It is early days at Silverwood lodges at Inchoonans, just outside the village of Errol, but the potential is enormous.

The plan for luxury accommodation is underway, with around 10 lodges already on site, and they are impressive, but the plan is for much more.

Rod and Adelle Sim are the couple with the big ideas, and they have plans and investment to have 19 lodges, and a bistro which will seat 100 diners.

And being perfectly placed to offer accommodation to the four top wedding venues nearby, it has given the couple the idea to offer their own wedding venue, as they plan to buy a bespoke marquee. Offering the whole package, the wedding, the venue and the accommodation all in one.

At the moment, the site is still developing its identity. The trout-stocked pond, which will be the view from the bistro which is planned for early next year, is in place. There’s plenty to do in both Dundee and Perth to fill your time, but the addition of a bistro would certainly bring some heart to the resort, without the need to be travelling.

“For us, the icing on the cake was to secure planning permission for our very own Bistro, which will offer delicious food created with locally sourced ingredients,” said Adelle. 

“It will have the capacity to host weddings and events, and will be open to non-residents, proving a pleasant venue in which to sit and enjoy a meal whilst looking out over the wildlife pond.”

Speaking about their lodges, Adelle adds: “We think we have got the look and feel of the lodges just right. We didn’t want to have hot tubs which takes ages to heat up, and can be difficult to clean, and so we have our spa lodges as we call them, with large indoor spa baths, with access out to a decked terrace. We have lodges suitable for the family market, sleeping six, with comfy sofas, widescreen TV’s and double walk in showers, and, our Hideaway Lodge, which is a luxurious retreat for four, perhaps two couples staying together.”

It was the couple’s own wedding, at nearby venue, Errol Park, a newly launched wedding venue at the time, that prompted them to reconsider their plans for the twenty acre site, which is set amongst picturesque scenery.

“Errol Park was stunning, and we had a truly amazing day, but there wasn’t enough accommodation for all our guests who were coming to the wedding,” said Rod Sim.

“We realised that there was a distinct lack of good quality accommodation in the whole area. Our guests had to end up staying in various places some distance away, and were then bussed to the venue, which was costly and not ideal.”

During our visit, we stayed in a two-bedroom spa lodge. It has two double bedrooms with deck at both the front and back of the property, a spacious lounge and kitchen with everything you could ever need. The level of internal finish was impressive.

While there, we spent most of our time in Dundee, sadly the weather didn’t really allow us to investigate the local area on foot. The recently opened V&A Museum in Dundee took up an hour, and to be honest, we were quite disappointed.

The building is stunning inside, and the views from inside over the Tay bridge are pretty special. But we didn’t fancy paying the £30plus it would cost for the three of us to get into the exhibition that wasn’t free (it was on Ocean Liners, and I’m sure it was worth a visit, but with two tweenagers, it wasn’t top of our list).

We went next door to the Discovery Centre, which gives a full and wonderfully immersive journey with Captain Scott and his men on his first trip to Antartica on board the RRS Discovery steam ship, which is docked outside the museum.

There was a cost for entry, but it was worth every penny. The story of the ship and the men on board had us emotionally invested on who was there and why. If you get the chance, make time to go to it.

Investment

As well as working hard on their accommodation and bistro, the couple have decided to offer some of the lodges as an investment opportunity.

They are selling some of the lodges as a managed financial investment, with prices ranging from £115,000 and £245,000.

Mr Sim, who also owns Auchterhouse-based tank driving business Tank Driving Scotland, added: “Lodges are the new buy to lets. You don’t have any of the stamp duty, estate agent fees or second home tax.

“It would be a fully managed investment, says Rod, “Recent reports suggest that luxury resort parks are very vibrant at the moment, and we would certainly agree, with a number of investors currently waiting to sign missives on lodge sales as managed financial investments with a great return.

“We won’t be complacent though, and will be building on wedding business over the winter, and looking forward to the launch of the Bistro,” said Rod. “The recent opening of the V&A in Dundee can only be good for local trade too, as clearly there is going to be a surge in demand for local accommodation, of which we’re well placed to take full advantage.”

www.silverwoodlodges.co.uk