‘A haven of tranquillity and quiet comfort’, Graeme Lamb’s ‘well-run’ hotel stands in ‘a wonderful setting’ on the shore, looking across the Solway Firth to the Lake District hills.

On an island of white-sand beaches and rocky inlets (human population 135; seals, otters and eagles unnumbered), Jane and Alex Howard’s 18th-century inn sits at the centre of village life, with quiz nights and live music.

‘As excellent as ever.’ Regular guests were ‘delighted to report’ this year that this ‘wonderful’ 1840s dower house at the gateway to the Highlands ‘remains unchanged’.

‘More home than hotel’, the Macdonalds’ ‘fabulous’ Victorian country house brims with family history and aristocratic fixtures.

Amid its own grounds of lawn and woodland, on the shores of Loch Sunart, Sally and David Ruthven-Fox run a welcoming small hotel.

‘A gem of a hotel’ in ‘a beautiful situation, with a view of the loch and the occasional eagle overhead’, Laurence and Katie Mackay’s Victorian country house delighted readers again this year.

There’s ‘a good night’s sleep’ and more at Jean Urquhart’s ‘lively’ Ceilidh Place – a popular fusion of cultural hub, bookshop and small hotel, one street back from the ferry terminal.

It’s worth driving the long road to Scarista House, with its ‘well-deserved reputation for excellent feasting’ and ‘one of Britain’s most extraordinary locations’.

Approached by a private road, this ‘large, rambling but wonderful’ late Georgian mansion, in ‘magnificent grounds’, is owned and cherished by Susannah and Stuart Macpherson.

Grey seals loll the day away along an old ferry slipway on the shores of ‘wild, beautiful’ Loch Glendhu – the ‘superb setting’ for ‘hands-on, energetic’ Tanja Lister and Sonia Virechauveix’s ‘most enjoyable’ small hotel.

Famous distilleries, ‘lovely walking trails’ and trout-rich lochs are within easy reach of this traditional Scottish country hotel, an Islay fixture for over 150 years.

‘Log fires were burning in the bar and residents’ lounge when we arrived on a miserable day,’ write readers this year, of a visit to Nick and Nikki Horne’s ‘very efficiently run’ hotel on the Loch Linnhe shoreline.

Mellow sandstone battlements, turrets and towers are revealed only at the final turn of the ‘lengthy’ drive through the ‘vibrant, meticulously tended’ grounds of Paul and Poppy Szkiler’s 19th-century baronial pile.

The overnight sleeper from London arrives in the middle of nowhere in time for a breakfast of porridge with Drambuie at Scott Meikle and Stephanie Graham’s restaurant-with-rooms.

Merchant Richard Oswald, Cavens’s original owner, helped negotiate the 1783 Treaty of Paris – now this ‘charmingly run’ Georgian manor house attracts modern-day visitors in search of serenity.

‘A place in the ascendant,’ say our inspectors of Sylvia and John Matthews’s Edwardian mansion overlooking the Tweed valley.

On a winding road, past woods, ferns and steel-grey lochs, John and Susan Martin’s ‘good-value, well-located’ small hotel is ‘a haven of tranquillity and good food’.

Once the local doctor’s house, close to the town centre, this ‘well-appointed’ stone-built Victorian villa is now a modern guest house, enwrapped by ‘a pretty, surprisingly large garden’.

Having swapped the dark glitz of a Soho nightclub for the big sky splendour of loch and munro, Alice and Jade Calliva are the ‘friendly, welcoming’ and ‘highly motivated’ owners of this 18th-century former coaching inn.

A ‘little jewel’ in a secluded setting, this small baronial mansion crowns sweeping manicured lawns within acres of woodland.

Flanked by the shoreline and Muirfield golf course, and with nine other courses nearby, the Weaver family’s luxury hotel is a seaside haven for golfers.

The grounds of Lesley and Iain MacDonald’s modern B&B border Loch Broom; on a clear day, views from the shore extend to the mountains beyond.

Days spent fishing on the River Tweed, golfing or walking, unwind at this ‘excellent’, well-established 18th century hotel on the High Street of a pretty Borders town.

At a handsomely furnished 19th-century house on the Isle of Islay, a pair of ‘fabulous hosts’ offers guests a sweet welcome – with home-baked treats and a pot of tea.