Travel Wishlist - The Bridge of Orchy Hotel, near Glencoe, hotel review, Scotland on Sunday travel

A friendly, foodie hotel which is punching above its weight at the gateway to the Highlands

The Bridge of Orchy Hotel, in the village which is on the A82, the West Highland rail line and the West Highland Way

@BridgeOfOrchyH

The Bridge of Orchy Hotel, near Glencoe

Around 20 minutes north of Tyndrum (and the Green Welly Stop) is the small village of Bridge of Orchy. The eponymous crossing was built to pacify the Highland Clans in the wake of the Battle of Culloden in the 18th century.

The hotel is split into two sections the older part of the building with traditional rooms, and a Scandinavian-style annexe built in the past few years, where rooms have their own terrace

It’s on the A82 and has its own station on the West Highland Line, and I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t given a second glance at the white-washed building at the roadside that is the 32-room Bridge of Orchy Hotel.

The hotel is split into two sections – the older part of the building with traditional rooms, and a Scandinavian-style annexe built in the past few years.

Room service

We stay in a Glen Orchy View room in the newer part of the hotel, with views of Beinn Udlaidh and Beinn Bhreac-liath as well as the glen itself.

A twin room in the 32-room hotel which is popular with walkers enjoying the West Highland Way

It’s cosy and bright, and has its own private deck, accessible via French windows. The views are breathtaking and it would be a lovely spot in the warmer months with the longer, lighter nights.

There’s also a lobby for storing luggage, coats and walking boots, leaving more space in the room itself without the clutter of bags and shoes.

Despite there being a fairly major road just a stone’s throw away from the room, we don’t hear anything. It’s warm without being overwhelmingly so, and after a wonderful dinner we settle down for the night in the comfortable double bed.

Budget or boutique?

With prices starting at £85 for an overnight bed-and-breakfast stay in the annexe (and £80 in the main hotel building) during the off-season, it’s definitely value for money and even during the tourist season when prices increase, you’d be hard-pushed to claim you were paying through the nose – and yet it’s so much more than a glorified motel.

Wining and dining

Dinner and breakfast are served in the main hotel building. With new head chef David Hetherington, who competed in the MasterChef: The Professionals, at the helm, it’s unlikely to be paint-by-numbers food and we’re intrigued to see what he cooks up.

Hetherington won the Scottish Food Awards’ Provenance Chef of the Year prize in 2018 for his commitment to local and seasonal ingredients and arrived last summer. I’ve already heard tales of his unconventional dishes (rabbit-filled doughnuts, anyone?)

My partner’s roast pumpkin with pomegranate, feta and yogurt dressing is a lovely starter, and while the belly of pork braised in ale, with sweet potato purée, bacon jam and crackling isn’t what I’d normally choose, I’m glad I’ve taken the plunge. It’s hearty food without being too rich or stodgy, and it’s nice to get an alternative to pub grub.The food offering is undergoing an extensive overhaul – both seasonally and in general – following Hetherington’s arrival and I’m keen to return to sample more of his dishes.

Breakfast is similarly impressive – there’s only so much you can do with bacon and eggs but the hot filled rolls using brioche buns (always a winner) help stave off the morning chill.

Worth getting out of bed for

The West Highland Way passes right by the hotel and although the 96-mile long trek is too much to fit into one day, it’s certainly worth walking part of it – especially with the hotel offering food and refreshments.

Glen Coe is around half an hour away by car while Rannoch Moor is a bit closer with a spectacular viewpoint just a ten-minute drive north of the hotel.

For Munro baggers, thefour peaks of Stob Ghabhar, Stob a’ Choire Odhair, Creise and Meall a’ Bhuiridh are nearby.

Little extras

The hotel has a tie-up with the Harviestoun Brewery so has a good number of the Alva-based beers on tap in the bar, while the recently-launched “Wheesht” alcohol-free beer is a safe alternative for any designated drivers.

Guest book comments

A friendly, relatively small hotel which is punching above its weight. It deserves far more attention from locals and tourists given its position at the gateway to the Highlands.

Rates start at £80 per night. Bridge of Orchy Hotel, Bridge of Orchy, Argyll PA36 4AD (01838 400 208, bridgeoforchy.co.uk) Temporarily closed due to Covid-19

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