Gun Lodge Hotel in Ardersier to be transformed into ’boutique’ accommodation and wellness centre

Take a look at the ambitious plans to rejuvenate the Ardersier hotel, which have been given the go-ahead.

By Will Angus, Local Democracy Reporter

April 4 2025, 6:00 am

The Gun Lodge Hotel, from Ardersier's High Street. Image: Highland Council/Historic Environment Team

A historic Ardersier hotel-pub’s transformation into a luxury hotel and wellness centre has been approved.

The Gun Lodge Hotel on the village’s High Street has been closed for about a year while new owners Shamrock Wellbeing lodged new plans to give the hotel a fresh start.

They are seeking the change the traditional local pub feel into a “boutique” hotel with wellness centre, lounge and conference venue.

Local councillors said they were “delighted” with the plans for the Gun Lodge Hotel.

The hotel has rooms on both floors. Supplied by Rightmove.

When did the Gun Lodge shut?

The previous owners of the hotel first posted the property for sale back in March of 2023.

They officially retired from running the Gun Lodge Hotel a year later, and the hotel has remained closed since then.

A sign advertising the hotel on the A96 remains intact. Supplied by Google Maps.

The last opinions of the hotel before it closed were mixed, with happy guests admiring its friendly and family feel.

However, the experience of others was not so positive, with one visitor calling the lodge a “sad little motel” and told Tripadvisor users to avoid the hotel “at all costs.”

Highland Council’s historic environment team say the hotel opened in the 1970s, but estimates the property was built in the mid-18th Century.

New owners Shamrock Wellbeing plan to give the building a new lease of life as a “boutique wellness hotel.”

The Gun Lodge’s bar and restaurant area, before the hotel was closed. Supplied by Rightmove.

What transformation is planned?

The new owners intend to shake off the hotel’s old pub roots, starting with transforming the adjacent ex-manager’s house into a wellbeing and wellness centre.

The wellness centre will open four treatment rooms of various sizes to members of the public and hotel residents.

A consulting space and a drug store will also open up with the space, which could mean a variety of health and wellbeing treatments may be on offer in the future.

The manager’s house, set to become Ardersier’s new wellness and wellbeing centre. Supplied by Google Maps.

The old lounge bar will become a conference venue, and the restaurant will relax into a lounge dining experience.

The “bulky” toilet block extension is set to go, replaced with a “sleek” dark grey aluminium conservatory.

The Gun Lodge Hotel’s infamous toilet block extension. Supplied by Google Maps.

The number of rooms in the hotel will reduce by one to make space for the toilets moving inside the building.

In their analysis of the plans, council officers said the project will deliver “high quality design that is in keeping with the local character and contributes to the historic environment.”