Highland Cost Hotels have announced the acquisition of The Tongue Hotel, the second hotel that the group has acquired in the last few months.
Highland Coast said, “We have ventured to the very north of the Highlands with our newest Highland Coast Hotels member, the historic Tongue Hotel. Having acquired this wonderful hotel, we now have hotels right around the region and the NC500″.
The acquisition adds to the recent purchase of the Plockton Inn along with the Kylesku Hotel and Newton Lodge in Unapool, the Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch, and the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora.
The 19-roomed hotel, a former sporting lodge, was built in the mid-1800s when it was owned by the Duke of Sutherland. Highland Coast is planning a full refurbishment of all public areas, including the popular Brass Tap Bar.
David Whiteford, Highland Coast Hotels’ Chairman, commented: “We are delighted to be acquiring The Tongue Hotel and building on the work of previous custodians of such an historic and unique hotel. I very much look forward to the Highland Coast team becoming part of the Tongue community as we place even further emphasis on investing back into the local economy by creating more careers and business opportunities in the area.
“We are acutely aware that the hotel is held in great affection by both guests and the close-knit local community, and this is a responsibility we take very seriously as we develop our plans for the years to come.
“We are grateful for the continued support of the Scottish National Investment Bank which helped make the acquisition possible”.
David and Lorraine Hook, departing owners of The Tongue Hotel, said: “We have had a wonderful 15 years at The Tongue Hotel and are incredibly proud of everything we achieved, however it’s now time for us to pass the baton onto Highland Coast Hotels. Thank you to those who have supported us, from our always-enthusiastic team, to loyal guests and the local community in Tongue.
Highland Coast commented on their website, “The Highland community is at the heart of every decision we make and as with our other hotels, we will set up a Community Liaison Group in Tongue which will act as a forum for locals to give feedback on our future plans. Local residents are also invited to sign up for the Community Card which will give them discount in the bar, restaurant and accommodation across our hotels. Application forms are available from the hotel.
We take immense pride in nurturing and developing our people and the existing employees at Tongue Hotel will be positively impacted by our new accreditation as a Real Scottish Living Wage Employer. There will be wage increases to reflect this, alongside additional training and development opportunities.