Travelin’ Abroad: The last room at the Kintail Lodge Hotel

Jerry Bellune
June 7, 2013

The last room at the Kintail Lodge Hotel

MacLeod and Jerry Bellune are spending their children’s inheritance and enjoying every minute of it. What follows is an account of their travels in Liechtenstein, Scotland and Switzerland, three countries no larger than our small but magnificent state.

Invarary, Scotland

God must make special concessions to children, fools and weary travelers.
We were headed for the Isle of Skye as it grew dark when ahead we saw a sign for the Kintail Lodge Hotel.
We pulled in, parked and went looking for the owner.
No one was in the reception area but we could hear the sound of voices and found Michelle, one of the owners.
Michelle was a trim blonde in her 40s with a warm, welcoming smile.
Could she put us up for the night?
We have one room left, she said. Would you like to see it?

Up one flight of stairs

We didn’t much care as long as it had a bed but we followed her up a flight of stairs, down a narrow hallway and stepped into a lovely room under the eaves.
It was decorated like a ladies parlor – lots of cushions, lamps and live plants to make weary travelers feel at home.
Could we also get something to eat?
The cook has gone home, Michelle said, but she could make ham and cheese sandwiches for us in the bar.  
Would we like a glass of wine?
We unloaded the car and walked down to a large room with a bar running down one side and tables occupied with what appeared to be local residents.
It reminded us of places at home where everyone seemed to know each other.
The room was buzzing with the sound of people enjoying themselves.

‘My Auntie MacLeod’

At a long table a group of young women were talking and laughing and having fun.
Michelle brought sandwiches and wine and sat with us for a few minutes.
She and her lifelong friend, she told us, bought the hotel and had made a success of it.
It helps, she said, that both husbands have jobs with good incomes.
Living in Scotland is expensive.
We asked about the young ladies across the room.
Michelle said they were celebrating one girl’s upcoming wedding.
They were opening gift boxes and admiring the contents and toasting each other.
After we had devoured the ham and cheese sandwiches, MacLeod stepped outside.
After a long absence, I became concerned and went looking for her.
She and an attractive dark-haired young women from the hen party were talking.
In the darkness outside, the evening air was cool and pleasant.
MacLeod introduced her as my cousin Margaret MacLeod.
Margaret said she would tell all her girl friends that she had just met my Auntie MacLeod from America.
Margaret told us she is a landscaper and had a million questions about America.
We answered only a few hundred of them.
Then we wished her well and trundled off to bed.
It had been a long day and we left fortunate to have found a hotel with such warm hospitality.
So ended, happily, our first day in Scotland.

Morning on the loch

The Kintail Lodge sits on the shore of one of Scotland’s multitude of lochs (lakes).
From our window, we could see an early morning angler fishing for breakfast.
The morning was misty and romantic under a leaden sky.
We could see for the first time the flowers around the hotel where someone had lovingly planted them.
We could see the road wind north toward the Isle of Skye.
We thought about what it must be like with winter snow and ice.
The Highlanders are a hardy lot. They have survived clan wars and harsh winters for hundreds of generations. Now they live in peace with each other but the winters have to be challenging.

Next: The castle in the loch

© 2013 The Bellune Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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