This Michelin-Recognized Hotel's Restaurant Provides The Ultimate Scottish Dining Experience — Including Kilts For VIP Guests

Nestled in the Scottish Highlands, with sweeping views of the Moray coast, lies a 17th century farmhouse with a name you might recognize, even if you don't know quite how to pronounce it. The Glenmorangie House — put the emphasis on the second syllable — is a luxurious boutique hotel owned and operated by the distillery of the same name. The establishment has been recognized with a Michelin Key, the hospitality equivalent of a Michelin Star, and the gorgeous estate and beautifully decorated rooms stand up to the accolade. But while the walled gardens and uniquely decorated rooms are a definite highlight of a visit, the dining experience is no small part of a stay at the Glenmorangie House.

Visitors to the hotel sit down to their meals each day at a long communal table, with curated daily menus that focus on Scottish cuisine and highlight seasonal Highland ingredients. Upon request, and on celebratory nights in Scotland such as St. Andrew's Day and Burns Night, the restaurant serves up the ultimate Highland dining experience. The meal begins with the slicing of the haggis, recitations of Burns' poetry, and the classic foods traditionally served on Burns Night — haggis, neeps, and tatties — albeit with a distinctly upscale presentation.

For certain VIP guests at the property, the effect is completed with full Highland dress — read: kilts — but all diners are encouraged to don their tartan for the occasion. After dinner, guests are encouraged to meet in the hotel's Buffalo Room for a dram of Glenmorangie's award-winning Highland whiskies — one of the main regions of Scotch whisky production — beside the hearth.

No visit to the Glenmorangie House would be complete, of course, without a tour of where the whisky is made. The distillery is located just on the other side of the narrow peninsula, less than 20 minutes away, and tours are included in the cost of the stay for all guests. There, visitors can sample the many offerings from the distillery as well as see the tall copper stills that give Glenmorangie its uniquely light and clean character — but the activities available at the Glenmorangie House extend far beyond just dining and whisky tasting.

For those that wish to take part in the shooting sports that the Highlands are famous for, archery and clay-pigeon-shooting can both be arranged for guests. For those seeking a quieter day, the Cadboll Stone, a full-size reproduction of an early Pictish carving, is just a short and stunning stroll away down the coast, passing fields where barley is grown for some of the brand's whiskies. The quiet, rural country surrounding the Glenmorangie House also makes it a wonderful location for stargazing at night, or simply a contemplative walk through the property's walled gardens.

For fans of the Highland spirit — both the locally-produced liquors and the more ethereal soul of the region — it is a whisky travel destination not to be missed. Seated at the table after a day spent shooting clays, with a kilt wrapped around your waist and a dram from a popular Scotch whisky brand, one truly feels as if they have arrived at the ultimate Scottish Highland dining experience.