From Building Site to Boutique Retreat: The Story Behind Coorie
How it started
Three years ago, this was a remote plot of land near Portpatrick, nothing more. No lodges, no domes, no hot tubs steaming into the evening air. Just an idea, and a fair amount of stubbornness.
Coorie began as a passion project: a chance to build somewhere that did things differently. Not a standard glamping site with a row of identical pods, but a collection of handcrafted lodges and geodomes, each one built for the same simple purpose. Slowing down. Switching off. Getting properly reconnected with nature, rather than just looking at it through a window.
It took a lot of hands, a lot of long days, and a fair bit of learning as we went. What came out the other end was somewhere we were genuinely proud to open the gate on.
Going viral, quietly
We never set out to go viral. What we set out to do was build somewhere honest, somewhere that felt like itself rather than like every other retreat nearby. Turns out that’s exactly what people were looking for.
Through a strong sense of place and storytelling that never tried too hard, Coorie found its way to over 50,000 followers on Instagram, and more than 130,000 across platforms altogether. Not through paid pushes or polished campaigns, but through real moments: steam rising off a hot tub on a cold morning, a Highland cow leaning over a fence for a scratch, guests sharing their own stays because they genuinely wanted to.
It’s a strange thing, watching a place you built with your own hands become something people recognise. Good strange, but strange all the same.
Evolving into rustic, considered luxury
Every retreat goes through chapters, and Coorie is no different. What started as a colourful, eclectic aesthetic, full of personality and playfulness, has grown into something a little more refined. Rustic charm, considered luxury. The same warmth, just with more intention behind every choice.
Part of that evolution has been the launch of our Wild Wellness Spa, a natural next step for a brand that was always about restoration as much as comfort. It’s not about polish for its own sake. It’s about making sure the experience matches the care that went into building the place in the first place.
What makes Coorie unmistakably Coorie
Strip away the hot tubs and the spa and the cinema screens, and what’s left is something harder to copy: a sense of place. Scottish heritage, told properly rather than as decoration. Countryside calm that doesn’t need explaining. Tartan pyjamas waiting in your lodge. Curated Scottish produce in your welcome hamper. A bit of whimsical local music drifting from somewhere. Storytelling that feels cinematic because the place genuinely earns it.
None of that is manufactured. It’s simply what happens when you build somewhere with real care, and let it become itself over time.
Where we’re headed next
This is very much still a story in progress. We’ve got plans to grow to nine units on site, alongside a yoga studio, an on-site shop and an even more considered spa experience. Further down the line, we’re exploring what a Coorie might look like beyond the Rhins altogether.
Wherever that road leads, the same principles will come with us: honesty, a strong sense of place, and a retreat that never feels like it’s trying too hard to be one.
Thank you for being part of the story so far.
