Hard-pressed motorists in the Highlands no doubt breathed a small sigh of relief when Chancellor Rishi Sunak used this week’s Budget statement to announce that fuel duty would be frozen.

But the move seems unlikely to take the heat off prices at one remote petrol pump, where diesel is selling at an eyewatering 184.9p per litre – believed to be the most expensive on the UK mainland.

The Cluanie Inn – on the A887, which is the main Skye to Inverness road – is also advertising unleaded petrol at 165p-a-litre.

Meanwhile, just 50 miles away in the Highland capital of Inverness, petrol retails at Tesco at around 134p.

Nationally, average forecourt prices were last at the current level in September 2012 – and are only 2.5p a litre from the all-time high in April of that year when the cost of oil soared.

However, at The Cluanie Inn charges are already well past that peak, prompting drivers to vent their anger and astonishment on social media.

“Gold flakes in that fuel,” wrote one. “At least Dick Turpin wore a mask,” said another, while a third added: “At that price they don’t need to be open all day! Few cars in that’s them made a profit ... the f*** is it?! Faberge diesel?” A fellow motorist said: “I would push my car to next garage.” Another joked:”Might fill up the lorry there tomorrow.”

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Bosses at The Cluanie said fuel prices were based on its remote location, the cost of transporting petrol and diesel to the site, and its reliance on a diesel generator to power the pumps and the point of sale machine.

“We do not make any profit out of the fuel sales,” said Vanessa Crasto, vicepresident of parent group Black Sheep Hotels. “It is more a service we provide. There is no other fuel pump for many miles and we keep ours open 24/7 as a service. The Cluanie Inn has no (mains) electricity. It relies on the diesel generator.”

The row over costs comes as rapidly rising wholesale oil prices compound the supply chain problems hitting forecourts. After the queues for fuel and shortages witnessed over the past few weeks, petrol is, once again, largely available – but costing an average of 5p a litre more than in September. According to recent AA figures, the average price of unleaded petrol is 140.22p a litre, with diesel at 143.42p.

The Cluanie was famously among properties bought by an Indian businessman two years ago after he felt so let down by Highland hospitality that he decided to purchase the offending hotels to “show them how it should be done”.

The Mumbai millionaire took the extraordinary step after paying up to £120 a night for dirty rooms, no hot water, and microwave meals served by a carpenter. Sanjay Narang, then 56, had come to Inverness-shire at the end of April in 2018 for a hiking holiday with his sister Rachna.

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By the first week in May, he had decided to buy three hotels – Letterfinlay Lodge in Spean Bridge, The Cluanie Inn at Glenmoriston and Craigard Guest House in Invergarry – at a total cost of almost £3 million. He planned to spend a further £6m refurbishing, rebranding and extending them.

Mr Narang said then: “It was -7C one day and there was no hot water in the hotel where we were staying. I called downstairs and the manager said ‘The boiler has not been working since last Thursday and the guy can’t come to fix it until next week’, and put the phone down. They were charging us £120 a night and there was no hot water, no apology, nothing.”

Nor was he a fan of the food on offer. At his new home on the banks of Loch Garry, he said: “It was universally atrocious and the concept of service did not exist. “It was the same menu everywhere and the soup of the day was always lentil. At one of the hotels, the head chef admitted he came there as a carpenter but was asked to do some of the cooking. The hotel had six microwaves and only one cooking ring in the kitchen.”

Miss Narang, who is in charge of interior design, said then: “We don’t want to be clichéd and have Braveheart and the Loch Ness Monster. We want to celebrate great Scots and we’ll have pictures of Alexander Graham Bell, Carnegie and others in our corridors. There is so much more to Scotland than what Hollywood and Outlander have shown.”

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In India, the pair founded the Mars Hospitality Group, acquiring restaurants, bars and hotels in Mumbai before they sold up.

Mr Narang said: “People think we are nuts. They say, ‘You’re crazy, why are you spending so much money in the Highlands?’ “We just want to create something new and showcase the natural beauty of this place by offering comfort and hospitality.”