With alfresco hospitality set to reopen from 6 July and restaurants from 16 July, many are preparing outdoor areas for dining, including Balbirnie House Hotel in Fife.
The award-winning hotel and wedding venue has two dining options – the Orangery and the Bistro - which have been closed to the public due to the lockdown restrictions in place.
But now the hotel staff are planning to utilise the 400 acres of ground that the house sits in by offering guests the option to dine in outdoor 'hygge' style pods.
Posting on their social media, the team said: "We are used to flipping gardens into a wedding setting, even a space for a photo shoot, but flip it in to an unparalleled dining experience?
"Sure, no Biggie! We CANNOT wait to welcome you back and invite you to try our very ' hygge' dining pods. We have worked tirelessly to bring you a new normal way of dining, with safety, comfort and tasty at the forefront."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMDJAqg7KG/
The outdoor dining will reopen on Monday 6 July with bookings being taken now online here.
Last year Balbirnie House Hotel was named as the World’s Best Destination Wedding Hotel in an international awards ceremony held in Malaysia.
Balbirnie is not the only Scottish hotel to adapt to the circumstances and offer alfresco alternatives to guests.
Last month the Chester Hotel in Aberdeen announced they had a range of outdoor options including igloo style dining pods and a huge marquee.
This marquee space, along with the canopied patio, will give, with appropriate social distancing, space for around 100 guests.
In addition, there will be two ‘Eden Project style’ transparent domes, in which guests can dine.
These vented ‘igloos’ will be constructed at the front of the hotel and customers will be able to pre-book the structures for small groups of up to eight to meet and dine in.
996 bookings were taken in the first hour of bookings opening for The Gallery Al Fresco Experience, which will open on 8 July, Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 10pm. Within two hours the total rose to almost 1400 bookings.
Scottish hotel to install 'eden project' style domes for alfresco dining - here's how it'll work
