Opening at the end of March 2023, The Bracken Hide is a luxurious new wilderness hotel located in the heart of Scotland’s Isle of Skye.
Focused entirely on the environment, this striking, modern, four-star accommodation concept is designed to mimic a blade that appears to have been uprooted from the landscape, with the interiors also reflecting the palette and textures that surround it. By bridging the gap between a traditional luxury hotel and wilderness-style accommodation, The Bracken Hide will offer something totally new to the island.
The Bracken Hide is the brainchild of Miranda and Charlie Garton-Jones, the team behind the award-winning Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse, also on Skye. As well as The Hub, the focal point of the hotel, which will house the restaurant, whisky bar, lounge, and screening and games rooms, there are 45 en suite cabins, set in clusters across the 53 acre site. Each luxury cabin which, like The Hub, reflects Skye’s raw, rich and wild landscape, comes with gorgeous views of the Cuillin hills or the Isle of Raasay.
Eschewing a traditional hotel design, the individual cabins (Mountain and Glen) are dotted around to the west of The Hub. While guests will enjoy the trappings of a traditional hotel room, with room service, underfloor heating and en suite smart shower rooms, the cabins offer complete privacy, with the opportunity to look out to the dark skies above. All are clad in sustainable timber and have beautiful views out across Loch Portree and the Sound of Raasay.
Stunningly designed by three Edinburgh-trained architects from West Port Architects, The Hub houses the hotel’s restaurant, Fraser’s, which boasts large landscape windows. Overseen by Chef Patron George Fraser, who has some 30 years of Highlands hospitality under his belt, the restaurant will showcase the best of Skye’s natural larder. With seamless service and a matchless eye for design, the restaurant will offer locally sourced produce such as 26-day aged Highland beef, venison from the island and hand-dived scallops. The Hub, which like the Saunas, has a wild grass roof, will also be home to the whisky room with a sunken bar, offering a menu of Highland drams alongside those from Japan, reflecting The Bracken Hide’s ethos of combining tradition and modernity.
Guests of The Bracken Hide will have much to tempt them during their stay. A stand-out next to the stream-filled plunge pool and the wild dipping pond is a pair of stunning highland Nordic saunas, where guests can relax and feel their stresses wash away. A bracing dip in the elements after a sauna is renowned for being transformative and a positive wellness experience.
For guests looking to explore more of the island, the hotel has partnered with Skye Adventure, who will have an office on site. They offer adventures from scaling the iconic Cuillin to kayaking along the fractured coastline. The hotel is within walking distance of Portree, the island’s main town with a collection of restaurants and shops, and next door to the hotel is Target Sports, who offer axe throwing and archery.