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Eilean Iarmain, Isle of Skye

Eilean Iarmain

Isle of Skye, The UK

Eilean Iarmain

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This charming Victorian pub-style property is set right on the water’s edge. The hotel’s staff place great emphasis on speaking Scots Gaelic, welcoming guests in the language, and the public bar encourages locals to come and chat in Scots Gaelic. Local fishermen regularly come straight from their day’s work to have a drink at the bar, giving it a wonderfully friendly atmosphere.

Rooms are styled fairly traditionally, with plain walls and carpets, dark wood furniture and flowery bedspreads and cushions. None of the rooms have a TV, and music isn’t played in the bar. The dining here is wonderful, offering seasonal, locally sourced ingredients for either an à la carte menu or, once a week, a five-course tasting menu.

OUR OPINION:

We love this hotel because it’s a wonderfully characterful property, run by an enthusiastically Scots Gaelic-speaking husband and wife team.

OUR RATING: Medium

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Photos of Eilean Iarmain

  • Eilean Iarmain, Isleornsay
    Eilean Iarmain, Isleornsay

Rooms

Rooms all feature antique furniture, slightly old-fashioned decor in keeping with the hotel’s Victorian history, and a complimentary bottle of whisky. The different room categories vary by size and view, with superior rooms looking out to sea. The suites each have two floors and are located in a separate building in front of the main hotel. Many of the rooms have interesting features and layouts, for example wood-lined walls, exposed beams and hidden nooks and cubbyholes.

Location

Located on the shore of Loch Hourn, Eilean Iarmain overlooks the water toward southeast Skye, the Isle of Ornsay, and the remote and untouched Knoydart Peninsula on the mainland. The hotel is around a 15-minute drive from the ferry at Armadale, and 50 minutes’ drive from Portree. Surrounded on all sides by either mountains or water, Eilean Iarmain is a true rural getaway.

Food and drink

Breakfast is served in a light, front-facing room, while dinner is served in the restaurant. This is a choice of either à la carte or a five-course tasting menu, both of which use fresh, seasonal, local produce. There’s also a traditional, welcoming public bar which is popular with the locals and hosts a folk club featuring Scottish music every Thursday.

Facilities and activities

Adjoining the hotel is a tiny gallery exhibiting local artists’ work, and a small crafts and whisky shop. The hotel also owns its own gin still, and offers private foraging tours for guests to collect plants and herbs to create their own gin. Eilean Iarmain can also arrange activities from the hotel, such as wildlife walks, wildlife photography workshops and Argocat safaris: a tour of the local countryside driving your own all-terrain, off-road vehicle.

Accessibility

Please note, there’s no lift in the property and many of the doorways are narrow, with low ceilings.

Tour ideas in Isle of Skye

Our itineraries are there to spark ideas for how you could include a stay at Eilean Iarmain as part of your trip. Treat them simply as suggestions, because every aspect of the trip we create for you will be yours to define.

Location & places nearby

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    Where possible, we like to offer a range of accommodation for each stop of your trip, chosen by our specialists as some of their favorite places to stay. To help you make the right choice, we give each property a rating based on its facilities and service, but we also look for hotels with distinct character or a location that can’t be bettered.

    Experiences while staying here

    The following activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences of the area where you’re staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident’s eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can also suggest outdoor pursuits and activities, such as cooking classes, that will introduce you to the traditions of the area’s inhabitants.

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