A street of Victorian townhouses stretches out along the shore of the River Ness in the city of Inverness, the de facto capital of the Scottish Highlands. At first glance, you might not realise that this is a hotel, but inside is a collection of 110 bedrooms and 11 self-contained apartments, plus the first distillery to be built in Inverness in a hundred years. Welcome to the Glen Mhor Hotel, your very central base for exploring the attractions of the city and the Highlands beyond.
Glen Mhor is built from Old Red Sandstone, the distinctive, pink-hued building material used across Inverness’ traditional architecture, including the castle and cathedral. It is very much a part of the city’s identity, and traditional local culture influences the interior design, too: there are plaid carpets and upholstery fabrics, stag motifs, and artworks which evoke Highland forest and Gaelic mythology.
The heart of the hotel has to be the Uile-Bheist — meaning monster in Gaelic — a whisky distillery and brewery. Although Inverness has a long history of distilling, most of the distilleries closed in the 1980s. Uile-Bheist’s opening in 2023 was a cause for celebration, a sign of the whisky industry’s revival, but it is also Scotland’s first and only “brewstillery”, as it not only produces Scotland’s national drink but also brews its own craft beers. There’s an emphasis on tradition and sustainable practices. The fast-flowing water of the River Ness powers the distillery’s machinery, and it has its own energy centre. Make a reservation at Uile-Bheist for a discovery tour and guided tasting of their signature Uile-Bheist Lager and Colpach Blended Whisky, enjoy another flight of beers in the taproom, then return to the Uile-Bheist Restaurant in Glen Mhor’s grounds to enjoy a dinner of Scottish mussels or haggis bonbons, pan-seared Scottish salmon, and other local culinary delights.
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