The Larchfield House is along the River Ness Bank walk, along with other hotels and B&Bs that are ranked high on tripadvisor.com (i.e., Felstead House, Glen Mhor Hotel). I certainly think this guesthouse should be up there as well.
The guesthouse's interior and bedrooms are lovely. The proprietors, the Houstons, have great taste in interior decoration. Their choice of paint, wallpaper, vases, and wall hangings are so elegant.
My husband and I were assigned to Room 4 and it's one of the nicest rooms we've ever been assigned to in all the years we've been vacationing in the UK. It's an L-shaped room and very roomy. (Room 2 and 5 are also nice.) The bed is firm, comfortable, and warm (love the comforter). The shower is excellent -- my husband and I found it difficult to take quick showers. It was great to linger under the hot and powerful jet of water. The room also had a pine desk with drawers, a pine armoire, and a loveseat. Around the corner is the bathroom, and beyond is a small sitting room (2 armchairs and a coffee table with cups, cookies, accoutrements for making tea and coffee). Best of all, the sitting room had a view of the River (that flows so swiftly I could look at it for hours).
Breakfast is in the lovely breakfast room where guests were attended to by Paula, a friendly young woman who made sure everyone had enough to eat for the busy day ahead. In addition to the generous full English breakfast, guests could also partake of various cereals (or porridge), fruit, juice, and as much tea/coffee or toast we they want. Of course, having a full English breakfast everyday is not healthy, so guests also have the opportunity to order ala carte, i.e., scrambled eggs on toast with tomato or sausage, or other combinations.
The proprietor, Mr. Ian Houston, is personable and quite easy to talk to. We talked to him about sports and politics, and events in the Highlands, and have found him to be quite knowledgeable. We appreciated that he is not the gushing, jovial (and ultimately annoying) host that we sometimes encounter in our travels.
Larchfield's location is excellent. We are probably 5 - 10 minutes walk from High Street, the TIC, shopping, grocery shopping (there is a Tesco across the river), good restaurants, laundrette, pubs. We enjoyed Johnny Foxes and Bar Pivo (pubs), and several wonderful restaurants all within easy walking distance (Palio, Riva, Cafe 1, Mustard Seed, and 2 tapas restaurants whose names escape me at the moment.
We took several day trips and the Larchfield is only about 10-15 minutes walk to the train and bus stations depending on pace. We had to walk through High Street, the shopping district, so sometimes I get distracted.
Overall, I would highly recommend this place for Inverness visitors!
