20 of the most beautiful hotels in Scotland
Forss House - 'Escape to the Scottish Wilderness' Special Offer
Thurso
The River Forss loops around this late Georgian Highland retreat in wooded grounds, today a dog-friendly hotel that is ideal for anglers, with shooting, stalking and hiking also on offer.
Trigony House - Early Bird Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Special Offer
Thornhill
Jan and Adam Moore’s relaxed, pet-friendly country hotel is in an 18th-century sporting lodge surrounded by mature gardens and woodland.
The Peat Inn
Cupar
Lending its name to the hamlet that grew up around it, this former coaching inn turned restaurant-with-rooms held Scotland’s first Michelin Star in 1987.
The Airds Hotel
Port Appin
A ‘lovely mix of quiet seaside, stunning hillside and island life’ can be found here, by Loch Linnhe, and within easy reach of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Knockinaam Lodge
Portpatrick
‘A stiff walk from Portpatrick along the cliffs’ brings you to Sian and David Ibbotson’s Victorian hunting lodge overlooking the Irish Sea.
Kilcamb Lodge
Strontian
You need to take a ferry crossing before traversing a mountain pass and a deep glen to arrive at this ‘superb country house in a remote and extraordinary setting’ with a private beach on a loch shore with mountain views.
Scarista House
Isle of Harris
There are few more remote hotels in the Guide than this Georgian former manse, in a ‘spectacular’ setting between a white-sand beach and heather-clad mountains.
Coul House
Strathpeffer
A private road leads to this singular Georgian mansion in lovely gardens and grounds, with ancient trees, a pitch-and-putt area, and a fairy trail through the rhododendrons for children.
Kylesku Hotel
Kylesku
Ferries no longer skim across Loch Glendhu to Kylestrome, but you can still watch the day’s catch being landed on the slipway, from Tanja Lister and Sonia Virechauveix’s 17th-century coaching inn turned award-winning hotel.
The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By
Isle of Skye
In the remote north of Skye, a whitewashed stone crofter’s cottage overlooking Loch Dunvegan, with views to the peaks of Harris and North Uist, is home to an ambitious restaurant-with-rooms.
Moor of Rannoch-Restaurant & Rooms
Rannoch Station
The phrase ‘in the middle of nowhere’ takes on real meaning when you step down from the overnight sleeper for a stay at Scott and Stephanie Meikle’s remote restaurant-with-rooms.
Cavens
Dumfries
Jane and Angus Fordyce demonstrate ‘a rare combination of relaxed professionalism and high standards’, says a visitor to their Georgian country house.
Glenfinnan House Hotel
Fort William
You can almost hear the skirling of pipes as you gaze across Loch Shiel from Jane MacFarlane’s waterside mansion to the Glenfinnan Monument and distant Ben Nevis.
Loch Melfort Hotel
Oban
In 17 acres of gardens and beach on the Argyll coast, Calum and Rachel Ross’s hotel drinks in the views across Asknish Bay and the island-studded Sound of Jura.
Kinloch House
Blairgowrie
Highland cattle in their jaunty headgear graze fields around this creeper-swagged Victorian country house (Relais & Châteaux), where the Allen family provide ‘a masterclass’ in hotel-keeping, bringing ‘perfection in every respect’.
Ardanaiseig
Kilchrenan
Swing round a winding road to this turreted, Jacobean-style baronial mansion – ‘a palatial old joint’ – in a ‘beautiful’ setting on the shores of Loch Awe.
Ballathie House
Stanley
A Victorian ghost, a Russian duke and a former Prince of Wales have all graced this ‘lovely’ Scottish country house in a ‘delightful position’ on the River Tay.
Boath House
Nairn
Hotel grounds don’t get much more ‘exquisite’ than at Don and Wendy Matheson’s ‘beautiful if unadorned’ Georgian mansion, sitting amid 22 acres of lawns, meadows and woodland.
Killiecrankie Hotel
Pitlochry
Sadly, Killiecrankie will close at the end of October 2020 following the death of its inspirational owner, Henrietta Fergusson. She was loved by the Guide and its readers.
This selection is taken from our hotels in Scotland.