Luxury boutique hotel, The Dowans Hotel in Aberlour, is expecting to enjoy a very strong 2025, after seeing a jump in international bookings.
The family owned Speyside hotel, which was renovated by owners and operators the Murray family after they bought it in 2012, now has 16 en-suite rooms as well as high-end restaurant and two bars say that bookings are ahead of an already good 2024 adding that the Speyside area as a whole “is looking fairly strong, which is really exciting”.
Lauren Murray, who owns the hotel with her family, said, “We’re getting a lot of bookings from across the UK this year, which is fantastic – we’re seeing a lot more staycationers coming back as people watch their pennies. We also have guests coming in from all over the world, and we’re starting to see more bookings coming in from our international guests, with interest from the North American and European markets in particular picking up pace.”
Her sister Steph Murray recently said the Dowans had enjoyed a “very busy” 2024 from around the middle of March onwards, and many advance bookings “right through until October 2025, which is definitely ahead of the usual”.
The hotel, which has 35 staff, works closely with local firms such as distilleries, and Lauren, whose family also owns Hotel 1881 in Archiestown, says of the local spirit of collaboration among leisure and hospitality firms, “We are so lucky with the community that we have here in Speyside, and we all work so closely together. We can phone each other up if we need help with something. That’s amazing, and it’s because we all want Moray Speyside to be the area people want to come to.
“There is so much that we can all do together, and we have such an eclectic offering, so it means that then when people are coming to the area, there is something for everybody.”
The Dowans Hotel is also a member of Visit Moray Speyside (VMS), the Destination Marketing Organisation and tourism Business Improvement District company for the Moray and Speyside area and Lauren adds, “Being part of the Visit Moray Speyside campaign has been an incredible journey for us. It continues to provide invaluable support, connecting us with a wider audience and emphasising the rich experiences our region offers.”