Dunalastair Hotel Suites is a luxury, 5-star boutique hotel located in Kinloch Rannoch, a picturesque town that is within a 2-hour drive from Edinburgh and other towns and cities such as Fort William, Glencoe and Inverness. We chose Dunalastair as the base of our trip as it is the Highland’s one and only hotel that caters specifically for the Muslim traveller.
Location
Dunalastair Hotel Suites sits at the edge of Loch Rannoch in the beautiful town of Kinloch Rannoch, surrounded by miles of pure Highland air. The imposing building made of grey stone instantly transports you back in to the Victorian Era and gives off an air of old luxury and elegance. In Kinloch Rannoch, the nights are perfect for star-gazing; deer-spotting at the loch is a regular occurrence and whether you want to casually meander around the town or hike up Craig Varr, the choice is yours.
Hotel and Rooms
The luxury aspect of Dunalastair Hotel Suites begins at the entrance to the site. Its beautiful, signature scent is welcoming and the large fireplace and armchairs contrast well with the wooden flooring and create a real feeling of home. It is of no surprise that Dunalastair has received glowing accolades from all over the world, and these are proudly displayed at the 24-hour reception desk where friendly, welcoming and extremely helpful staff are always available to assist.
The hotel offers a range of rooms that make it a suitable choice for any group size. They start with the basic Superior Rooms that have a double bed and sleep 2 adults, followed by the Deluxe Suites which house a king bed. For a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children), Dunalastair offers Grand Deluxe Suites and Luxury Suites, whilst the Family Suites are then suited to a larger party of 4 adults and 2 children. Each suite is also available in a ‘Mountain View’ option which overlooks the beautiful scenery and according to their website, these are the ‘best views in the hotel.’ Having stayed in suites both with and without the Mountain View, I can confirm that the latter really is worth booking.
If you are celebrating an occasion, the Honeymoon Suite and The Munro Suite are also available to make your trip that extra bit special. The Honeymoon Suite comes with a free-standing baths (as opposed to the walk-in showers in the rest of the rooms) and is snugly located in the turret of the building.
Each suite in the hotel comes equipped with a mini kitchen that is fitted with a microwave, coffee machine, fridge and cutlery. In addition to this, complimentary glass water bottles are provided and thereafter topped up by daily house keeping, as is the luxury shortbread. We took advantage of these provisions after long days spent trekking and hiking around the area. The Egyptian linen that covers the bespoke, hand-crafted beds, the Grohe walk-in showers and The White Company toiletries add to the luxury feel of the hotel. The Halal-friendly aspect we particularly appreciated was the lack of alcohol in all the rooms and this was supplemented by the prayer mat, Qur’an, qibla direction and bathroom washing facilities that greeted us when we checked in.
Luxury Amenities and Halal-Friendly Options
The hotel has 2 fine-dining restaurants available on-site, with Monadh offering a fully-halal menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. Lunch can also be ordered as a take-away picnic if you are planning to spend the day exploring. The menus are varied and offer a range of starters, mains and desserts suitable for all diets with ingredients sourced directly from Scotland’s farm and fisheries. Unfortunately, at the time of our visit there was a limited, set menu due to Covid effects but some of our favourites from what we did try were the bruschetta starters, sirloin steak and the rich, coconut and chocolate tart. We actually ordered the steak for each dinner we were there as the whole dish – supplemented by the incredible, hand-cut chips – was mouth-watering. The mash and parmesan fries also deserve a special mention: the pomme puree was executed perfectly – so smooth and creamy – whilst the side of fries were topped by generous lashes of freshly grated parmesan. Monadh claims to to be ‘fine dining restaurant without the fuss’ and it really does live up to that statement.
If you happen to be driving an electric car, you will be pleased to note that Dunalastair has electric charging points available to use during the length of your stay.
Prices
The price points for the rooms and suites at Dunalastair will vary according to type of room and time of stay. During the summer seasons, prices on the website range between £160-£250 per night for the Superior and Deluxe Suites, £230-£370 for the Family Suites and £400-£500 for the luxury Munro Suites. Dunalastair also provide rates that include cooked breakfast and/or dinner, should you wish to book these in advance.
A piece of advice from us here at A Halal Food Journey: Virgin Experience Days and Buy A Gift have previously offered stays for 2 adults at Dunalastair for a fraction of the original price, and we used these vouchers to book our stay during the summer of 2021. The Buy a Gift offer for one night in the Grand Deluxe Suite is currently ongoing and heavily discounted so I would recommend taking advantage. You can supplement that with a voucher for their Halal Afternoon Tea for 2 as the cherry on top.
We also found that Halal Booking.com offered competitive rates (with the added bonus of Loyalty Club points).
Activities
Dunalastair Hotel Suites is perfectly located in Kinloch Rannoch as it has accessible routes that make it handy to explore more of the Highlands. Take a look at our Scotland Travel Guide for a more in-depth guide for what to do whilst there.
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