’98, and said we’d never run a hotel or live on the West Coast in the Highlands,” she says.
“Six months later we were here. And we’ve brought up our family here.”
Rohaise admits with a laugh that it can be “challenging” at times to work together as husband and wife.
“But it is also really rewarding,” she adds, “because you’re building something together.
“We’re very similar in that we’re both very driven. And we both have the same vision.
“We both want to make it the best hotel possible, and that’s what drives us.”
And it seems that Rohaise and her husband have achieved just that.
“Where we live is magical,” she adds.
“To be able to build something here that everyone wants to come and visit makes it even more special.
“We’ve taken it from a zero star hotel to now a five star hotel.
“But we don’t do it all on our own – we have an amazing team.”
Who’s in charge of the ‘admirably local’ menu at The Torridon?
The Torridon hotel boasts not one but two restaurants on site, the fine dining 1887 Restaurant and the Bo & Muc Brasserie.
There’s also the Beinn Bar.
Each of these received plenty of praise, with The Times reviewer describing the menu as “admirably local”.
This is key for head chef Danny Young’s vision for the hotel’s food and drink offering.
And it doesn’t get anymore local than fruit, veg and herbs from the hotel’s garden, and seafood from Loch Torridon.
“We utilise the kitchen garden, local suppliers and fishermen near us,” says Danny.
“I think everyone loves to know that our scallops come straight from Loch Torridon.
“We’re about 100 metres from the loch – it’s pretty much at the end of the garden.
“And we make sure that the menu includes lots of elements that have been grown in our own garden.”
‘Nothing is too big of an ask’ for the team at Scotland’s best hotel
Guest satisfaction is a clear priority at The Torridon.
So much so that no request is too big.
“Personal, elevated experiences” are commonplace at the boutique hotel.
“We want to make sure that everyone who comes and stays feels special,” Rohaise explains.
“Everybody works on something unique to every guest, picking out something to do for them.
“It is sometimes the gestures that don’t cost anything that are really important.
“These are things our team has recognised, remembered or anticipated.”
This can be anything from providing a guest with their favourite drink, a tailored hike, a birthday cake, fresh flowers picked from the garden or letting them dine in a different area of the hotel so that their dog can join them for the meal.
Danny adds: “That’s something we do very well.
“Every guest has some sort of request – and nothing is too big of an ask.
“Some things are ridiculous – some things are just balloons or flowers in the bedroom.
“It can be bonkers, but that is the reality of what we are trying to deliver.”
Conversation