Unbelievably (or at least it is for us anyway), we have been here for almost 9 months and what a 9 months it has been. So much has happened so I must ask myself...where do I begin?
I think an appropriate place to start would be the additions to the Murray family who have already had a significant impact on our lives here at the Dowans. Firstly, Bannor, our German wire haired pointer has become an increasingly interesting talking point for our guests as he hangs off and picks fights with their luggage on their entry....we have decided that he is so keen on the bags of guests that we will endeavour to train him as our new porter. We've decided to complete the look with the compulsory bell boy hat!
We also have two mallard ducks who are currently occupying the pond...although please don't tell them that the carpark isn't also their domain as they seem to have to decided that it is for themselves! I would like to say that we have names for them but alas, they have yet to fully reveal their sex in which case, we have to wait for the naming ceremony that will soon take place.
Soon to follow will be a pen of chickens! Watch this space! We have not only added to our family but have also welcomed some new members of staff who have been invaluable over such a busy summer period...we will be forever thankful and are all excited about the continuing development of our young helpers!
The excitement of the new members of the Murray family has been matched in a different format with the completion and opening of Bistro '57', our gastronomic addition to the Speyside area providing food that aims to complement the wealth of local produce whilst also invoking an atmosphere of family-friendly relaxed comfort. Features on the menu including the pasta dish, vegetarian option and catch dish change weekly and due to our close relationship with local suppliers, we regularly have additional dishes such as lobster, venison, pigeon and lamb which hopefully keeps the dining experience fresh even for those who regularly return to dine with us. Lately, we have added pizzas which, like the majority of the rest of our food, are home-made and will have ingredients that are changeable as the seasons progress. We have had very positive feedback thus far and hope to continue to pull in the guests.
We are in the process of developing our fine dining menu with our third Chef now finally in tow and so hopefully should have Spe open in the not too distant future...we are all very excited about the prospect of both restaurants being up and running at the same time. We are more than up to the challenge and can only hope that Spe turns out to be as popular as Bistro 57!
The kitchen and the work that has been done to it has certainly given us the freedom that we now have to start our fine dining menu...that, and the fantastic work that each of the Chefs has done to impact upon the development of menu ideas whilst aiming to make the Bistro 57 menu as good as it can be. It's a continuous learning process but we wouldn't be where we are without their input so thanks for that lads!
Beyond the work on the kitchen, we largely stopped the renovations to the rest of the hotel for the summer months, but now that the fishing season is almost complete and we will have a bit more time on our hands, we are about to start again with a conversion of two of our small single rooms into a decent sized suite. Luckily, we have found that both rooms have interesting features that have been previously covered such as a skylight and an old spiral staircase and therefore we will aim to include these in the conversion if at all possible. Although we are all excited, I think that mum is probably the most as she has already started talking to the rest of us about colour schemes....our blank faces are not necessarily appreciated but luckily she has suppliers that can share her dreams-how different to this time last year when we were all forced to remember and keep up with what seemed like a different idea per day! Photos will follow on our facebook page!
Talking of social networking sites, it is my almost-end-of-year resolution to start utilising our facebook and twitter accounts more in order to get the word out about what we are doing and what stage we are at with Spe, our new suite, Christmas and Hogmanay plans and anything else that might be of interest. So make sure to keep an eye on @thedowanshotel and The Dowans Hotel on Facebook.
Recently, we were mentioned in a Dominic Roskrow article, a highly respected whisky journalist, whilst he was on a canoe journey down the Spey with Spirit of Spey's Dave Craig and Spirit of Speyside director Mary Hemsworth. Click here to view the article and the rest of the Whiskeria magazine Autumn edition.
There has been so much that has happened over the summer, so many wonderful people that we have met, too many new experiences to mention, and several challenges to face and overcome in our position as newly integrated members of the hotel owners' club that it is difficult to know where to stop but I will leave this newest blog as a small catch up on where we are at and will aim to do a new blog in the not so distant future concerning specifics. Until then, watch the website for changes and news (www.dowanshotel.com).
