ONE ECO STEP AHEAD
Green was our new Gold.
In 2006, we installed a biomass wood-chip boiler — one of the first hotels in the Highlands to do so — heating the hotel on locally sourced wood with a fraction of the carbon footprint of conventional systems. We did it before it was expected, and before it was fashionable.
That set the tone. Every decision since has followed the same logic: do it properly, do it early, and keep going.
THE LAND FEEDS US
Highland food that knows its postcode.
Head Chef and Co-Owner Sean Kelly builds his menus around the shortest possible supply chain — local farmers, estate gamekeepers, Highland fishermen, the local forests and our own kitchen garden. The distance between field and fork is often measured in miles, sometimes in minutes.
Menus are built around what’s genuinely in season. Sean works with producers who know this landscape as well as he does — relationships built over years, not sourced from a catalogue.
Station Road holds three AA Rosettes and a place in the Michelin Guide. The 2026 Best Restaurant and Eating Experience award at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards, and the Environment Award at the Hotel Magazine Awards, reflect what we’ve always understood: that great food and genuine environmental care work in unison.
Seasonal. Ingredient-led. Rooted in place.
THE COFTIE PHILOSOPHY
An invitation to slow down.
There’s a word we use here: Coftie.
It’s our own — a Highland state of mind that blends the comfort of the indoors with the pull of the wild outside. Coftie is what you feel when you’re warm by the fire but the mountains are right there through the glass. It’s a lifestyle, a sense of being, ‘rest-rebellion’ and the unapologetic embrace of a slower, softer and more intentional way of travel.
Sustainability, for us, is part of that same philosophy. When you slow down, you notice more. When you notice more, you take better care. Guests who come to The Lovat aren’t passing through — they’re arriving somewhere. We want that somewhere to be worth arriving at, now and for generations to come.
Coftie isn’t just our word. It’s an invitation — to slow down enough to do things properly, to build something real, and to leave your patch of the world stronger than you found it.
OUR PRACTICES
Not policies. Habits.
Energy Our biomass boiler — running since 2006 on locally sourced wood chip — provides low-carbon heating throughout the hotel. A decision made early, and built on ever since.
The Lovat Grove For years the hotel supported the rewilding of the area with donations from every booking going to tree planting. Now guests are invited to donate a tree to The Lovat Grove through our partnership with Trees for Life, helping restore the ancient Caledonian forest across the Scottish Highlands.
Local sourcing and food miles Station Road’s menus are built around the shortest possible supply chain. What we can grow or gather ourselves, we do. What we source, we source close and also keep throughout the year through fermenting, drying, pickling and preservation techniques.
Seasonal discipline Sean and his team work with what the land offers, planning menus connecting to genuine seasonality — not year-round availability.
Green Tourism Membership The Lovat is a proud member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the UK’s leading sustainable tourism certification programme.
Climate Springboard Working with the in-house Green Team, a net zero plan is being developed for 2045
Waste reduction We work continuously to reduce energy, single-use plastics, food waste and packaging across the hotel and restaurant. What we can’t eliminate, we compost, recycle, upcycle or repurpose.
Cleaning Products We use eco-certified cleaning products throughout the hotel, chosen to minimise chemical impact on the environment and the people using them every day – often using old fashioned methods of vinegar and bicarbonate.
Education and Community We believe the long-term health of Highland hospitality depends on investing in the people coming through it. We run apprenticeships through Hospitality Apprenticeship Scotland, Caroline helped found Hospitality Connect in the Highlands to bring the industry together, and work with DYW to open doors for young people considering a career in hospitality. Getting the next generation excited about hospitality — and properly supported by it — is vitally important for the future of the industry.
History, Heritage and Culture The Lovat is steeped in the history of this place — and we think that's worth sharing. Storyboards around the hotel bring the landscape, the loch and the local area to life. Sean's menus carry that same spirit — dishes rooted in Highland tradition, ingredients tied to this specific patch of Scotland. The food tells a story. So do the walls.
Well Being Our team are at the heart of everything we do. We provide staff accommodation in Fort Augustus, invest in training and development, and work hard to make The Lovat a place people genuinely want to work. In an industry that can be tough on its people, we think getting that right matters as much as anything else we do.
AWARDS and RECOGNITION
A track record built over two decades.
We are delighted to have been recognised by the industry with the following accolades:
- Green Tourism Business Scheme member since 2007
- Envirowise Resource Efficiency Award, 2008
- VIBES Small Business Management Award, 2008
- CIS Sustainable Hotel of the Year, 2012
- Carbon Trust Carbon Management Award, 2012
- Catey’s Sustainable Hotel of the Year, 2018
- Environment Award — Hotel Magazine Awards 2026
- Best Restaurant and Eating Experience — Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards (HIFADA), 2026
- Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Young Ambassador of the Year 2010
- Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Judges Recognition Award 2010
- Highlands and Islands Tourism Young Ambassador of the Year 2010
- Highlands and Islands Tourism Developing People Award 2010
- Three AA Rosettes — Station Road
- Michelin Guide — Station Road
LOOKING FORWARD
There is always more to do.
We are custodians of this place. There is always more to do — and we are committed to the long game: deeper relationships with local producers, a smaller carbon footprint, a place the team can call home and a hotel that every guest can feel genuinely good about visiting.
The Lovat is 29 rooms in a village of 600 people. We are small. But if this works here — sustainability can work anywhere.
Join us and leave lighter than you arrived.
