Strathaven Hotel

We were invited to stay overnight at the Strathaven Hotel as part of the Lanarkshire Larder Food Trail (more on that soon!).  To be honest, Strathaven isn’t somewhere we had ever ear marked to go, (in fact we didn’t even know how to say it properly!).  After a busy day visiting lots of amazing cafes, farm shops and local producers this belief changed massively.   We were so blown away with the town, the community, the businesses and their hardworking, passionate owners.

Strathaven Hotel is a large, impressive building which sits about 10 minutes walk from the town centre.   The hotel is steeped in history and was recently bought by current owner Hans Rissman, who interestingly used to manage Blythswood Square in Glasgow.  The more staff we spoke to, the more we realised that most of the team had come with Hans to this newest project and all clearly shared his excitement and passion for his vision at Strathaven Hotel.  

We were met by a lovely, friendly receptionist called Morgan.  She offered an extremely warm and efficient welcome. We found out later on that Morgan’s Mum had bought the hotel 35 years ago and she had actually grown up there and had been asked by Hans to run Front of House which we thought was a very smart move.  Not only is she very knowledgeable about the building, but she is clearly very passionate and knows her stuff when it comes to client care.

The reception and bar area definitely have Blythswood vibes.  It is clear no expense has been spared and every detail has been well thought out. It’s modern, cool and offers a well stocked bar (great gin and whisky selection, and we spied them shaking up a few tasty looking cocktails too!).  

There was a wee bit of work going on to some rooms and we could see that they were working through a plan to freshen up certain areas. Our room was tucked away at the back of the hotel and had lovely views over the rear courtyard, apparently this is available for wedding parties and would be a lovely space to spend your special day in.  We had a larger than normal (and extremely cosy and comfy!) bed in our freshly decorated room. Everything was cool grey tones and felt classy, clean and somewhere you would want to spend time.  The bathroom was a good size with a walk-in rain shower and plenty of fluffy towels and toiletries.  

We had been booked in for dinner and both headed down to the bar area where we met Hans and their lovely General Manager who offered us a tour of the hotel before dinner.  We were shown  around the newly refurbished function rooms which have been created to offer private spaces for guests which doesn’t affect the rest of the hotel at all.  We were delighted to hear they already have more than 60 weddings booked in for this year – a real sign that heads are turning their way, and lovely that things are slowly getting back to normal for the wedding/events industry.

Dinner was exceptional. We started with Wild Mushrooms on Brioche (a recommendation from Theo at Roasted) and Cauliflower Soup, both were delicious. We followed this with the Chateaubriand, which came already sliced on our plates. It was well seasoned and clearly excellent quality, we really enjoyed it and the service was efficient and friendly.  The staff were clearly in control of their dining room and bar.  We loved the lighting, the comfy seating and we got a wee sneak peak at their private dining room which sits at the end of the restaurant.  It has glass walls, so is private yet inclusive to the rest of the dining room. It can seat up to sixteen and has its own heating and sound system, again every detail thought of which we loved.

After a great night’s sleep, we headed down for breakfast. We were served by a lovely lady called Jess who had also been there for years! Erica had French Toast & Bacon and I had the Vegetarian Breakfast, both dishes were really good. Erica was chuffed the French Toast was the traditional variety made with sliced white bread rather than sourdough.  As with most dining rooms, they can look and feel completely different during the day, this was no different. 

It was light and airy and had lovely views over the garden area. We also noticed there was a large outside seating area for when the better weather comes!