– THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND –
Following the success of its three acclaimed off-grid bothies on Loch Nell, Inverlonan is restoring the historic Ballygowan Farm steading to create a unique nine-bedroom landscape hotel and 24-cover restaurant.
On the shores of Loch Nell, four miles east of Oban, Inverlonan is known for its three off-grid bothies which opened in 2020 as a luxury reimagining of the traditional Scottish bothy.
Now, Inverlonan is restoring the crumbling Ballygowan Farm to create a unique nine-bedroom landscape hotel and restaurant, opening in November 2026. This next chapter builds on the philosophy and spirit of the bothies, combining the comforts of a hotel with the same complete immersion in the land. Its design, food and experience will be shaped by Scotland’s landscape, farming, materials and makers.
THE DESIGN: “OF THE HILL”
The design follows Inverlonan’s guiding principle, “of the hill”, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s belief that a house should belong to the hill rather than simply sit upon it.
Rather than replacing the farm’s old stone buildings, Inverlonan is meticulously restoring and adapting them, working closely with architect Kirsten Mackenzie, formerly of RMJM. The aim throughout has been to retain the character of the Scottish vernacular while working as authentically and honestly as possible, using local craftspeople, local materials and ecological building techniques.
The original farmhouse will become home to three bedrooms – Moth, Crab and Red Zebra – while a further five rooms – Earth, Straw, Moss, Clay and Sun – will sit within the former Byre. A restored 16th-century stone bothy, the Blackhouse, will become a standalone suite.
Each bedroom will have a super-king bed and en-suite bathroom, with three of the Byre rooms featuring stone baths alongside limecrete wet rooms. Glencraft mattresses, duck down duvets and Piglet in Bed linen will complete the beds, while hand coffee grinders and kettles are provided in each room. Moth and Crab in the Farmhouse will also have additional bed decks for children, with the Farmhouse sleeping up to ten when taken exclusively.
Original stone and lime walls, press cupboards and period features are retained alongside carefully considered additions in oak, corten, zinc, copper and shou sugi ban. Materials include hemp insulation, wood fibre board and lime plaster throughout; Caithness flagstones from Norse Stone; lime paints from local producer Fudar; local olive ash, wych elm and oak worked by local craftsman Michael Acey. Each of the five Byre bedrooms will have distinctive walls by Clayworks, while three boreholes and two geothermal heat pumps will provide underfloor heating sourced from the hill.
There is a clear Scottish identity without relying on the obvious shorthand. Artwork will span young Scottish and local artists alongside works by John Bellany and Allan Davie, and 1970s kinetic art pieces; marquetry commissions come from Woodpop; lighting from Orfeo Quagliata: handmade wallpapers from The Paper Foundation and Timorous Beasties; rugs and blankets from Inverlonan’s organic wool. Baskets will be handwoven from local willow by Calltain Croft on Mull and ceramics include works by Mike Dodd, Philip Cornelius and Geraldine Philips alongside bespoke crockery commissions from Argyll Pottery and former chef Michael Thompson. Recovered metal from the farm will also be transformed into sculpture by Scottish artist Ruaridh Litster-Campbell.
THE RESTAURANT: FROM FARM, HILL AND SEA TO PLATE
Food is already a central part of the Inverlonan experience. Alongside the bothies, chef Tim Kensett has built an acclaimed Wild Dining experience, serving an eight-course menu cooked over open fire in a secret location on the estate. It is considered one of Scotland’s most unique dining experiences.
The new restaurant is the next evolution of this story. Tim, whose career includes five years at The River Cafe as well as Storico in New York, GoldenEye in Jamaica, The Star at Alfriston and The Fife Arms in Braemar, will move into a new 24-cover, open-plan wood-fire restaurant within the restored steading. The space will feature bespoke dining tables from local slabs of burr oak crafted by Michael Acey; ‘undulation’ lighting by Orfeo Quagliata; antique brass wall candle sconces; handcrafted copper counters.
Dinner will remain a single sitting at 7pm, with an eight-course menu described simply as “of the hill”. More than 90% of what appears on the plate will come either from Inverlonan itself – its farm, hill, market garden and forage – or from Scotland’s west coast waters. Expect Inverlonan’s own grass-fed Luing cattle and native-breed sheep, vegetables, fruit, herbs and honey from the farm, alongside hand-dived scallops, creel-caught prawns, Loch Creran oysters and Kames trout.
Inverlonan is not simply a hotel with a kitchen garden attached, but rather a working farm where the hotel and restaurant are directly connected to the produce of the land. Following a three-year conversion process, Inverlonan was certified organic by the Scottish Organic Producers Association on 10 September 2026, with all livestock sold from that date certified organic. Its market garden is also expanding to supply the restaurant, alongside 150 fruit trees and eight producing beehives.
THE STAY: LIVING WITH THE LAND
The three original bothies will continue operating as before: off-grid, immersive and embedded in raw nature. The hotel will offer more comfort, but the experience will remain immersive and closely connected to the estate.
Breakfast will bring together local smoked trout, cheeses and charcuterie with handmade Inverlonan breads, yoghurt, compote, honey and kombucha, alongside a communal kitchen where guests can cook their own hot breakfast. Lunch might be soup and bread, salad or salt-baked trout in the restaurant. Alternatively, guests can take an Inverlonan BBQ box and cook over fire at dedicated cooking stations around the courtyard, beach and woodland.
Honesty bars, a larder and in-room Yeti boxes stocked with provisions will replace the conventional minibar, while down at Loch Nell there will be wild swimming and a communal sauna on the beach. Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and fishing rods will be available for guests to use, with fishing on Loch Nell, the River Lonan and Lochan Barr a’ Claighinn – all included in the night rate.
Electric bikes can take guests further into Glen Lonan, while rough walking tracks lead directly from the farm and through Inverlonan’s woodland. The emphasis is on giving guests the freedom to use the estate rather than programming every hour of their stay.
Inverlonan will also be available for exclusive-use hire, sleeping up to 30, on a fully serviced basis – or as required.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: 1,000 ACRES OF REGENERATIVE FARMING
The hotel forms part of a much bigger story at Inverlonan. The 1,000-acre working farm combines regenerative farming and food production with a long-term programme of ecological restoration and biodiversity enhancement.
In 2018, 190,000 broadleaf trees – predominantly oak, beech and birch – were planted across 220 acres of Ballygowan Hill, with public access encouraged throughout. Black grouse have returned and now lek in the woodland, while hen harriers, white-tailed sea eagles, merlins and red-throated divers are found in the immediate area. Inverlonan also sits within a Golden Eagle range.
Its human history reaches considerably further back. The Strontoiller Stone Circle, dating to around 2000BC, and the 13-foot Clach na Caraig standing stone – or Diarmid’s Pillar – sit on Inverlonan. Glen Lonan itself is rich in mythology and archaeological remains, with ancient burial grounds and hill forts scattered across the landscape.
The new Inverlonan is intended to be as much about the land as the hotel itself: a Scottish experience shaped by its surroundings, from what guests eat and drink to the materials, makers and landscape they encounter.
Inverlonan landscape hotel and restaurant will open in November 2026.
- Rooms from £360 per night including breakfast.
- The Blackhouse from £425 per night.
- Bothies from £290 per night, minimum two-night stay.
- Dinner at Inverlonan: £110 per person for eight courses.