If Jill Munro, owner of multi-SLTN Award-winning Alness business The Station Hotel, ever had any doubt of the importance of community in the Scottish Highlands, the first Covid lockdown of 2020 dispelled it.
Jill, a former teacher, took over the running of the hotel in 2019 from her parents, who had owned the business at that time for two years.
The former railway hotel, which dates back to 1827, was already a cornerstone of the local community, hosting a wide range of events, from weddings and funerals to birthday parties. But it was that first lockdown that really drove home the importance of businesses in the local community.
“When I took over the hotel it was just before Covid. And then Covid hit and the world turned upside down,” Jill told SLTN.
“And the community in Alness was absolutely amazing. Overnight everything closed, and there were all these people that couldn’t go out and had no means of getting food – and there was next to nothing in the shops anyway.
“All the businesses clubbed together. We were shut but we had a lot of food in the hotel, and so did the cafés and restaurants and the fish and chip shop. And we set up this food delivery service. So four days a week we would cook – myself and three other members of staff. I would often find myself making desserts for 120 people. People that were ill and couldn’t come out of their houses.
“The fish and chip shop did one day, The Larder did another day. We did this seven days a week. We had a team of eight delivery drivers who would deliver to the same people every day so those people saw somebody. We did that over a long period of time in the first lockdown.
“And I was amazed, absolutely amazed, at the generosity of people with their time and the money they put into it until it got picked up by Highland Council and the council funded it.
“It was amazing, and I thought it was the best part of returning to the Highlands: seeing people actively helping other people. It was absolutely amazing.”
“The best part was seeing people helping other people.”
The lockdowns, fortunately, are now a thing of the past, but that commitment to – and passion for – the Alness community isn’t.
Today, in addition to continuing to serve the community through a range of lifetime events (the aforementioned weddings, funerals, birthdays etc) The Station Hotel also hosts regular fundraising nights for local charities and organisations as well as being a popular meeting place for local hobby groups.
As part of the busy North Coast 500 route – as well as a favourite accommodation spot for businesses in sectors such as construction and TV production – The Station could almost certainly operate as a seasonal business, catering exclusively to visitors.
But it’s clear that Jill considers the hotel and its lounge and public bars to be a hub of the local community.
“It really, really is a hub,” she said.
“And that is a really worrying thing in the licensed trade, in among everything else that’s going on.
“In rural communities, these places are disappearing. There’s a lot of people come in to see us, that don’t really see anybody else.
“They’ll come in and have something to eat, have a pint and a chat.”
That commitment to community was recognised when The Station was named SLTN Community Pub of the Year, in association with Tennent’s Direct, in both 2023 and 2024.
Having the right staff in place has been essential, with the 30-strong team at the hotel all hailing from the local community – something Jill said is very important to her.
But locality isn’t the only hiring criteria. The willingness to go ‘above and beyond’ for The Station’s customers is a crucial requirement.
“I can teach people any kind of skill in hospitality. I can teach them to run a good bar and to pour the perfect pint. But I can’t teach them to be a people person if they’re not a people person. You’ve got to have that wish to want to know about people and to want to listen to people and to care about people. That’s really what we’re about. And I think that’s really important. I think that’s what makes the Station what it is.”
“You’ve got to care about people. That’s important.”
The product range, too, plays an important role. On the food side, The Station focuses on fresh-made dishes prepared with local produce, while the drinks selection includes beers from Highland breweries such as Cromarty, Black Isle and Skye in addition to a number of local spirits.
There’s been continual reinvestment in the hotel, too. Originally a 12-bedroom property, the family built an extension to provide an additional six, then had two self-catering houses constructed on the property. Last year they acquired the neighbouring Old Jail building, which brings another six en suite rooms into the business.
As the business expands, however, Jill is committed to providing that same quality Highland service.
“I’ve gone into hotels and nobody’s spoken to me from the time I’ve walked in the door to the time I’ve dropped my card in and checked out,” she said.
“I think Highland hospitality is much, much more than that.”
