Black Sheep Hotels has officially launched the Ambassador Hotel in Inverness following a £6 million refurbishment of the former Strathness House on Ardross Terrace.
The 14-bedroom boutique hotel occupies two Victorian townhouses dating back to 1874 and has been extensively renovated to combine original period features with contemporary design. The new opening adds to the group’s growing Highland portfolio, which includes The Whispering Pine Lodge, Rokeby Manor, The Cluanie Inn, and cabins at Spean Bridge.
As part of the investment, the group has introduced two new F&B concepts: Talk of the Town, a Scottish-Indian restaurant led by Corporate Executive Chef Sinclair Pinto, and The Other Room, a library-style cocktail bar curated by mixologist Paul Morel. The restaurant, which takes its name from a Bombay dining institution founded in 1968, blends Highland-sourced ingredients with Indian and continental influences. Local suppliers include fishmonger Iain Stewart and Lochaber Larder.
Sustainability and heritage preservation were core to the project, with the hotel retaining the original façade and staircase while updating the interiors to reflect 19th-century travel themes and Highland influences. The opening strengthens Inverness’s positioning in the luxury boutique market, with the city continuing to attract domestic and international travellers drawn by golf, heritage tourism and the Highland landscape.
Black Sheep Hotels is owned by Mars Enterprises & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, an India-based group founded by Sanjay and Rachna Narang. While its operational focus is firmly in the Scottish Highlands, the group is internationally backed, and has made a series of strategic acquisitions and redevelopments across the region. It says it plans further growth in the Highlands, with an ongoing strategy centred on adaptive reuse, destination dining and premium leisure stays.
