Nestled near the end of Skye’s Strathaird peninsula, Coruisk House Hotel is a charming and welcoming home away from home on Scotland’s most visited island.
As a Scot, I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t visited Skye until this trip came to me. However, that just made me all the more excited to set off! Having crossed the bridge from mainland Scotland to the island, we enjoyed the drive through the scenery which I knew promised to only get more spectacular as we went. And it did! Turning from Broadford towards Elgol, the road got smaller and the landscape grew.
After a 20-minute-or-so drive we arrived at and were welcomed to Coruisk House Hotel, an unassuming, but quaint building set back from the road with lovely views out towards the water. The drive from Aberdeen had been a long one, so we were happy to be shown to our room – the Lower Steading Suite – to settle in.
The suite is ideal for a relaxing break or as an exploring base, complete with everything you would need. Entering into the space you have a spacious hallway, perfect for storing all your coats, jackets, hats, boots etc – because let’s face it, this is Scotland and the weather is unpredictable, you will come prepared and you may get wet!
Into the bedroom you have the double bed, a wardrobe to store all your dry clothes, TV, tea and coffee equipment and a lovely chair in the bay window looking over the driveway to the views beyond (spoiler, I would spend quite some time reading in this lovely spot).
Finally, the bathroom. The room is very spacious and comes with a freestanding, gold slipper bath – something that we both couldn’t wait to try.
After freshening up, we decided to relax in the communal spaces in the main building. We enjoyed sampling a couple of cocktails in the sitting area by the front door, namely a Misty Isle Mule (vodka, spicy ginger beer, lime juice and a hint of cinnamon) and a Gin Margatini (a twist on the margarita with gin, Cointreau, fresh lime, sugar syrup and the signature salt rim). We then moved to the second seating area past the dining space to sit in front of the wood burning stove, getting cosy while sipping our drinks. Andy makes a great espresso martini, I would highly recommend!
As other visitors arrived, it was time for the delicious four-course dinner accompanied by a wine tasting brought to us by Gordon Davidson of Corney and Barrow. If you are lucky enough to be staying at Coruisk House while one of their wine tastings is on the cards, I suggest you get yourself booked in. For our tasting, the owners’ passion for French and Italian wines shone through, while Gordon paired them perfectly with the meal’s courses.
To kick things off we were served mousseline of halibut with pannacotta of partridge, squat lobsters, thyme veloute, pickled cucumber. This dish was delicate, but still full of flavour. It was also my first time trying squat lobsters which, as much as they look like a prawn, have a meatier texture. They were tasty! This course was paired with a 2023 Sancerre from Domaine Roland Tissier et Fils in Loire, France. The crisp and grassy notes complimented the fish and shellfish perfectly.
Next up, game soup with a side of mountain hare rillettes, paired with a 2020 Bourgone Passetoutgrains from Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Burgundy, France. The soup was rich and velvety, a great contrast to the previous course and another first for me with the hare, which, I have to admit, was also very tasty! The medium-bodied red, the perfect companion to the dish.
The penultimate course was honey-baked ham of Elgol mutton with cassoulet and paired with both a 2024 Langhe Nebbiolo from the GD Vajra winery in Langhe, Piedmont, Italy and a 2024 Ridolfi Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany, Italy. One red more full-bodied while the other lighter in both colour and flavour with raspberry notes shining through. The mutton was cooked perfectly, still pink but packed full of flavour from the curing, it was the star of the show in this course.
Lastly, we were served a pumpkin and almond tart accompanied by mulled wine ice cream and poached pears. A nice end to the meal, the tart not too sweet while the mulled wine in the ice cream still packed some of its punch.
Adequately full and turning in for the night, it didn’t take long to drift off into sleep on the comfortable bed, kept cosy by the multiple blankets as I melted into the pillows. Another bonus, for being on the exposed coast of a Scottish island in January, the heating worked perfectly, heating the rooms quickly and efficiently. No chills here.
Breakfast in the morning was prepared fresh by Iain with the option of a homemade granola with natural yogurt, croissants and toast as well as a small menu of cooked items. We opted to try the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, which were beautiful. The scrambled eggs really were creamy like the menu promised. As we finished our morning coffee after eating, Iain came out from the kitchen to chat with us about our stay and recommended some really good places to go thanks to his local knowledge, a lot of which probably isn’t as well known by the majority of visitors.
We spent most of our following day out visiting Skye stalwarts such as Portree, The Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing, while taking some of Iain’s recommendations and visiting Elgol (very near the hotel with stunning views and some interesting sounding boat trips during the on-season). We stuffed ourselves on food from the Oyster Shed late in the afternoon, so dinner that night was just light snacks acquired from Broadford, before one final relaxing bath and night’s sleep.
Skye is a very popular destination for tourists, both from Scotland and further afield, and I can highly recommend Coruisk House Hotel to those visiting the island.
For more information or to book visit https://coruiskhouse.com/
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