Duisdale House in running to be named ‘Scotland’s Greatest Escape’

Skye’s Duisdale House Hotel has revealed it successfully made it to the final round of the hit BBC Scotland TV show in hopes to be named Scotland’s Greatest Escape. The historic boutique hotel on the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Hebridean island shared its “signature style of warm hospitality” to win the ‘Island and Coastal’ category during last night’s programme hosted by Scottish presenter and actor, Grado. The episode saw Grado and the judges, Marina Hugget and Vanessa Kanbi, experience a stay at Duisdale, with Grado joining Peter Macaskill of Loch Eishort Mussels to grade fresh mussels for the highest quality to then be prepared by chef Stephen Crichton in the hotel’s two AA rosetted restaurant. Judges also embarked on a tour with the ‘Skyefari’ team to spot the legendary ‘Skye 5’ animals – golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, otters, seals and red deer. After immersing themselves in the culture of Skye, the judges then scored Duisdale on four categories, including accommodation, activities, customer service, and overall experience, focussing on the quality of their hotel stay and service provided by the Duisdale team, alongside the ‘tales by the fireside’ event and activities provided by Skyefari. Judge Marina Huggett said: “I was blown away by the experience we had here. For me this was the ultimate highland hospitality from start to finish." The Sonas Collection was founded by local to the island Anne Gracie-Gunn and her late husband Ken. Duisdale is part of the family-run boutique hotel portfolio alongside its sister venues on Skye – Skeabost and Toravaig – and newest addition to the collection, Knipoch House Hotel in Oban. Director Gracie-Gunn said: “It’s a great honour to have been selected as one of the 21 finalists by the judges of Scotland Great Escape and overjoyed that we have won our category last night. Not only is it an honour for me but also for our team of hard working, loyal colleagues who enable us to reach this level. We strive to do our best in everything we do and it is imperative to deliver a genuine and heartfelt welcome for our guests throughout the world.” In the final episode airing on 17 April, viewers will find out whether Duisdale House Hotel sails ahead of the competition to become the champion of champions on Scotland’s Greatest Escape. Since filming was completed, Duisdale House Hotel has launched in-room spa treatments and has embarked on the next project to create a bespoke boutique spa including salt wall, chromotherapy, and treatments to be completed later in the year.