The owners of a hotel on the popular North Coast 500 tourist route have revealed plans to covert a “dilapidated” barn into guest rooms to meet rising demand for accommodation.
The Borgie Lodge Hotel, near Tongue in Sutherland, typically attracts more visitors than it can handle as more and more people sample Scotland’s answer to Route 66.
Owners Nigel and Andi Carter took ownership of the venue in 2018 and have worked tirelessly to rebuild the business from the ground up.
During the restricted 2020 season the hotel was fully booked, with reservations in the coming months similarly robust.
The couple now aim to convert an abandoned barn to provide more space for guests.
Planning documents outline the move as a “sustainable approach”, which would bring “otherwise unused buildings back in to use”.
A new lease of life
The stone outbuilding in the hotel’s walled garden has been earmarked to house four en suite bedrooms.
Plans have been lodged to the Highland Council to transform the stone outbuilding into four ensuite bedroomsThe developers propose to keep structural alterations and interventions to a minimum, and will retain the building’s original façade.
The existing roof will be completely replaced and reslated in natural slate.
The proud owners are now seeking full planning permission from the Highland Council to revitalise the building.
The plans will now be put before members of the north planning applications committee for full planning approval.
The papers state: “The hotel site has a range of separate outbuildings the most
substantial of which is a former barn which has fallen in to a state of dilapidation over the years but presents an opportunity to be brought back into use and has adequate floor space to create four en suite bedrooms.
“This additional bed space is the principal aim of the project.”
