It's officially the holidays! And Mark & I are back in Glasgow for Christmas.
For ages we both couldn't wait to get back to Scotland for some proper fresh air - I recently read an article on how breathing the air in London is the equivalent to smoking 160 cigarettes a year! Analysis by the British Heart Foundation also showed that the air quality in inner city London is four times as bad as some Scottish Islands, lovely stuff...
I absolutely LOVE the London life and I can't wait to get back soon but having a break away in Scotland was definitely needed. If you read my blogs often, you'll have read a previous one of mine 'Trip to Glencoe!' where Mark took me on one of our first dates together a couple of years ago and we had such an amazing time. We've always said we'd go back together and it just so happened tha the hotel that was shut down for refurbishment the last time we visited hadn't long re-opened, and what an amazing job they've done!
For starts, we were welcomed by so many beautiful deer (my favourite part about this location), they are all very tame and absolutely adorable. They're all wild deer so I wouldn't suggest feeding them any snacks you have lying about in your car - they're herbivores.
The before and afters of The Kingshouse Hotel are phenomenal, look at this...
If you're like me and love an adventure but don't like the less glamourous side of things like camping, or your average hotel room then The Kingshouse Hotel is ideal. We enjoyed the drive up to Glencoe and by then, we were both starving. We had to wait a little while for our room to be prepared, so the front desk took care of our luggage and we nipped into the bar area for a couple of drinks and a bite to eat.
I ordered the Mac & cheese with garlic bread and Mark opted for the salmon sandwich. I would 100% drive all the way to Glencoe again for that lunch alone, all the ingredients were very obviously locally sourced, it was cooked to perfection and my mouth is literally watering even typing about it right now. I mean, look at that...
We stayed in one of the signature rooms. I highly recommend paying a little extra and opting for this room, it made our experience here extra special. There's so much space, a king sized bed and the best part - THE VIEW. The room has a private secluded balcony that looks onto unbreakable views of Glencoe. The view was so beautiful we decided to keep the curtains open all night, there's no light pollution there either so it was pretty much pitch black anyway and if you're lucky enough to get a clear night you can see the Milky Way!
Since it was Christmas, I brought along our stockings and filled Mark's with all the traditional bits and bobs, including an orange. He didn't get it...but proceeded to enjoy eating it with a confused look on his face. This photo was taken on our balcony, just look at that view! You can head over to my instagram (@thatblondechickblog) to catch some video footage of the room and the balcony area.
We had dinner in the bar area again at night, however we chose from the restaurant menu. Since it's Christmas the hotel had less staff working so made it easier for them to work from the same area. The staff at the hotel were so welcoming, friendly and really attentive, couldn't fault anything from our stay at all. We enjoyed a lovely 2 and a half course meal (we shared a dessert because we were so full). This is what our dinner consisted of:
Starters:
Oatmeal & Poppy Seed Crab Cake (pea puree, smoked almond and mint pesto)
Pheasant 'cock a leekie' Terrine (Heather honey, nigella seed relish, oat cakes)
Mains:
Highland Beef Fillet (mull cheddar, whisky and peppercorn cream, glazed greens, potato gratin)
...of course I never managed to get a photo of our dessert because it got scoffed straight away but we had STICKY TOFFEE PUDING WITH ICE CREAM!
We sat in front of the crackling open fire with a glass of wine and a hot toddy after dinner too which was so cosy. I honestly can't recommend The Kingshouse Hotel enough, if you're looking for somewhere luxurious to stay in the middle of the mountains then this is the place to be. The staff were second to none and I really can't wait to get back here again one day - I really think it's going to become Mark & I's Christmas time tradition.
I can't think of a better way to wake up with a cup of tea in Scotland - we even skipped going to breakfast in the morning so we could spend more time on the balcony before we had to check out.
See you in 2020 Kingshouse!
Feel free to message me about anything if you're planning on booking if I haven't covered it above.
Louise xox.