Reimagining Highland Hospitality; our WorldHotels Hero Tony Story

Ness Walk Hotel is (once again) the number one rated hotel in Inverness on TripAdvisor. A momentous achievement, and one that required enormous effort and focus from their team during an incredibly demanding time for the industry. There is a common theme throughout their reviews and that is ‘the people’. The commitment they've shown to delivering exemplary guest care and satisfaction every single day is a story many of us can learn from.?

Q: ?Good Morning, Tony, it’s great to be able to speak (and congratulate) you about Ness Walk, your hotel that is back at No. 1 on Trip Advisor for Inverness.?Great news, we're thrilled for you!

A: Thank you! We’ve come a long way when you consider that Ness Walk only opened in 2019, shortly before being closed again due to the pandemic.?In that short space of time, we have not only found our way back to the number one spot for Inverness in TripAdvisor, but we’ve also been awarded the Conde Nast johansens Award (Best Urban Hotel) and featured in the Sunday Times’ Top Ten Hotels in Scotland.?An achievement we are obviously delighted with. Unfortunately, on TripAdvisor, our reviews became amalgamated with reviews for the hotel under previous ownerships, which lowered the overall rating.?It certainly focused us and our desire to recover our best-in-class service reputation.

Q: The common theme throughout the reviews refer to your people, so this must be the key driver to reaching that number one spot?

A: ?Yes, we’ve experienced turnover with our team during the pandemic, which is no different to anyone else, however we have been, and always are, very mindful of personality when recruiting.?Ness Walk is a 5-Star hotel, but it’s not stuffy.?The reception here is warm & friendly and we believe in giving the most outstanding welcome, beginning with a warm highland greeting of the guest outside on arrival. We believe in exceptional service from the moment we meet.?We already know who are arriving and create a peaceful, indulgent check-in, in the lounge with a glass of Grand Cru Champagne.?We take care of all the details and guests feel relaxed and pampered from the outset. There is no rush. ?It’s the details, such as, encouraging guests to make their wine selection in advance of dining so that we can properly prepare the wine. These details make all the difference.?

Q: We have heard from the team that reaching the number one spot required ‘enormous effort and focus’ from your team, can you expand on that??

A: It was about every single member of the team being committed to one single goal. We challenge ourselves with our collective ability to exceed the (very high) expectations of our guests.?We hold team meetings every day and our TripAdvisor rating is on the agenda every time, so the team know they need to be constantly updated and informed!?We celebrate success and we continually strive to improve.?We are never complacent!

Q:?If you could summarize the service or values of your staff at Ness Walk in 3 words, what would they be?

A: Genuine. Caring. Passion.

Q: And what about the additional challenges to motivate and drive impeccable service during the pandemic?

A:?It’s all about the leadership, it must come from the top.?It’s about displaying and sharing our passion. We have a genuine love of what we do, and it shines through. Leaders almost become a caricature, to relay enthusiasm and passion. We don’t get things right 100% of the time, but it’s how we behave in those moments where we get it wrong, it’s about learning how to be better, caring about outcomes and having that determination to get things right.

Q:?Have you changed anything about your service approach because of the pandemic?

A: It’s a moveable feast, we introduced a robust ‘Safely Sound’ policy, where we offered all the safety protocols and thoroughly sprayed every room after use, but we were forced to temporarily stop some parts of our service that were extremely important to our guest experience, such as entering the guest rooms to give our guests a thorough introduction to all the features and systems available to them and ensure they were comfortable and familiar with how everything worked.?We usually accompany the guest through the complete check-in process, right up to a detailed tour of the room.?During the tighter restrictions, we changed to online and app-based instructions, but we knew it was vital to our service to reintroduce the personal touches as soon as possible. It is simply who we are.

Q:?You recently joined the WorldHotels Luxury Collection, why did you find this collection to be a good fit for Ness Walk?

A: It was about placing our hotel product into the right marketplace to trade in the upper-end and luxury segment.?The relationship with WorldHotels works very well, we wanted to further, and more comprehensively, penetrate global markets such as North America, but as an independent hotel. We are generally anti-brand and want to be recognized more as having a passion for the hotel itself and not for the brand, so a setup like this is perfect. Also, WorldHotels was easy to join and presented great value for us, it allows us to remain independent within a collection.

Q: Luxury is at the heart of your service philosophy, what does luxury mean to you?

A: ?Exceeding (ever higher) expectations, with absolutely everything you touch, runs throughout our hotel.?We anticipate guests needs, even before they have recognized the need!?We believe in continual investment into the property, the attention to detail must be superb.

Q:?The upward trend for travellers tends to be towards immersing themselves into the destinations they travel to.?Inverness is a very special place, how to you honour inverness and bring the destination to life at Ness Walk?

A: The immediate impression of Inverness can be seen by looking at the architecture of the building itself. It was originally a 19th Century family home and changed hands throughout Inverness’s history, it has had a colourful past but we carefully renovated this Grade B listed building and planted special trees to complement the landscape.?Our recently opened Bruach (meaning river ‘bank’) was created as an outdoor dining treat, it denotes the Ness Riverbanks & allows you to taste local Inverness delicacies whilst viewing the breathtaking scenery of local surroundings. And of course, our warm, welcoming highland hospitality!

Q: Yes, you refer to yourselves at Ness Walk as “Reimagining Highland Hospitality” could you tell us what highland hospitality entails?

A: Highlanders have always been highly hospitable. Someone will always be ready to help you, offer to carry your bags or open the door for you, they are simply good people. We try to take that genuinely open, embracing personality and combine that with high levels of knowledge, which results in authentic, impeccable service

Q:?We must talk about the Torrish Restaurant as it offers some of the finest local produce in the Highlands, from where does the name derive?

A: The Torrish is a type of fishing fly used specifically for catching salmon, we wanted to tie the name to an aspect of the surroundings as we are situated in the banks of the River Ness and its salmon pools. It’s an idyllic spot to watch the fisherman casting for salmon.

Q:?The menu looks exquisite, and mentions Local produce, seasonal food and traditional Scottish cuisine – what are you particularly proud of?

A: The presentation, exemplary service, and effort of the brigade in the kitchen.?They display amazing dedication, incredible creativity, and their attention to detail for every dish is outstanding.

Q:?What would you personally order from the menu?

A: I would order a dish with either Halibut or Venison, either one of those with a good glass of Burgundy.?The Venison is 100% organic with little to zero fat.?We’re conscious of food miles and making food as locally as we can source them. We monitor the vineyards of where we buy our wines, always checking to see if we can do better.

Q:?Where is your personal favourite spot in the hotel?

A:?Our lounge faces down towards the lawns and river and there is a lovely bay window where you can sit and reflect in absolute peace and quiet.?It is wonderfully peaceful in the hotel, which is a special feature of Ness Walk.?It is busy, but doesn’t feel that way, it is always calm.

Q:?So what is next for Ness Walk, what can we expect to see over the next few months?

A: That’s a hard question, it’s an unknown period currently and earlier predictions were of bouncing back to full service by now.?I think the first quarter will be difficult, but with less restrictions.?We still haven’t been open for a full 12 months yet, but we do know how fast we can react when needed. During the pandemic period where no alcohol was allowed to be served indoors, we opened 3 outdoor restaurants within 24 hours.

Q: I am so sorry to ask you this, but we can’t resist asking, have you, or any members of the Ness Walk Team, seen the Loch Ness Monster?

A: I know where it is, and if you come over, I’ll show you.

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