Overlooking a bay on the Argyll coast, Calum and Rachel Ross’s ‘friendly, good-value’ country house, next door to the exotic Arduaine Garden, is in ‘the most stunning spot’.

Alight from the ferry on this unspoilt island, and chances are that Ivan Lisovyy, the ‘can-do’ manager of Jane and Alex Howard’s unpretentious 18th-century inn, will be there to greet you.

‘A treat of a hotel.’ ‘It has never failed us,’ say regular guests of this ‘exceptionally pleasant’ 1840s dower house by the beautiful, wooded Pass of Killiecrankie.

Unstuffy, informal, perhaps a touch eccentric, the Macdonald family’s ‘fabulous’ Victorian country house stands in large wooded grounds with far-reaching views of Portree Bay.

‘Everything is presented with care and style’ at Sally and David Ruthven-Fox’s small hotel on the ‘peaceful shores’ of Loch Sunart.

Arrive to a complimentary glass of champagne, at Laurence and Katie Mackay’s Victorian country house hotel on the Isle of Mull.

‘Everything is done with a smile and a bit of banter’ at Jean Urquhart’s ‘warm and welcoming’ bookshop-with-rooms, formed from a clutch of whitewashed cottages in this old fishing village.

‘It’s a spectacular drive’ to this whitewashed manse in an ‘extraordinary setting’ on the west coast of Harris.

Friendly, folksy, ‘comfy and unpretentious’, Gill and Archie MacLellan’s ‘terrific inn’ stands in ‘a glorious location’ on the shores of Loch Fyne.

‘We were thoroughly spoiled.’ Mena and Robyn Aitchison are much appreciated by Guide readers for the 'wonderful hospitality’ at their ‘well-located’ Georgian stone cottage-orné outside Inverness.

‘It’s like being a guest at a country house in an extraordinarily beautiful location,’ say Guide readers this year.

The peacocks in the ‘fantastic grounds’ are but a hint of the exotic style of local restaurateur James Thomson’s characterful hotel next to Royal Holyrood Park.

Steeped in stories of baronets and scandalous affairs, Susannah and Stuart Macpherson’s ‘beautiful Georgian house’ is today a ‘simply lovely hotel’ standing in extensive gardens ‘magnificent with mature trees’.

Catch sight of this ‘impressive’ Victorian hunting lodge through the trees as you approach; closer up, discover the ‘manicured grounds’ running down to Loch Snizort.

Long praised for the generous hospitality of its hosts, Derek and Celia Kitchingman, this ‘very quiet’ 19th-century tweed mill-turned-restaurant-with-rooms on the banks of the River Gynack is gaining attention, too, for its food.

In ‘one of the wildest and most beautiful locations’, Tanja Lister and Sonia Virechauveix run their small hotel with ‘informal warmth’.

Nick and Nikki Horne run their ‘top-class hotel’ in a ‘fantastic location’ on the shores of Loch Linnhe, where the ‘beautiful vista’ stretches across the water to the islands and beyond.

‘Cherry and Gordon Gunn clearly know their stuff’, having run their ‘lovely place to stay’ for more than 30 years.

Three bay-fronted Victorian terrace town houses come together as one ‘civilised, very satisfactory’ hotel within walking distance of Princes Street and the National Gallery.

‘We needed a break from our busy day-to-day, and we got it.’

‘Talk about off the beaten track!’ Scott Meikle and Stephanie Graham’s ‘little jewel of a hotel’ stands at the end of the road, amid a vast moorland wilderness of lochs and lochans.

There are whisky and castle trails to strike out on, but begin, perhaps, with a stroll around the Matheson family’s ‘lovely’ mansion – ‘the grounds are wonderful,’ say Guide inspectors in 2017.

‘A winning example of the small “hands-on” country house genre’, the Fordyce family’s 18th-century manor house on the Solway coast is ‘charmingly run’ with old-fashioned joie de vivre.

A ‘cosy spot’ in a remote position overlooking Langass sea loch, Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower’s family-friendly former sporting lodge is ideal for guests in search of fresh air and ‘fabulous views’.