A 19th-century hunting lodge on Scotland’s North Coast 500 route is set to be transformed into a luxury boutique hotel, creating up to 20 full-time jobs for the local community.
Original Collection Hotels, led by founders Nick and Charlotte Dent, has secured a 25- year lease for Glencanisp Lodge, located within the 44,000-acre estate owned by the Assynt Foundation near Lochinver.
The agreement marks a significant milestone for the community-owned foundation, which is celebrating 20 years since its landmark £2.9 million purchase of the Glencanisp and Drumrunie Estates from the Vestey family in 2005.
Refurbishment work on the historic lodge will begin in March 2025, with the hotel expected to welcome its first guests in early 2026. Original Collection Hotels has committed to a two-phase renovation programme that will modernise the property while preserving its original character and architectural features.
The new lodge, open to the local community and visitors, will operate year-round, creating between 15 and 20 permanent jobs, making it one of the largest employers in the Assynt area.
The Glencanisp Lodge development adds to Original’s growing portfolio of properties, which includes Shieldaig Lodge at Loch Gairloch, The Broadford Hotel on Skye, Forss House Hotel in Thurso, the Kirkwall Hotel on Orkney, Auchen Castle in the Borders, and The Ship Inn in Norfolk.
Coinciding with the hotel announcement, the Assynt Foundation revealed it is finalising a partnership with the Woodland Trust. The organisations will collaborate on an ambitious 30-year landscape management plan for the estates, focusing on native woodland regeneration and creation.
The Assynt Foundation said in its financial report, “There can’t be many people locally who are not aware of the plans for the lodge and our partnership with the Woodland Trust. Both these projects individually represent huge opportunities, and together they mark a new beginning for the Foundation.”
“Having reached such an auspicious anniversary, we’re also achieving some very significant milestones in our long-term ambitions for the estates this year.
