The young couple not only lives their dream, but also writes history. Hunt, who was 31 when they bought Kilmartin, told Insider: “When we bought it there was an article saying we were the youngest castle owners in Scotland.”
Hunt said in the same interview that they had struggled to find a “quirky medieval castle”, until they came across Kilmartin. The young castle owner said, “All the castles we’ve been to, from the outside they look like big castles, and then you walk into the Marriott.”
Although they wanted the decor to have a rustic feel, there was a lot of work to do before they could start their business. “Things were getting worse all the time,” Hunt said. “Just like things explode or pipes break when they freeze.”
“It was crap, we have to do it right or it will cost us a lot of money again,” added Hunt. “So we moved back to Dubai and moved in with our friends Will and Brett and lived a really economical life for a few years.”
Hunt and Bourgon said that although they saved $111,600 during their stay in Dubai, the renovation “swallowed up” their original budget and cost them more than $313,000. However, the expensive renovations were worth it, and now business is booming and the hotel is making money. “It basically works without us,” Hunt said. “We have too many employees, we have gardeners once a week, we have three cleaners, we have our chef and our handyman.
