What the papers say...
Scotsman Magazine (February 2009)
What's MHOR. IMAGINE KATE MOSS ALL wrapped up in her granny's thick stockings and winter coat and you have the kind of juxtaposition posed by Monachyle Mhor. This demure, traditional pink farmhouse tucked away in Balquhidder Glen within the Trossachs National Park, is home to the kind of beauty other venues can only aspire to.
Red Magazine (March 2009)
The hotel mixes contemporary furnishings with older pieces and paintings by Tom's artist sister, Melanie. When Tom and his siblings took over, they employed James and Fiona Denholm, a husband-and-wife architect and interior design team, to transform it from the farmhouse B and B run by their parents to a boutique bolthole with additional rooms in the out buildings and an award-winning restaurant. All parts of the business work together. So loaves from MHORBread and seafood from MHORFish are served in the restaurant, as well as vegetables and meat from the farm. We even have hens that lay the eggs for the hotel breakfast every morning.
Scottish Woman (February/March 2009)
Monachyle Mhor could provide a blueprint for Hotels anywhere in the Scottish countryside. For it runs rings around most of the competition. The setting is magical-a grassy knoll on the edge of Loch Voil, surrounded by a postcard-perfect arrangement of undulating hills. But the interiors of this traditional pink-harled building (and adjoining stone steading) are splended: an engaging exercise in contemporary rustic chic.
Liddley-Diddley, never normally known for much of an appetite for anything except designer labels, surprised me by ordering mallard-surely the richest of all ducks-served with braised red cabbage, fine beans, parsnips and apple puree, plus a pickled pear and walnut dressing. To my astonishment, she attacked it with the enthusiasm she normally reserves for new season deliveries at Prada.
You're in the hands of committed and enthusiastic foodies, here.
Which Magazine (February 2009)
Monachyle Mhor is the perfect place to get away from it all. But there's plenty to do. The hotel offers a range of activities such as mushroom foraging and hen keeping. But it's the gem of a restaurant and its award-winning chef, Tom Lewis, that makes a stay here all the more memorable. He takes full advantage of the region's native larder, as well as gleaning produce from the hotel's organic plot to produce the munu. The wine list is a personal selection of fascinating bottles arranged by grape variety, plus a cluster of little-known 'oddballs'.
Food and Travel magazine (November 2008)
'There is something undeniably special about Monachyle Mhor. It could be the gorgeous rooms with their quirky Highland-chic style, the effortless hospitality of the staff, or chef-owner-farmer Tom Lewis's cooking.'
The Scotsman (4 November 2008)
'When her chef partner was invited to attend the Terra Madre festival in Turin Lucy Gillmore went along too to find out what aspects of the Slow Food movement they might bring back to their hotel in the Trossachs.''Slow Food, some muddy raised beds, a temperamental Aga and a giant hotel fridge came as part of the Tom Lewis package. As did some strong opinions on food provenance and my city-based attachment to the term 'organic'. Tom, who was a farmer before he was a chef, believes "all food should be safe and you shouldn't have to pay more for it." The ethos of the Slow Food Movement, which supports sustainable producers and champions seasonal, local food, is something else he believes in.'
The Observer (5 October 2008)
20 Fantastic Farm Stays: 'Guests can tour the farm, learn how to work with the animals ... and find out how really great produce is created. Chef-owner Tom Lewis cooks meals fresh from the estate's produce, using meats from venison to Highland beef, and vegetables from the kitchen garden.'
Homes and Interiors Scotland (August 2008)
'Time stands still in Balquhidder glen but Tom Lewis rarely does. That's what happens when your big passions in life infect your every waking hour... dabbling with ingredients in the kitchen he unleashed a talent that's occupied a significant chamber at the heart of Monachyle Mhor ever since.'
'But while crisply modern, this place isn't about minimalism. Rather than empty the contents of design magazines into Monachyle Mhor, Melanie, Tom and Fiona cherrypick great contemporary pieces and introduce them to classic design, then add a smattering of rusticity. The result is a balanced melange that extends guests' jaws to the floor.'
BMI baby magazine (June/July 2008)
'Monachyle Mhor - a chic, stylish boutique hotel north of Glasgow - is renowned for its award-winning restaurant serving up sustainable, local and delicious food. Now owner and chef Tom Lewis - who you'll recognise from BBC2's The Great British Menu - is showing off his cooking secrets at demonstration workshops.
Conde Nast Traveller (May 2008)
Word of Mouth section: 'Sampling sustainable, local food is one of the attractions at Monachyle Mhor, a stylish small hotel in an isolated Perthshire glen. Now the secrets of the hotel's award-winning restaurant are being revealed. Chef-owner Tom Lewis (whom you might recognise from BBC2's The Great British Menu) has launched demonstration rooms at the two shops he runs in the nearby town of Callander.'
The Times (19 April 2008)
'Wild food from the glen, berries and ceps gathered from the loch-side as well as home-farmed venison, beef and lamb and organic fruit and veg from the kitchen garden are on the menu at 14-room, family-run Monachyle Mhor hotel in the Trossachs National Park. Mushroom-foraging weekends will be offered later this year.'
The Independent (19 April 2008)
50 Best Sunday Lunches: 'An absolute treat tucked away in the depths of the Trossachs, the hotelier and chef Tom Lewis's superb three-course Sunday lunches are filled with home-reared, hand-picked and hand-made food.'
Psychologies magazine (April 2008)
Weekend Break of the Month: 'Situated at the end of a four-mile track on the banks of Loch Voil in the Trossachs, Monachyle offers all the ingredients of a gloriously restorative weekend in the country.'
Daily Mail (26 March 2008)
Give me Mhor! A hidden retreat in romantic Rob Roy country is the ideal setting for a glorious Highland fling. 'Accommodation in the Trossachs is still mainly of the traditional, rustic variety, and Monachyle Mhor is space-age by comparison. Our bedroom, once a threshing floor above a coach house, featured a huge bed in acres of space with funky furniture and creative lighting. A glass-panelled partiition delineates a bathroom with a bath big enough for a small family, and a steam bath/shower room to match.'
The Observer Food Monthly (March 2008)
'A crustacean on the loose is not a hazard commonly encountered in the typical fish-and-chip shop, far less one in this serene Perthshire town. But then Mhorfish is unlike any other chippie you'll find in Britain. Where else would you find diners savouring oysters and John Dory sitting next to those tucking into fish suppers and pie and chips?'
The Guardian (16 February 2008)
100 Foodie Breaks: 'A remote location on the banks of Loch Voil in the Trossachs is not an obvious site of pilgrimage for the bon viveur but where else can you find a chic family owned hotel with a top chef, its own organic farm, plus a bakery and a scattering of local outlets - tea shop, bakery, fish and chips - so that if you venture off the 2,000-acre estate you can secure sustenance of a similar quality?'
The Sunday Telegraph (27 January 2008)
'Monachyle Mhor still looks like an 18th-century farmhouse from the outside, but within it is a style haven. The 14 rooms and suites are bold and individual with luxurious features including freestanding stone tubs, double slipper baths and all the audiovisual gadgets you could desire.'
The Independent (26 January 2008)
50 Best Fish and Chip Shops: 'The little town of Callander is known as the gateway to the Highlands, and this retro-styled cafe is definitely the place to refuel before the big push north.'
The Times (15 December 2007)
'Tom Lewis is a chef and venison enthusiast, with a sustainable approach to running his family's hotel, Monachyle Mhor, in the Trossachs in Scotland. He has deer on his doorstep, and with his Finnish brother-in-law he shoots, hangs, butchers and uses all the animal, making everything from bresaola (air-dried meat eaten in thin slices) to sausages. Up in the North, his Christmas family roast haunch with skirlie (oatmeal cooked with thyme) seems far more fitting than turkey.'
Sunday Herald magazine (22 July 2007)
‘While highly regarded for his culinary talents (he competed last year in BBC 2’s Great British Menu), Lewis’s good taste extends beyond the plate. Along with his sister Melanie, he is a design obsessive and has utilised the skills of interior designer Fiona Denholm … to help realise his vision for the property.’
The Independent (50 Best British Hotels: 12 January 2007)
‘A regular pilgrimage site for Scottish foodies, this small family-run hotel sits in a remote scenic spot overlooking Loch Voil in the Trossachs. As the family also runs the surrounding farmland, the chef-owner Tom Lewis has plenty of fresh local produce to work with. Don’t expect things to be rustic, though; the food and the décor are both rather chic.’
Elle magazine (February 2007)
‘This snug Trossachs retreat is great for a Highland fling. Set four miles down a scenic lane, it looks out over mountains and lochs. Inside are modern interiors (designer lighting and antler chandeliers mix with open fires and silk bedspreads) and award-winning food, courtesy of chef-owner Tom Lewis. Feeling flash? Arrive by seaplane (from Loch Lomond) check into room 11 and cosy up in twin claw-footbaths.’
Waitrose Food Illustrated (July 2005)
‘The twee pink façade gives little indication of the stylish interior and impressive menu, which have been drawing the attention of critics for the past decade. Self-taught chef Tom Lewis prides himself on the use of the best seasonal produce, so the lamb comes directly from the family farm next door, fish comes from Scotland’s west coast and many of the herbs are grown in the hotel’s kitchen garden.’
The Sunday Times Ecosse (27 February 2005)
‘When water levels prevent the seaplane from nudging the shore, Lewis chivalrously slips on his wellies and carries passengers to land. There is a similarly accommodating ethos throughout the hotel. Despite being rather late, we’re offered a drink by the bar’s log fire before being shown into the cosy restaurant. And while the food is utterly sophisticated… there is nothing stuffy about the service.’
The Independent (18 September 2004)
‘Compared with most of the Trossachs’ hotels, Monachyle Mhor is in another stratosphere.’
The Guardian (18 September 2004)
‘Four miles on from Rob Roy’s grave, along a dead-end road by Loch Voil, and surrounded by a 2,000-acre estate and a cobbled courtyard of errant hens, this pink harled vernacular hotel is one of Scotland’s most inviting.’
The Sunday Times (27 July 2003)
‘When we say the restaurant is ‘near’ Balquhidder, this refers to the flight path of the crow. If you get into your car and drive the last four miles of loch-hugging, tell-the-sheep-to-breath-in-we’re-coming-past single track. Baghdad seems closer…. But I’d go a long way – or at least another couple of hundred yards along that road – for the chilled rice pudding with fractious brulee crust and sharp cherry compote.’
The New York Times (25 June 2003)
‘The view from the chic, cozy hillside dining room could hardly be more romantic: a picturesque glen with mountains at one end receding like waves.’
Australian Gourmet Traveller (August 2002)
‘In the heart of Scotland’s Rob Roy country, Balquhidder might be the last place you’d expect to find an award-winning restaurant. Yet thanks to Tom Lewis and his pink farmhouse hotel, Monachyle Mhor, the region is becoming as known for his classy take on French cooking as it is for breathtaking scenery.’
The Observer (19 May 2002)
‘As you turn off the main road at the sign marked Balquhidder … you are immediately swept away by the beautiful scenery. Six miles later and you start to wonder whether you may have taken a wrong turning, but the constant stream of cars you pass along the winding narrow road indicates that there must be something worth heading for. Just one mile further and you arrive at Monachyle Mhor.
Sunday Herald magazine (20 August 2000)
‘Every now and then I flirt with the idea of running a small hotel. It would be a characterful old property in a beautiful spot, a civilised yet affordable hideaway (not snobbishly exclusive) where guests would feel relaxed but well looked after. The food, an integral part of the dream, sourced from a network of small local producers who’d knock on the kitchen door with seasonal bounty. Then I remember fantasising about such places is a damn sight easier than running them. So I write reviews instead. But if I did run such an establishment, I’d be proud indeed if it was Monachyle Mhor.’