A family-owned Scottish hotel group has relaunched a historic hotel dating from 1600s.
Knipoch House Hotel just outside Oban is the fourth and largest addition to the Sonas Collection portfolio.
The group has invested £1m into refurbishing the 26-bedroom hotel that sits on the edge of Loch Feochan.
Knipoch House Hotel has been “thoughtfully designed to create an elegant and relaxing experience for guests, from a wood panelled reception hall, a firelit lounge, three atmospheric dining rooms, and richly furnished bedrooms” – most having panoramic views of Loch Feochan.
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Sonas was founded on Skye by Anne Gracie-Gunn and her late husband Ken, from their "passion for sailing and desire to showcase the beauty of the Hebridean waters, the Gaelic language and culture through exceptional hospitality".
Over the past nine months, Sonas Collection has "reinvented this prestigious venue with a complete renovation to the bedrooms, the bathrooms, dining rooms, bar, and lounge with huge success".
"Dating back to the 1600s, the hotel retains its historic charm with original fireplaces, stone walls and wood panelling with all the modern comforts of super-king-sized beds, and opulent fittings," the company said.
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Additional offerings are planned to "continually improve upon the guest experience together with an outdoor terrace barbecue and dining area currently under way to embrace the spring and summer weather in this breath-taking setting".
Knipoch House Hotel also offers high-end, modern Scottish dining in its onsite restaurants headed by chef Andrew Engledow, who has joined the Oban venue from his previous position at the group’s Duisdale House Hotel.
Anne Gracie-Gunn, owner and director of Sonas Collection, said: “I, together with my highly skilled team at Sonas are truly delighted to be relaunching this wonderful property which I have admired from afar for many years. It is a perfect fit for our Skye-based collection and will enable us to offer our guests yet another location to explore under the Sonas brand.
“It has been a great pleasure to have worked alongside each of our skilled tradespeople to develop this well-known venue in Argyll.”
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Andreas Maszczyk, group general manager of Sonas Collection, said: “I am honoured and so delighted having the opportunity to expand with Anne the Sonas Hotel Collection Group from the Isle of Skye to the mainland of Scotland.
"It’s a real privilege for our whole team at the Sonas Hotel Collection to be welcoming the Knipoch House Hotel into our collection.
“Since we took over, the hotel has been awarded a rising star hotel award and it is wonderful to get to work with the team to relaunch the “sleeping beauty”. The Knipoch House Hotel is an iconic country house hotel. The investment already completed has created the most beautiful new rooms, and the hotel is perfectly located for leisure and business.”
The collection also Toravaig and Skeabost, as well as Duisdale House.
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