Cycling UK Forum

We are a group of 19 we were told we need to book and it will become a set menu with choice of 2 starters and 2 mains for £18 I do not agree with a set menu as I want to choose what I want to eat ( a large carte) and not want the restaurant feel is easy for them to make for a large booking
I guess we are low on options for any easy alternatives

Crask Inn or Bettyhill I think are the only options. Would probably call ahead as well.

You're staying in the hotel (rooms around £100 per night), but are baulking at the food prices, how much is the food?
Surely you can get fish and chips or something on the bar menu at a price you can afford?

It's fine dining with prices to match, I don't know if they do bar food in the evening, even if not you could ask, for 19 of you it'd be easy money.
I stopped off there for a pub lunch on a JoGLE , the soup and a sandwich was probably the most expensive meal of the trip, nice enough but nothing exceptional. Can't you eat earlier and bring some snacks with you? As has been said I doubt there's anything else between Bettyhill and the Crask Inn.

Their website says they have a bar menu as well as the dining room a la carte.

rualexander wrote:Their website says they have a bar menu as well as the dining room a la carte.

It does, though it also suggests this is for snacks and light lunches, I'd want a bit more information before arriving in the middle of nowhere and relying on it for a meal that wasn't at a fine dining price.

I take it you are referring to the Altnahara Hotel.
Like all rural hotels it's had a chequered past over the years with standards going up and down according to how the business was being managed. There is limited competition in the area and the business is now in a position to market itself to the top end of the booming NC500 trade.
Have you asked the cost of the a la carte menu? I'm guessing if the hotel has a 'proper' chef, this will be quite expensive and will make the set price menu seem reasonable in comparison.
If I was cycling I probably wouldn't be looking for fine dining for an evening meal because the portions are unlikely to be cycling friendly. If however this what you want, I can't see that the hotel cannot accommodate a few individuals choosing from the a la carte menu if they prefer that. I would suggest that if the hotel is your only option, you negotiate the choices offered on the set menu but you need to have that discussion well before you visit.

Negotiate prices, top-end mark€t$
Bizarre and fascinating, what is going on up there? What do the locals do, is there a chip shop nearby?
I should stock up on bread and cheese from the co-op and make my own meal for once

Cyril Haearn wrote:Negotiate prices, top-end mark€t$
Bizarre and fascinating, what is going on up there? What do the locals do, is there a chip shop nearby?
I should stock up on bread and cheese from the co-op and make my own meal for once

Its Altnaharra, its at least 20 miles from anywhere, there are very few locals, its not even a village, basically just the hotel itself and a couple of other buildings, B&B, etc. There is probably no chip shop within 50 miles.

Yes the obvious thing to do is for them to bring their own food if they don't like the hotel's offerings or prices.

Cyril Haearn wrote:Negotiate prices, top-end mark€t$
Bizarre and fascinating, what is going on up there? What do the locals do, is there a chip shop nearby?
I should stock up on bread and cheese from the co-op and make my own meal for once

Altnaharra has a population of around 50 I’m sure the locals take or leave what they can get. I don’t think anyone will be opening a chippy anytime soon.
I think the OP should take the advice of the hotel and for 19 people accept a menu the chef feels he can provide with the resources he has available to him.
Or you could see if you can get Pizza delivered from Inverness

I was a regular visitor with my parents to the Altnaharra Hotel in the 1970s when it was basically a sporting hotel owned by two brothers (if I recall correctly - I was a schoolboy at the time).

And apologies in advance, the NC500 is (has ruined) ruining this lovely part of Scotland, and the OPs reluctance to pay good money for food and provisions underlines this.

John.

I think you have to bear in mind that you are a party of 19. That is not an easy number to cater for a la carte, especially if you all want your food served at the same time.

Although £18 may seem expensive, where I live mains in pubs are often around the £12 mark, more for something a bit more exotic. Add a starter and that price tag isn't so bad when you consider the location, logistics, etc.

I agree with others, take some food and self cater. You will probably have kettles in your rooms (check) which can be used for some instant meals. Yummee, pot noodles.

Alternatively, why not try to negotiate with the hotel. You are 19, that should bring some clout, particularly if you are prepared to go without.

Given the location the cost is not unreasonable. Getting a chef out there plus the cost of food transport and, of course, a captive and exclusive market is a simple cost factor. You can't just go to the supermarket or chippy.

Thanks gents fir the helpful advice
.I guess as expected we will absorb this one as we got no option available
I/we are frequently riding and travelling and I for one try hard to support the local economy. I seldom use Internet shops if my local shops supply at a little extra cost ???..we are not camper vans hired fron Inverness and stocking supplies up at tesco and bypassing eateryies and hotel overnight stays ...however nobody likes being made to feel fleeced ..and only wanted to know if there was alternatives around
Having read a lot of bad press from locals about the 500 destroying the area ...we all have a duty to remind ourselves that we all somehow become a statistic in an area becoming over populated by tourists
Do the people in the tourist areas not refuse the income it generates ??
Do they not refuse the inflated house prices it sometimes commands ??
And are the inhabitants of the tourists area not themselves tourists in another area of the uk/Europe/world
Via a holiday ???
Several if not most of the managment in restuareants and hotels on the 500 seemed to be from far reaches of the UK and not too mamy seemed local
Our group collectively will be contributing well over 16k to the economy providing an income not just for the owners but the extra work and jobs the tourist industry needs
Tourism is a buisness that never stops and keeps looking fir new markets that we all share in
I will be back home start of September after the ride and will advise anyone of the journey if need be
Thanks again gents
Safe riding

You're not being fleeced unless there's something I'm not understanding. A party of 19 wants to dine together in a remote hotel. We went as a smaller party to Tom Kerridge's famous pub in Marlow and were asked to choose from a limited set menu too. £18 for two courses also seems eminently fair given to logistics of running the operation where it is.