Inverlonan is to open a nine-bedroom landscape hotel and 24-cover restaurant on the shores of Loch Nell, four miles east of Oban, in November 2026.
The project will see the historic Ballygowan Farm steading restored and adapted, expanding Inverlonan’s existing hospitality offer, which currently centres on three off-grid bothies launched in 2020.
The development will combine accommodation and dining with Inverlonan’s 1,000-acre working farm, with the design, food and guest experience intended to reflect the surrounding west coast landscape.
Architect Kirsten Mackenzie, formerly of RMJM, is working on the restoration, with the existing stone farm buildings being retained and adapted using local materials, craftspeople and ecological building techniques.
The original farmhouse will accommodate three bedrooms – Moth, Crab and Red Zebra – while five further rooms named Earth, Straw, Moss, Clay and Sun will occupy the former Byre.
A restored stone bothy known as the Blackhouse will become a standalone suite.
Each bedroom will include a super-king bed and en-suite bathroom, with three of the Byre rooms incorporating stone baths and limecrete wet rooms. Two of the farmhouse bedrooms will also include additional bed decks for children, allowing the farmhouse to sleep up to ten when booked exclusively.
Materials used throughout the restoration will include hemp insulation, wood fibre board, lime plaster, Caithness flagstones and locally sourced timber.
Three boreholes and two geothermal heat pumps will provide underfloor heating.
The interiors will incorporate work from Scottish and local artists and makers alongside pieces by John Bellany and Allan Davie. Bespoke elements will include locally worked oak and elm, handwoven willow baskets, ceramics, wallpapers and textiles made using Inverlonan’s own organic wool.
Chef Tim Kensett will lead the new 24-cover restaurant, moving Inverlonan’s existing food offer into a permanent dining space within the restored steading.
Kensett’s previous experience includes The River Cafe in London, Storico in New York, GoldenEye in Jamaica, The Star at Alfriston and The Fife Arms in Braemar.
The open-plan restaurant will centre on wood-fire cooking and operate a single dinner sitting at 7pm, serving an eight-course menu.
Inverlonan says more than 90% of the produce used will come either from the estate itself or from Scotland’s west coast waters.
Ingredients will include the farm’s grass-fed Luing cattle and native-breed sheep alongside vegetables, fruit, herbs and honey grown or produced on site.
Seafood will include hand-dived scallops, creel-caught prawns, Loch Creran oysters and Kames trout.
Following a three-year conversion process, Inverlonan was certified organic by the Scottish Organic Producers Association on 10 September 2026, with livestock sold from that date certified organic.
Its market garden is also being expanded to supply the restaurant, supported by 150 fruit trees and eight producing beehives.
Breakfast will combine locally produced smoked trout, cheeses and charcuterie with Inverlonan breads, yoghurt, compote, honey and kombucha. Guests will also have access to a communal kitchen for preparing hot breakfasts.
Lunch will offer dishes including soup, bread, salads and salt-baked trout, while BBQ boxes will be available for guests to cook at outdoor fire stations around the estate.
The three existing off-grid bothies will continue to operate alongside the hotel.
Guest facilities at the new property will include honesty bars, a larder and in-room provision boxes rather than conventional minibars.
A communal sauna will be located on the beach at Loch Nell, with wild swimming also available.
Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and fishing equipment will be included for guests, with fishing available on Loch Nell, the River Lonan and Lochan Barr a’ Claighinn.
Electric bikes and walking routes will provide access to Glen Lonan and Inverlonan’s woodland.
The property will also be available for exclusive use, with accommodation across the estate for up to 30 guests.
The hotel forms part of Inverlonan’s wider 1,000-acre farming and ecological restoration programme.
Some 190,000 broadleaf trees, predominantly oak, beech and birch, were planted across 220 acres of Ballygowan Hill in 2018.
The estate reports the return of black grouse to the woodland, while hen harriers, white-tailed sea eagles, merlins and red-throated divers are among the species found in the area.
The land also includes the Strontoiller Stone Circle, dating to around 2000BC, and the 13-foot Clach na Caraig standing stone, also known as Diarmid’s Pillar.
The November opening will mark the next stage in Inverlonan’s development, bringing its accommodation, restaurant, farming and land-management operations together within the restored Ballygowan Farm.
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