ARDLUI RETREAT CHALETS
Ardlui Retreat, a popular tourist accommodation site, is situated at the north-western tip of Loch Lomond located, overlooking the loch, directly off the A82 adjoining Ardlui Marina. The site is located in The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park and is within the National Scenic Area. The lightly wooded site, which extends to 2 acres, originally comprised of 4no. 6 person family holiday homes with an associated sauna and gym. ICDP were employed to design a series of 8 holiday chalets to replace those existing and to renovate the main holiday house, enhancing the whole site to a create a 5 star destination.
The new and replacement chalets are high quality contemporary holiday dwellings inspired by traditional Scottish architecture. They have steeply pitched roofs with low eaves that reference traditional lochside dwellings. Due to this typology, the second floor has a reduced scale that gives greater prominence to the spaces between the chalets. The chalets have large areas of glazing that provide views to the loch and surrounding landscape whilst flooding the internal spaces with natural light. The new chalets have been positioned within existing clearings in the development and on the site of existing chalets (in the case of replacement chalets). The open space around chalets 1 to 3 on the green area of the site adjacent to the main road has been planted and landscaped to enhance bio-diversity, increase landscape character and provide natural screening. The final layout gives the site a natural, non-regimented appearance with a focus on the landscape features rather than the built form.
Further to the new chalets and improved main house, a gym, sauna, and BBQ hut have been added to the site. A floating dock also provides access to the Loch itself, with a yacht and jet skis readily available for hire. These unique features really create a sense of luxury and make Ardlui Retreat a highly desirable destination.
