Ardbeg House - Twelve Rooms, A Boat Over The Bar And A Whisky You Can’t Buy Anywhere Else

The trip starts with a 25-minute flight from Glasgow on a 19-seat propeller plane with tartan headrests and a free Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer. It ends in Port Ellen, on Islay’s south coast, at a former hotel that now has a fishing boat hanging above its bar, barstools made from old tractor seats and hand-painted toilet seats in every room.

Ardbeg House opened in September 2025 and belongs to the company behind the Ardbeg distillery. Each of its 12 rooms tells a different Islay story, and in each one you can hunt for a hidden miniature bottle of whisky and keep it if you find it. Three of the Ardbeg whiskies on the shelves are sold only here.

A Small Island With A Lot Of Distilleries

Islay is part of the Inner Hebrides, off Scotland’s west coast. It is roughly the size of Singapore but has about 3,500 residents. Port Ellen is a harbor village, and the hotel sits in the building that used to be the Islay Hotel, next to a small Spar supermarket.

The Ardbeg distillery is a few minutes away by car, and a distillery tour with transfers is part of every stay. A path along the coast links three distilleries and passes Laphroaig and Lagavulin on its way to Ardbeg. Other things worth doing nearby include the Oa RSPB Reserve, where a walk leads to the American Monument. It commemorates two ships, the Tuscania and HMS Otranto, lost off Islay during the First World War.

There is also Singing Sands beach, with its dark volcanic rocks, and Lagavulin beach. Sea eagles, Highland cows and goats have all been spotted in the area. The hotel can also arrange a peat-cutting session, where you learn to dig with a traditional spade, and a boat trip along the coast to the distillery.

From Mothballed Distillery To Hotel

Ardbeg dates back to 1815, but its history has not been smooth. The distillery was mothballed in the 1980s and produced nothing until 1989. In 1997 the Glenmorangie Company bought it and invested in buildings, equipment and production. The company had already opened a whisky hotel at Glenmorangie House, near Tain in the Highlands, with interiors by Russell Sage Studio, the same designer behind the Fife Arms in Braemar.

For Islay, the company took over the Islay Hotel building and brought Russell Sage back for the interiors. The studio worked with more than 20 Scottish and Islay artisans. Copper from a retired still is built into the walls, and warm copper tones on walls and ceilings refer to the distillery’s stills.

Peat smoke shows up in the swirling patterns of carpets and wallpapers, and in the scented candles and diffusers. A lot of the furniture and objects were repurposed from around the island, and local people contributed work, stories and even handmade chocolates.

The hotel’s mascot is a Jack Russell Terrier who was a familiar sight at the distillery. He turns up in paintings, on salt and pepper shakers and on silk eye masks.

The Islay Bar

The bar is open to everyone, not just people staying at the hotel, and locals and visitors share it. A fishing boat hangs from the ceiling with nets strung around it. The bar top is green marble, in a color picked to echo Islay’s grass, and some tables are shaped like mechanical cogs.

The barstools are repurposed tractor seats of the kind local farmers used. On the walls, colorful textile art hangs that was made by Islay Quilters. A local duo has played banjo and accordion here, and the lighting leans toward disco.

Besides whisky, you can order wine, craft beer, small-batch gin and cocktails. One of them, the Solam’s Ruin, combines whisky with lemon, Aperol and a little chili. The bar also stocks products from island makers, including brewers, distillers, bakers, butchers and beekeepers.

The bar carries more than 100 whiskies, and not only Ardbeg. The shelves include bottles from other Islay distilleries such as Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Bruichladdich and Lagavulin. Staff are famous for their whisky knowledge, and in the evening one of them wheels a drinks trolley around the dining room, so you can try a dram after dinner.

Signature Restaurant

The restaurant serves modern Scottish food built around Islay ingredients, and it is open to non-residents too. The bread is made from grist, the milled grain that goes into the whisky. Crab and prawns come from “Boo” at The Seafood Shack along the coast. Hand-dived scallops are collected by Gus, a local skipper from Islay Sea Adventures. Beef from Cornabus Farm is smoked for 12 hours over staves from Ardbeg’s own barrels.

For small groups there is a private dining room, with an octopus chandelier overhead. Outside, the Courtyard has a custom-built Ardbeg grill and smoker, and a green hot rod tractor.

The Rooms: Twelve Themes, And Hidden Miniatures

Each of the 12 rooms has its own theme drawn from Islay’s history, legends and characters. The themes include smugglers’ coves, sea monsters, monks, myths and northern raiders. Every room has custom carpets, wallpaper and furniture, with 24 bespoke wallpapers across the hotel. Keys come in large, jailer-style bunches. In each room you’ll find one miniature bottle of whisky hidden somewhere, plus clues to local myths worked into the artwork.

There are three categories. The House Rooms are the snuggest: Smoke, Founders, Fèis, Creation and Illicit. The Superior Rooms (Wee Beastie, Legend and Wild) are larger. The Premium Suites (Monster, Rebel, Untamed and Invention) are the biggest.

Fèis (House Room): A Bed Built Like A Piano

Fèis is named for Fèis Ìle, Islay’s annual festival of music and culture, and the room is built around music. The headboard is a baby grand piano and the dresser is another piano. The ceiling light is made from three gramophones, and traditional drums serve as bedside tables.

As in every room, there is a trail of clues to the hidden miniature, and in some rooms it ends in a secret wall compartment.

Illicit (House Room): Smuggled Whisky And A Gold Bathroom

Illicit refers to the secret, untaxed whisky production that went on in coves and corners across Islay. The headboard represents a cove. The bathroom has gold walls and a marble shower and sink, and a small skylight gives a view over Port Ellen Bay.

Legend (Superior Accessible): The Fully Adapted Room

Legend is on the first floor and is the hotel’s fully accessible room. Its large bathroom is the one Russell Sage himself likes best. Dogs are welcome here, but you need to contact the hotel beforehand. The hotel has a lift too, in case you were wondering.

Wee Beastie (Superior Room): Knitted Crabs And Snakeskin-Style Walls

In Wee Beastie, knitted crabs by Sue Titterington creep around the room, and the wallpaper is snakeskin-style. It can be linked with the Monster room to form a larger suite.

Rebel (Premium Suite): An Admiral’s Hat And A Mischief Maker

Rebel pays tribute to Sean O’Leary, a late Islay artist remembered as a “mischief maker”. An admiral’s hat wound with fairy lights recalls the one he used to wear to parties, and a portrait of him hangs in the room.

Untamed (Premium Suite): The Big & Bold

Untamed is a Premium Suite with a sofa bed. The standout piece is a silver wardrobe adorned with Gaelic graffiti that spells out Ardbeggian words such as “big” and “bold”.

The room also has a patchwork throw and a hanging installation made from Ardbeg tweed.