Kids can eat free on famous NC500 – here’s how you can get the offer this summer

KIDS can eat for free this summer at a string of hotels in the famous NC500.

Summer can be a pricey time for families heading off on holiday.

The cost-of-living crisis can make it tricky to eat out, especially if you have a few kid to feed.

But a hotel chain, with seven venues on the north coast of Scotland, is offering free meals for children throughout the holidays.

Highland Coast Hotels has destinations in Inverness, Dornoch, Brora, Tongue, Kylesku and Plockton.

The firms’s Kids Eat Free menu includes a choice of hot, homemade meal options are available to local families and day trippers, as well as overnight guests travelling from other parts of Scotland and the rest of the UK until August 31. 

Already fully road-tested by hungry youngsters, there are options like breaded haddock goujons, macaroni cheese made with Highland Fine Cheese cheddar, golden chicken strip in a brioche bun and tomato pasta, all available during lunch and dinner service.

For those with a sweet tooth, there is also a choice of desserts priced at £3 per portion, including homemade sticky toffee pudding and a selection of Scottish ice cream.

Specially designed kids’ activity sheets will also help keep younger guests entertained, including puzzles, colouring and drawing options. 

Billy and Minette McKechnie run Highland Coast Hotels’ Royal Marine Hotel in Brora and are the proud parents of seven-year-old Zara and eight-year-old Daniella.

Minette McKechnie said: “As a mother, I think Kids Eat Free initiatives like this are a great way to make family day trips, staycations and holidays a little bit more affordable and hassle-free. 

“We’ve carefully selected a choice of hot, homemade lunches and evening meals that are sure to be a big hit with our junior guests and their families at each of our seven Highland hotels.

“Our free menu is available during lunch and dinner service is designed to help provide our mini travellers with all the fuel they need to enjoy their four-wheel adventure around the North Coast 500 throughout the summer.”

Since being established in 2021, Highland Coast Hotels has acquired seven of the region’s landmark hotels, including the award-winning Kylesku Hotel, Newton Lodge, Tongue Hotel, Plockton Inn, Royal Golf Hotel Dornoch, and Royal Marine Hotel Brora. More recently, Highland Coast Hotels added Lochardil House in Inverness to its collection. 

Reservations are essential for the Kids Eat Free menu, which is available during individual restaurant opening times and is also subject to availability.  

For more information on Highland Coast Hotels and its new ‘Kids Eat Free’ initiative, go to highlandcoasthotels.com/kidseatfree

Local families with Highland Coast Community Cards will continue to benefit from 30 per cent off drinks in the restaurants and bars in addition to the Kids Eat Free offer throughout summer 2024. 

Throughout the year, people who live within a 15-mile radius of a Highland Coast Hotel (or within a 20-mile radius of Kylesku Hotel and Newton Lodge) are eligible to apply for the Highland Coast Community Card.