Mackays Hotel in Wick on the market for first time in 67 years
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A landmark family-run hotel in the centre of Wick has been put up for sale for the first time since 1955.
Mackays Hotel is currently owned and operated by Murray and Ellie Lamont, the third generation of the Lamont family to have run the hotel over a period of more than 67 years.
Mr Lamont said: “We feel the time is right to hand over the reins of Mackays Hotel to new owners who we hope are as passionate about Wick, Caithness and north Highland life as we are.”
The award-winning hotel has 30 en-suite bedrooms and supports around 30 jobs. It is located on the North Coast 500 tourist route.
No 1 Bistro occupies one end of the hotel on Ebenezer Place, officially the world’s shortest street at six feet and nine inches wide.
Mackays Hotel also has six self-catering apartments and provides event spaces for weddings, meetings and private functions.
Murray and Ellie Lamont took over the management of the hotel in 1983 and went on to purchase the property from the rest of the family in the 1990s.
Since then, the hotel has received a number of industry awards and accolades. These include Caithness Business of the Year in the Highland Business Awards 2016, overall winner of the Developing the Young Workforce category at the Highland Business Awards in 2017, an AA rosette for No 1 Bistro in 2014 and a gold award as part of the Green Tourism Business Scheme.
During the 2020 Covid lockdown, the Lamonts worked with a Royal British Legion Scotland project to provide Caithness veterans and pensioners with regular hot meals and companionship while self-isolating at home, as well as a meals on wheels home delivery service for people in and around Wick. Accommodation was also donated to the NHS for doctors seconded to Caithness General Hospital.
The sale also includes the hotel’s grain store, which previously had planning permission for a new three-storey extension with the potential to add further bedrooms.
Mr Lamont said: “Our family is incredibly proud to have been the caretakers for our family-run hotel for 67 years. During that time Mackays Hotel has become an integral part of local community life here in Caithness.
"The hotel has gone from strength to strength, winning a number of industry awards and accolades and welcoming over 50,000 global visitors to the north Highlands and famous North Coast 500 each year.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on our warm Highland welcome to guests from across the world every single year and have some very happy memories from our time as owners of the hotel since the 1990s. We’d like to thank all our guests, staff, suppliers, local community and friends for their continued loyal support over the decades."
Mackays Hotel is being marketed by Drysdale & Co in three lots. The three lots include the 30-bedroom Mackays Hotel, six self-catering apartments and a vacant church building for separate negotiation.
Potential purchasers are asked to contact Stuart Drysdale at Drysdale & Co on 07851 317 186 or email stuart@drysdaleandcompany.co.uk
