ABOUT US

We’re a small, family-owned business aiming to create the perfect retreat for exploring the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Once Kentallen’s railway station, the Holly Tree Hotel has been lovingly transformed over the years. We’ve added a swimming pool, a luxurious hot tub spa, our stunning Kentallen Beach Houses, and improved our waterfront lodges with hot tubs and countless upgrades—all to ensure a sensational stay by Loch Linnhe. 

HISTORY

The Appin Murder of 1752, brought to life in Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel "Kidnapped," is more than just a story—it happened close to home! It’s a tale of clan rivalry between the Campbells, who supported the Hanoverian government, and the Jacobite Stewarts of Appin. The "Red Fox," Colin Campbell of Glenure, a government agent, was on his way to evict a tenant when he was shot in the back near a holly tree, not far from here. Suspicion fell on Alan Breck Stewart, the lively character from the book, but he fled—probably innocent. Instead, James Stewart, who’d hosted Breck, was arrested. At his trial in Inverary, with eleven of the fifteen jurors being Campbells, he was found guilty of aiding the murder and hanged at what’s now Ballachulish Bridge. Most agree he had little to do with it, and the trial was hardly fair.

KENTALLEN RAILWAY STATION

So where does The Holly Tree Hotel fit in? The murder happened near a holly tree, and when Kentallen Railway Station was turned into the building you see today, the name felt just right. As for the building’s own story, it began in the 1890s when a railway line was built from Oban to Ballachulish. Kentallen Station, styled after the great Charles Rennie Mackintosh, opened in 1903, and a pier was added for shipping out Kentallen stone and Ballachulish slate. Back then, a steamer ran between Oban and Fort William, stopping at Kentallen when tides and demand allowed. But by the 1960s, with quarries closing and cars taking over, the line wasn’t worth keeping. Dr. Beeching, head of British Railways, reviewed the network and suggested shutting down thousands of rural stations, including Kentallen. The whole line closed in 1965.

THE BEGINNING OF THE HOLLY TREE

After the closure, the station was sold off. The tea-room stuck around for a bit before becoming a restaurant in the 1970s, then a hotel, first known as The Old Station. In 1979, ten loch-view ensuite bedrooms were added, and in 2007, ten more came along—six with private balconies—plus a swimming pool, sauna, Captain’s Bar, and decking. Later, we added waterfront lodges, a hot tub spa, a sea-view terrace, and beach houses with their own hot tubs. Though the building itself has undergone considerable development, you can still spot bits of its railway past, like the old pier. 

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