The Property: Knockomie Hotel is situated in an elevated position to the South of the Royal Burgh of Forres. The hotel is situated in 4 acres of lawned grounds and parkland. By car to the town centre takes 3 minutes whilst by foot it takes 20. Inverness is approximately 30 minutes drive. The hotel is easily located off the A940 Forres to Grantown on Spey road. The hotel is regularly upgraded and refurbished. The hotel is rated 4 stars by the Scottish Tourist Board, is listed in the Good Hotel Guide 2004 and recommended by Conde Nast Johansens. The Scottish Tourist Board has awarded us 3 medallions for our food.

The History: The building, which is now Knockomie Hotel, was built in 1821 and was substantially extended in 1914 and again in 1993. The house, originally owned by the Fraser family who retired to Scotland from India in 1912 was responsible for the first extension that doubled the size of the house. The house was converted to a Hotel in 1986 . In November 1987 the Ellis family purchased the hotel and extended again in 1993. The hotel is open throughout the year under the supervision of Gavin and Penny Ellis who have extensive experience in the management and operation of quality hotels throughout the UK. 
 

Your Booking: At Knockomie Hotel we firmly believe that every private booking needs our careful and individual attention. We will work hard with you to ensure your day or evening is a success. Part of our commitment to you is that we do not offer standard “packages”.
We welcome guests at any time to view our facilities but would stress that it may be difficult to spend time with you if the hotel is very busy. To ensure we have time to spend with you it is helpful to give us a call and let us know when you would like to visit.

At this first meeting we will discuss with you exactly what you require and we will show you our facilities and explain to you what we can offer. If you wish you may then make a provisional reservation. We will hold this reservation for you for 7 days to allow you to check availability of a minister or registrar. A letter of confirmation together with the appropriate deposit should follow this. We will then confirm the booking back to you. At this stage you should also book your photographer, cake, flowers, entertainment and transport. We would then like to meet with you again a few weeks before your function and discuss in detail with you your requirements. At this stage we confirm timings, drinks, menus etc. etc... We will then write to you to confirm the details we have discussed.

We ask you then to confirm these details are in order. Final details such as numbers, exact table plan etc. should then be agreed at least 48 hours before the function.

Sometimes weddings and parties are booked at fairly short notice. If this is the case all the details can be dealt with at one meeting. Many of our weddings are for couples from overseas and it is difficult to visit the hotel prior to the wedding. If this is the case we are happy to discuss details with you over the telephone and by letter, fax or email.

Getting Married: At Knockomie Hotel we can host both civil and religious weddings. Whether your marriage is to be civil or religious you still need to contact the registrar as he is responsible for all the paperwork. If you have a religious wedding he will prepare the marriage schedule for signing and you will collect it from him and return it signed after the wedding. You have a choice of a religious or civil wedding in the hotel or a wedding in a local church or in the registry office in Forres. Many of our bride and grooms come to us asking for the ceremony to take place in the hotel but we will always ask you to consider being married out with the hotel. The reason for this is that we believe a ceremony in the hotel sometimes lacks some sense of occasion. When you and your guests have all got dressed up it is special for the bride to go out to her wedding then to return, with her new husband to the reception. The decision however is left entirely to the bride and groom.

Registry Office: Many brides and grooms tell us they do not want a registry office wedding. This is usually because they have an impression that the registrar will be rushing the wedding through complete with his plastic carnation and that you will have to queue outside the office and wait your turn. That’s not what happens in Forres! You will not be in a queue or “processed”. The office, I think, married only around 100 couples in the whole of last year. The registrar Eleanor Munro is a lovely lady and she will make your wedding special. If she has more than one wedding she will not allow them to be so close together that you meet each other at the door!

Local Church: You can be married either in the St Laurence’s Church, a Church of Scotland or St John’s Episcopalian church (the Episcopalian church is very similar to the Church of England). Both churches are very friendly and are lovely places to be married. The ministers in both churches are friendly and will help make your day a great success.

Hotel: Only Eleanor Munro, the Registrar and Reverend Barry Boyd from St Laurence’s Church will marry people at the hotel. The ceremony is normally in the hotel, but, if the weather is nice, we move outside if you prefer. With the un-predictable Scottish weather it is not safe to plan an outside wedding without a fall back plan.

Numbers: We welcome weddings for any number up to 38 guests. If you do not take exclusive use of the hotel we limit the number of rooms you can book to 8. This is to ensure your comfort and that of other guests using the hotel. There is, of course, some flexibility to this rule if you are being married at a very quiet time of the year. If you have reserved all our rooms we can accommodate up to 38 guests in comfort for the wedding and reception. Should you wish to have a band playing in the evening then we ask that you reserve the 2 bedrooms above the dance floor and Bar. Although we have only 15 bedrooms there are other hotels and Bed and Breakfast houses that can provide additional accommodation.

Exclusive Use: The hotel is available for exclusive use at most times. Exclusive use entitles you to all our 15 bedrooms plus our Strathcona Room and Grill Room as required and our rates include an allowance towards dinner, bed and breakfast.

Entertainment: In order to ensure your enjoyment and also that of other guests who may be using the hotel we insist that amplified music can only be used if you have taken a minimum of the 2 bedrooms above the dance floor and bar or that you have exclusive use of the hotel. All entertainment must be agreed with us in advance.

Malt Library Bar: During your evening reception you and your guests will have full use of the library bar, this is not for your exclusive use unless you have booked the whole hotel. 

 

Smaller Parties: Our normal room rates apply to parties who do not book all our rooms.

 

Exclusive UseThe rates are per night and are based on a stay of two or more nights. Prices include our 15 bedrooms to accommodate up to 32 adults, full Scottish Breakfast, an allowance of £26.00 per person towards dinner or wedding meal, use of The Grill Room or Lounge for the wedding ceremony and private use of the Strathcona Room for dinner and VAT @ 17.5%

 

 

One night Stays: Exclusive use is for a minimum of 2 nights however there are certain times when we can accommodate one night stays. Please ask. If your stay is for one night please add 20% to the above prices.

  

Midweek Rates: In order to make savings on the costs we can offer you a discounted rate for stays that do not include Friday and Saturday nights particularly in our quieter months between November and March. Please give us an idea of your dates and we’ll give you details but we guarantee a discount of at least 10%.

 

Room Hire Charges: The Grill Room or Lounge is available for hire for the wedding ceremony at a charge of £275.00. If you have taken our exclusive use option the room is included in the exclusive use charge.

 

Corkage: We do not allow guests to consume their own drinks in the hotel and do not operate a corkage policy.

 

VAT: Please note that all our prices include VAT at 17.5%.

 

Deposits: When a wedding reception is booked a deposit of £275 plus £100 per room is required to confirm the booking. Therefore for exclusive use the deposit is £1725.00. It should be noted that in the event of a cancellation this deposit is strictly non refundable. A further deposit equal to one night’s accommodation and meal is due three months prior to the wedding with a final deposit equal to the balance of the exclusive use charge due one month prior to the wedding. Where a booking exceeds two nights alternative deposit arrangements will be notified to you.

 

Payment: We are pleased to accept Cash, Access, Visa, Amex, Switch or Delta. Credit cards used for payment will incur a 2% service charge. If you wish to pay the balance of your account by cheque you must advise us of this 10 days before the function.

 

 

Cancellation: In the event of cancellation of a confirmed booking the cancellation charge will equal the sum of deposits paid. If the booking is cancelled within three months of the date a charge equal to the full value of the booked services will be levied. We will, of course, reduce this by the value of any accommodation we are able to re-let.

 

Cancellation Insurance: Please note that insurance is available to cover any cancellation charges. We strongly recommend you insure your wedding. This insurance covers such things as illness, accident, redundancy and travel difficulties. It also covers such things as wedding photos, dresses, presents etc. It will not cover you if you simply change your mind!