IT WAS MID afternoon on one of those rare untroubled summer’s days in the Scottish Highlands.
The hotel we had just bought was beginning to reveal its secrets as we moved from room to room, cleaning, repairing and redecorating. Unpleasant surprises, in the form of damp, wet rot and dry rot discretely concealed by previous owners, greeted us at every turn. We were three weeks into our first venture as hotel owners.