Newly-opened Loch Ness Lodge, which has been awarded five stars by VisitScotland, offers exclusive-use accommodation and service to its guests who will command a view of the loch from each of its seven bedrooms and have access to the Lodge’s private Loch Ness shoreline.

It has been designed to incorporate features of a classic Highland lodge and was built by local craftsmen with substantial investment by local family, the Sutherlands.

Loch Ness Lodge will employ seven members of staff, including a chef who trained under Marco Pierre White, contributing to the five-star service on offer to guests.

Heading the team is Scott Sutherland, whose family have operated successful five-star self-catering cottages in the grounds of the lodge, situated between Inverness and Drumnadrochit, for nearly a decade.

Scott said: “Loch Ness is arguably the only stretch of fresh water in Scotland which has world wide recognition. We wanted to create a first class tourism product which was an asset to the area and which matched the five star environment of Loch Ness with five star service and hospitality”.

Scott is positive about tourism prospects for the area. He said: “We have already joined forces with the local tourism group Destination Loch Ness, and back its bid for World Heritage status for Loch Ness.

“We have also been working closely with VisitScotland to tap into the forthcoming publicity surrounding The Waterhorse, a movie based on the Loch Ness monster which is released next month in the USA and is due out in Britain in February next year.

“We’ve already hosted journalists from Australia, the USA and France, and they have all been very impressed with what they have seen. Their articles will be an important way to get our message across to an influential international audience, to the benefit of Loch Ness Lodge and the wider tourism industry in the Highlands”.

Further information on Loch Ness Lodge at www.loch-ness-lodge.co.uk