'We wanted to bring joy' inside Ardbeg House on Islay - a whisky and design lovers dream

This is Ardbeg - the bold brand behind the Glenmorangie Group’s smoky Islay whisky, and the transformation of the former Islay Hotel in Port Ellen by the equally as bold Russell Sage Studio, into Ardbeg House.

We’re standing in the Wee Beastie room, one of the 12 which have been designed around Islay legends, folklore, events and stories from the whisky distillery staff.

Wee Beastie is, of course, Ardbeg’s five-year-old whisky. But this deep red room with its feature, curved copper headboard, vintage furniture, knitted crabs, real-life creel, midge artwork and mermaid-tiled bathroom takes inspiration from the ‘beasties’ of Islay rather than its namesake whisky.

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While you might expect a whisky hotel to name its rooms after its whiskies, that’s not something you’ll find at Ardbeg House as seen in the Wee Beastie Room.

Other rooms are named Legend (one of the nicest accessible rooms I’ve seen), Monster (with arguably the biggest bed on the island), Feis (with its baby brand piano headboard and violin light) and Smoke (with a peat-stack inspired headboard and chemical compound light). And no two are the same.

“That was the challenge,” said Kevin Hill, brand and strategy director at Russell Sage Studio.

“Ardbeg has new releases every year so it would soon become … the rooms would become left behind [if they were named after whiskies]. They need to sit on their own in a truly Ardbeggian space. We wanted to capture the attitude of the brand and the whiskies, more than anything else. We want people to come back, try different rooms, enjoy them and discover something new each time.”

Staying two nights in any of the rooms is indeed a voyage of discovery, from the hidden Ardbeg ten-year-old miniatures to the Shortie winks mulberry silk sleep mask, Islay Cocoa specially made chocolate in the mini bar, Ardbeg A branded dressing gowns, slippers and the biggest, fluffiest towels down to the arts and crafts in each room. Information on the themes can be found in a small booklet. This is extreme-design-led luxury, but with a real sense of place and the people in its touches.

“It was very important to engage with the local community,” said Ellie Goss, director of corporate affairs and hospitality for the Glenmorangie Group. The team invited locals to see and experience the hotel before anyone else stepped foot in it. On an island with about 3,000 people, over 1,000 visited the hotel for tea, cakes and a wander.

We arrived on a Monday night and the bar and restaurant were buzzing with people enjoying drinks and a meal.

As well as utilising the hotel and the Islay Bar with its boat chandelier - one of the things locals were keen to reinstate was the name of the former bar, which has been done along with its original signage, found in a garden - artists and crafts people were invited to make and create items for the rooms.

“We didn’t turn anyone down,” said Ms Goss. Hence, among other things, there were the handknitted crabs, a handmade quilt and jacket in one of the rooms, a beautiful stained glass window, a crocodile mosaic and a huge hanging tapestry in the bar.

As for the food, the kitchen is headed up by Andy Dyke, who has worked for the Glenmorangie Company for years including at the distillery, which has won awards for its visitor experience. There’s posh pub grub in the bar while the restaurant, with its reclaimed marble, fireside table and eclectic chairs, has more refined dishes that use local produce, such as hand-dived scallops, Islay lobster and venison.

The lobster duet, venison pie and sticky date pudding were highlights of this menu, while in the private dining room, a set menu, including veggie options, is available. The lobster ravioli was a favourite here. Don’t forget to order a dram from the motorbike drinks trolley at the end of the night.

Cocktails and drinks at the bar are obviously going to showcase whisky and with over 500 whiskies - a mix of Ardbeg and other Scotch and Islay names - there’s plenty to choose from. The cocktails lean into the whisky, with our national spirit taking the place of gin in the negroni and added to a take on a French 75. There are some other options for non whisky fans and an excellent wine list.

Badger time, 6.15pm to be precise, is a chance for hotel guests and visitors to have a dram of ‘badger juice’ from the small cask at the end of the bar, priced at £5 per dram. Holding 800 drams, this wild creation is home to a specially made blend, which contains a predominantly bourbon cask whiskies from 2000 with a little bit of muscatel finished Ardbeg, which is then decanted into the badger cask. This liquid is only available here, as are Ardbeg Homecoming and Ardbeg House Reserve whiskies.

While it’d be easy to spend all your time in this amazingly bonkers, but beautiful hotel, there’s so much to do on Islay. Guests can take the short trip up to the Ardbeg distillery, or visit another of the many on the island. Ardbeg House also offers morning beach yoga with Yoga on the Move - a wonderfully refreshing way to start the day - and there’s boat trips with Islay Sea Adventures as well as wildlife and photography tours with Islay Encounters.

Ms Goss summed up the hotel, saying: “We wanted to create an experience that really championed all that is awesome about Ardbeg and Islay. That showcases the stories about the people, the place and the whisky - that was somewhere that wanted to come and have a drink or a meal on a Monday night or a Friday night, whenever.

“And also a place that people from all over the world want to come and visit and experience, and return to. No two items are the same, every single room is different, every bedroom is different and there’s lots of little nooks and crannies to experience and explore.”

Mr Hill added: “I just want, for everyone who comes here, when they step through the door for it to be a moment of absolute magic and joy.”

Ardbeg House is going to be a popular spot for the many die-hard fans of the whisky and brand. But it’s also a place for those looking to soak up the island’s stories and history - albeit via some seriously existential and eye-catching design work.

This couldn’t be further from the tartan-clad, shortbread tin Scottish hospitality experience that is on offer in so many other places. And it’s all the better for it, knitted crabs and all.

Ardbeg House is open now and bookings can be made at the Ardbeg House website. Rooms are from £230 per night.