Help Des and Sinead re-build The Osprey

Des and Sinead Thomson is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Please excuse the F word..

Hi, we are Des & Sinead, we are the owners and proprietors of the Osprey Hotel.

We bought the hotel which was in a state of disrepair early in 2019. We set about the transformation of the hotel from day one with a fixed conviction to make the Osprey a haven for those who seek superior comfort accompanied with exceptional hospitality. Despite the devastating arrival of Covid within months of our acquisition, we continued to sink our life savings and every waking hour into the transformation of the Osprey. After four years of dedication, we managed to transform our dreams into a reality. With hundreds of repeat and return guests The Osprey had achieved the reputation it deserved. Beautifull rooms supported with unrivalled hospitality.

Sinead and I closed the doors for the season in October 2023 for a much-needed winter break. However, to our horror, on our return on the 19th of December, a pipe in the loft had become dislodged, and for several weeks, water had been flowing through the hotel from loft to ground floor. Such was the damage, that everything we worked so hard for was destroyed. Every wall, ceiling and floor will have to be ripped out. Every door frame, door, cornice and skirting, needs replaced. All the soft furnishings, mattresses, carpets, TVs and electronics are destroyed. Our commercial kitchen equipment and dining room along with furniture and décor are also destroyed.

Disastrously, our insurance have refused cover citing the fact that we were away from the premises and out of the country in excess of thirty days.

The Osprey is our life, business and home. We will need to strip the hotel back to its joists and we will. We intend to rebuild it bigger and better. The estimated cost to do this will be in region £125,000, we will start in January 2024 and hopefully have the hotel up and running again and back to its best by May 2024.

We can raise at around half of this figure ourselves, although this will take time and hopefully with your help we can get the project started immediately, if we fall short we will approach the bank towards the end of the project, by then building will be in a good state to remortgage and release the remaining costs.

This is where “Friends of the Osprey” come in. We don’t seek charity, instead we ask for your help to get the Osprey back up and running by July. You can donate for as little as £1 or for as much as you can afford. Every donation will be turned into a refundable voucher, all we ask is that you allow us 6 months before claiming your refund. Vouchers will be transferable and will never expire.

All you need to do to cash in your voucher is to send an email to us.

Any and all support, will be greatly appreciated and hopefully your voucher will give you a good reason to start planning your visit to The Scottish Highlands or just a visit to The Osprey when we re-open.

You can follow our progress and restoration on our Facebook page.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Thanks

Des and Sinead