Ardlui Hotel, Restaurant and Marina

The Ardlui Hotel sits at the northern tip of Loch Lomond on the A82, forty-two miles north of Glasgow and a mile south of the Falls of Falloch. The Squires family have run the place for over fifty years, and the operation carries the unhurried country-house feel of a hotel that has been one family’s working life rather than a brand acquisition. Hotel, restaurants, marina and self-catering all run as one operation under the family.

The building is a turreted stone country house with a marina attached, set just below the road on the loch shore. Rooms are conventional country-house standard, with loch-view rooms looking south down the length of the loch toward Ben Lomond on a clear day; the back rooms face the Falloch hillside instead.

The food side runs out of two restaurants and two bars, all with loch-side outlooks. The Lochside Restaurant is the main dining room with full-height windows down the loch; the bar dining room is the lighter option for lunch and bar suppers. The kitchen draws on locally-supplied produce, fresh Loch Lomond salmon, Glen Falloch venison from the estate immediately north, and lamb and beef from the wider area, and the cosy lounge bar carries a malt whisky list of around forty bottlings. Boat-in guests from the marina use the bar entrance directly from the loch side.

The marina is the practical strength of the position: moorings, slipway, fuel and chandlery at the natural northern stopping-point for boats working the length of the loch. For self-catering, the family’s Ardlui Retreat runs a four-bedroom lodge with indoor hot tub and three four-star Scandinavian timber cabins on a private water-frontage just south of the hotel, with its own beach and jetty; bookings on 07890 397579 or via the Ardlui Retreat website.

The Three Lochs Way passes through Ardlui and the West Highland Line station is a short walk from the door. Hotel and restaurant bookings by phone on 01301 704243, by email to info@ardlui.co.uk, or via the Ardlui website. G83 7EB. Open all year.