Scotland

While the Isle of Harris is not always the first place to pick up on new trends or fashions it does, eventually manage to take up some of the more important aspects of the British culture and, by August 2008, the island should have it’s very first boutique hotel in the Hotel Hebrides which is perfectly situated in the picturesque village of Tarbert.

For those visitors who do not understand exactly what makes a boutique hotel “boutique” the simplest way to describe the term is that:

A boutique hotel is usually a small hotel, often family run, which has been decorated to an extremely high standard in a particular style or influence. Typically they offer the most excellent hospitality and nearly all are of the most incredible luxury. Often described as “designer hotels”.

While you may expect all hotels in the Hebrides to be of a Hebridean style or, at the very least, distinctly Scottish but nothing could be further from the truth. More often than not a typical Hebridean hotel is very much like those found throughout Scotland the the United Kingdom. The larger hotel chains are exactly the same as elswhere. However, over recent years, many hotels in the Highlands and Islands have started to realise the need to make themselves stand out from the crowds and the previously named Macleod Motel in Tarbert has decided to take the plunge and totally refurbish itself as a boutique hotel with a name change to Hotel Hebrides.

Interestingly local well known artist Willie Fulton has played a role in the design of the rooms and some of his amazing art works will appear throughout the Hotel Hebrides. Those who know his work will be excited to see it translated into a boutique hotel and will understand that it will almost certainly add a distinctive, Hebridean and Harris flavour to the hotel.

Those have visited the hotel previously will be very pleased to hear that the hotel’s popular bar will be extended by around 4m. Although the bar would often be packed at weekends with hardly any room to move, especially when there was live music, it added such an atmosphere to the place that a great deal of thought would have gone into the decision to extend. However I feel that 4m is perfect judgement and should make live performances easier to set up and, most importantly, fit a few more folk in to enjoy the vibrant, lively and extremely friendly atmosphere.