This month, we catch up with Craig Ewan - who celebrates 20 years with the Kingsmill Hotel in Inverness next year! He loves his role just as much as he ever did. We also head back to the Cairndale Hotel to see its new Oak Bar Restaurant and its new bedrooms, and check out The Court in Edinburgh and the new Caley Bar at the Caledonian Hotel. There is also a quick review of the year and we take a look at the Scottish Government’s plans to amend the Visitor Levy.

Congrats to all the hotels that picked up awards at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards including Apex Hotels, Black Ivy, Lisini and Solway Lodge. I recently caught up with James Anderson, General Manager of Gleddoch Golf & Spa Resort. He has certainly got a lot of his plate but he is thriving on it. Find out what he has to say inside. On the design front, this issue we take a look at the new bedrooms at The Waterside, the newly-opened Ardbeg House on Islay and revisit the Spa at Cameron House. I am also delighted to see that HIT have launched its Executive and Leadership Programmes. I hope you will all explore the opportunity there.

This month we paid a visit to Aberdeen to catch up with Kellie Rixon MBE and find out all about her plans for The Marcliffe. She’s certainly a force to be reckoned with. Read what she has to say on page 14. The much-anticipated latest opening from Ennismore, The Hoxton, Edinburgh, landed earlier this month. It is certainly striking. At the same time, The Edinburgh Grand has had a refresh. See our design pages for all the pictures. We also take a look at how your mindset affects your sales and focus on the new Hospitality Hub initiative. Next month we take a break - it’s our sister magazine’s annual awards - back in September.

This month we talk to Will Oakley at Cameron House - and he’s used to good weather, having spent much of his career working in the Caribbean. Find out what he has to say on page 16. Congratulations to Calum Ross, GM at the Hilton Hotel on Glasgow’s William Street, who was presented with The HIT Industry Award at the charity’s annual dinner. We also explore the new food and beverage offerings at Brig o’Doon and The Old Course, St Andrews, as well as the new spa at Gleddoch House. We also take a look at What’s on the Market and there is lots not news too!

This month I caught up with Charlie and Richard Leckie at Crieff Hydro. I got the opportunity to see their new £5m restoration and refurbishment at first hand. It is a credit to the family and everyone involved in the project. See page 14 for the interview followed by the Design feature on page 19. We also look at what attracts Scotland’s Global Guests and what this year’s travellers might be looking for. Guest columnist Dr Carman Vlasceanu gives us her lowdown on how to deal with adversity in hospitality while we also have a great design feature on the new-look Mar Hall.

It was a pleasure to catch up with David Barkley and perfect timing - he was mentored by Ken McCulloch and we met on the morning of Ken's memorial service. David is also now GM at one of Ken’s favourite places One Devonshire Gardens. Ken’s memorial was a fitting tribute and it was lovely to hear all the stories from across the years. He is certainly fondly remembered and his legacy lives on. This issue we also take a look at Spa’s and Wellness - we tlk to 5 leading hotel groups and find out what they are doing to embrace this every growing trend. We also have features on Brig o’ Doon in Ayrshire and Seaton House in St Andrews.

Headwinds may be heading our way, but there is still lots of positive news. It was also positive news on the HIT front; not only is it to benefit from a £3m investment by the Crerar Trust, but its 2025 HIT Scholars received their scholarships at the HIT Talent Conference. I caught up with Graeme Green, the Managing Director of Crossbasket Castle. He has certainly been busy, especially as Crossbasket was getting ready to reveal its new restaurants and rooms. I also got the chance to visit the Star Hotel in Kingussie and caught up briefly with owner David Cameron. I’ll also be back to interview David, who is a legend..

I was very sorry to hear about the death of Stewart Spence. We met a number of years ago when I interviewed him; he was an inspiration. This month, I caught up with Beth Rehman— - he too is inspirational. She runs the Perle Hotel Group and recently celebrated receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise Meanwhile, we take a look at AI and compare a few of the providers. We asked them to outline a marketing plan for a fictional hotel. Manorview celebrated their profit share this month, and the crew celebrated. See the pictures on page 26. Last, but not least, we have a preview of ScotHot.

This month we asked some hoteliers to let us know their plans and predictions for 2025 See what they have to say on page 10. We also have an interview with Annie Gracie-Gunn, the woman behind the Sonas Collection who operates a raft of hotels in Skye and the Highlands. She is certainly a glass half-full kind of person. I popped in to the newly renovated Pine Trees Hotel in Pitlochry. What a superb renovation by Apex.

This month we visit Mar Hall last and talk to Joe Gallacher about its plans for 2025. Ken McCulloch sadly passed away in November. He was an industry legend and helped raise standards in Scotland with his first class boutique hotels. This issue we have reprinted an interview Susan Young did with him a few years ago. Plus the new look Hotel Indigo in Edinburgh, Beira in Inverness and 1635 at The Knipnoch Hotel.

Congrats to all the hotels that picked up awards at our sister publications annual awards including Manorview, Black Ivy, The Lochrin at the Moxy Fountainbridge, Forbes of Kingennie and Montpeliers. Pics on page 13. We also caught up with Craig Munro who took over as General Manager of the AC Marriott Glasgow just over 18 months. Plus the newly opened Spa at The Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries and The Resident in Edinburgh.

This month I headed to Inverness to catch up with Guy Crawford of Highland Coast Hotels. He has travelled the world carving out a career in hospitality. Plus Angela Vickers CEO of Apex Hotels, HIT dinner, The Leddie, formerly Ducks Inn at Aberlady and Prestwick has a new hotel, DeiRa Hotel & Apartments.

Dee Bruce who heads up the AC Marriot in Inverness. Extended news New hotels. Design features with Brig o’Doon, The Rutland Hotel, House of Gods. Scotland’s Best Hotel Bar - sponsored by Molinari Extra, voting closes soon. To vote just head over to www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

Marcello Ventisei of Kimpton Blythswood, The Brisbane House Hotel in Largs, Mhairi Wilson on hotel trends and the new Scottish Hate Crime Legislation. Scotland’s Best Hotel Bar - sponsored by Molinari Extra. If you would like to put yours forward head over to www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

Andrew Deighan of the Doubletree Hilton in Glasgow, Cameron House in Hotel Focus, the new Address Hotel plus the HIT Talent Conference and Social Engineering feature.

The Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries with The Wallaces, the new W Edinburgh, hotel trends for 2024 plus property for sale and new appointments plus extended news.

The new Copper Beech Cocktail Lounge at Lochgreen House Hotel in Troon from Costley & Costley, the refreshed Radisson Blu in Glasgow plus recent and a gallery of pictures from the HIT Edinburgh lunch.

Jonathan Doherty the dynamo behind the WORQ Group. What to consider when looking for finance, Alastair Roy on Procurement, and we take a look at the Glasgow Virgin Hotel. Plus lots of news.

Jordan Charles, Meldrum House Hotel, the new look Brig O Doon, Procurement, all the news plus industry special on the demise of cookies.

Barry Makin, the General Manager of Cromlix House Hotel, The Torridon Hotel on Sustainability. News, pics from HIT Scotland dinner and regular procurement from Alastair Roy.