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November 25, 2019

Exceptional service is at the core of the Ness Walk experience

On our first visit to Scotland my partner and I were really looking forward to visiting the Highlands and had the of pleasure staying at the five star Ness Walk Hotel in Inverness, having taken a short domestic flight from London to Inverness we were a bit sceptical travelling to Scotland in late October knowing we may not have good weather during our stay, but we were pleasantly surprised with the blue skies and the sun shining down during our whole stay.

The hotel is situated in the heart of the city centre on the banks of the River Ness providing a unique getaway to the highlands. The building itself is a recently modernised grade B listing keeping plenty of the periodic features, Ness Walk Hotel has been renovated with a modern design and to a very high specification.

On arrival at the airport we had arranged to be collected and transferred to the hotel using the hotels chauffeur service, it was a real treat finding the driver waiting for us at the arrivals area and then collecting all our luggage and walking us to the car, we felt like celebrities getting in the car and even before getting to the hotel we really felt the 5 star treatment already had begun. The car itself was a brand new Audi A8 and had Ness written on the number plate which we thought was pretty cool, really gives you a good idea of how they have thought of every little detail.

Our driver was really friendly and was providing us with all the local information about the area as well us giving us some really great ideas about what we could do during our stay. We really loved that as we were getting closer to the hotel our driver wanted to check with us what temperature we would like our room to be set at, which we thought this was a real touch of proper first-class service you can only get from a 5-star hotel.

On arrival at the hotel, we were taken to reception whilst our driver took our luggage to our room. While we completed the check-in process we were greeted with a glass of champagne as we sat by the fire in the hotel lounge area until we were ready to head to our room.

Our room was beautifully decorated with all the features you would expect from a 5-star hotel, with an amazing garden view and huge king size bed that was so comfortable we knew we were guaranteed to have a great night after all the exploring in the highlands. We really liked the personal note left for us by the hotel welcoming us to Ness Walk Hotel. The room is very spacious with a separate toilet and bathroom which has been modernised with very high spec features throughout.

On our first morning before heading out to explore Inverness and the Highlands we decided to have breakfast at the hotel in the Torrish Restaurant, they provide a continental breakfast as well as having a made to order hot food menu, we both wanted to try haggis for the first time so we went with the full Scottish breakfast which we both absolutely loved, including the haggis.

After breakfast and with the weather so good we decided to go for a walk along the bank of the River Ness which was beautiful with all the scenic views of the city as a backdrop. Being in the heart of the city centre we ended up walking around for hours exploring the city and doing a bit of shopping, we, unfortunately, missed out on the excursion trips into the highlands and the Loch Ness but will definitely be coming back in the near future to explore everything Scotland has to offer.

On our return to the hotel, we decided to head to the Torrish Bar to enjoy a few pre-dinner drinks, with such a great choice of cocktails and local whisky we decided to try a variety from the menu, the staff were so very helpful and always on hand to provide any suggestions. Having enjoyed a few drinks by the stylishly decorated bar we readied ourselves for dinner in the Torrish Restaurant within the hotel.

For dinner the Torrish Restaurant offers a modern menu with a unique taste of Scottish cuisine, having dinner while overlooking the River Ness was a great and unforgettable experience. For my starter, I had the Kings West Coast Scallops which came with a celeriac pureé, salt-baked celeriac, apple, roasted hazelnuts and my partner chose the Duck Liver Parfait with mandarin gel, roasted hazelnut crumbs, mandarin segments, pickled celery shavings. Both dishes tasted amazing with a lot of attention given on presentation and taste.

For my main course, I had the Roast North Atlantic Monkfish which came with charred baby shallot, watercress pureé, potato fondant, celeriac discs, red wine jus and my partner had the Highland Venison Saddle with celeriac pureé, confit shallot, charred spring onion, liquorice root powder, blackberry. Both dishes really stood out again in flavour and presentation with local produce being used to really highlight our stay in Scotland.

For dessert I had the Vanilla and Fudge Cheesecake which came with dulce de leche, butterscotch ice cream, caramelised banana, this was a real treat with each element of the dish working so well together. My partner had the Garden Apple, Raspberry and Pistachio Crumble with tonka bean custard, pistachio ice cream, red wine, my partner really loved this dish and said the pistachio ice cream had so much flavour and accompanied the apple crumble perfectly.

Having our short time come to an end staying at the Ness Walk Hotel we were really sad to leave both the hotel and Inverness as we felt like there was so much more to explore, but this only encourages us to back a return visit to Ness Walk in order to have more time to explore Inverness. The checkout process at the hotel was as straightforward as the check-in process, whilst we were checking out our luggage had been taken to the car and the driver was ready to take us back to the airport.

This was a truly unforgettable experience of Scotland,  and the staff at Ness Walk Hotel were always on hand to help us and to direct us to the local activities. I really recommend this hotel as the perfect location to relax and explore the highlands from. The hotel offers a great dining experience and rooms to cater for everyone’s needs whilst providing 5-star customer service.

A: 12 Ness Walk, Inverness IV3 5SQ
T: 01463 215215
W: Ness Walk

Written by Remissa Allanaj for Luxuria Lifestyle London and International

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