A new chapter for Skye’s Kinloch Lodge as historic family owners sell up
The award-winning former shooting lodge is no longer under the ownership of the Macdonald family, who’ve owned it since the 16th century and run it as a hotel for over 50 years.
The family behind Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye has announced a change of ownership from the Macdonald family to the Wickman family — fellow Skye hoteliers.
“We are delighted to be handing the keys to the Wickman family, and know they will be custodians of great integrity for Kinloch,” says Isabella Macdonald, who took over the running of Kinloch Lodge from her parents, Godfrey and Claire Macdonald, in 2010.
“Together with my parents, over more than five decades, we have established Kinloch as a hotel of global renown that feels like a family home to guests from all over the world. It means a great deal to us that the Wickman family value family hospitality as part of their vision for positive, generative tourism in our unique setting of Skye.”
The 18-bedroom hotel on the shores of Loch na Dal has been in the Macdonald family since the 16th century, becoming a shooting lodge in the early 19th century, and has been run by the family as a hotel since 1972.
In that time Kinloch Lodge has earned international recognition for its hospitality and dining: it was ranked the best hotel in Scotland in Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards 2025 and holds a Michelin Key, the Michelin Guide’s award for the world’s most outstanding hotels.
The Wickman family have kept hotels on Skye since the early 1990s, when Kevin and Mary Wickman took over the Cuillin Hills Hotel in Portree — itself originally a Macdonald family shooting lodge.
In 2024 the family acquired Flodigarry Hotel in Trotternish, another former Macdonald property, whose grounds include the cottage of Flora MacDonald, celebrated for her part in the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie after Culloden. Kevin and Mary’s son, Edward, now leads the family business.
With Kinloch Lodge joining the Cuillin Hills and Flodigarry hotels, the family now cares for three storied and distinct hotels on Skye, each with its own historic connection to Clan Donald.
Edward Wickman, managing director of Wickman Hotels Ltd, said: “We have a great deal of respect for the legacy of the Macdonald family in hospitality and tourism, on Skye and beyond- and we are very conscious of the responsibility that comes with continuing it. Kinloch is not a hotel to be reinvented; it is a hotel to be looked after. Our ambition is a simple one: three very special hotels, in three very different corners of this extraordinary island, each telling its own part of Skye’s story.”
Taking ownership of Kinloch with immediate effect, the Wickman family is keen to reassure the hotel’s loyal guests, employees and network of suppliers and collaborators that it is business as usual.
“Continuity, quality and consistency are paramount in our commitment as Kinloch’s new owner-operators,” said Edward Wickman. “It is the feeling of Kinloch — the amazing team, the award-winning food, the Macdonald portraits and the stirring views — that people travel for and return to, time and again, and none of that changes.
“Over the coming years we will invest carefully and substantially in the fabric of the hotel: a phased £1.6 million programme that will enhance what guests love about Kinloch rather than alter it. We look forward to welcoming guests, longstanding and newcomers, to Kinloch and to Skye for generations to come.”
The Macdonald family were advised by Savills. Steven Fyfe, director in the hotel capital markets team at Savills Scotland, said: “Kinloch Lodge is a unique hotel on Skye with a global reputation for excellence.
“The Wickman family will continue the excellent work the Macdonalds have carried out over the years, and their experience in running a small group of successful hotels on the island made it clear that they would be the ideal purchasers.”
Wickman Hotels acquisition of Kinloch Lodge was supported by Handelsbanken’s Northern Scotland Branch. Corporate banking manager Barrie Aird said: “Handelsbanken is delighted to be supporting Wickman Hotels in the next stage of their growth strategy.
“As a local relationship bank, we understand the importance of being an integral part of the local community. The acquisition of Kinloch Lodge Hotel on the south side of Skye is an excellent opportunity to expand their hotel portfolio across the island, building on their reputation for delivering a high-quality visitor experience, supporting local suppliers, employment, and contributing to the local visitor economy. “
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