BY SUSAN YOUNG
ART AT THE HEART W
hen Frances Ryan got in touch to say that the Crinan Hotel had been in the family for 50 years my curiousity was more than piqued. Now, having interviewed Frances and daughter Julia, I realise that even if I visited every weekend for the next 50 years I don’t think I would grow tired of their stories. I am just sorry I never got to meet Nick Ryan, Frances’ husband who died a year ago, but he certainly left the hotel and his family legacy in good hands. The Crinan Hotel has had its fair share, and continues to have its fair share, of celebrity and royal guests. Nick Ryan once described the range of guests the hotel had as “Artistic, alcoholic and affluent”. And having seen the
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guest list I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall... from Dave Brubeck to Sean Connery, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber to European Royalty, even Scottish hospitality guru Ken McCulloch had his wedding reception there. I caught up with Frances and Julia at the hotel and we headed up to the top floor for our interview. There with the most spectacular views across Loch Crinan to Jura surrounding us we talked and talked. Today Frances is a hotelier, artist and fashionista, with an infectious laugh and a gracious persona. She arrived at Crinan five days after she got married and she has been at the hotel ever since, and although it was her husband who for 45 years was mine host, and one of the greatest characters in hospitality,