‘Happily, as good as ever,’ writes a Guide reader this year, revisiting Graeme Lamb’s ‘well-run’ hotel on the Solway Firth, where the views stretch across the bay towards the hills of Cumbria.

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.

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

‘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.

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’.

Sit on the terrace of Leslie and Margaret Crane’s ‘relaxed, friendly’ Georgian stone mansion overlooking Oban bay, and watch the ferries slip out of the harbour, bound for the Isles.

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.

‘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.

‘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’.

Patricia Watt’s rural hotel on the Cowal peninsula faces green fields close to the shoreline where cattle once crossed the water to the Isle of Bute.

Ten minutes’ drive from the ferry, Anne Gracie and Ken Gunn’s whitewashed hotel has ‘fine views’ across the Sound of Sleat.

In walking country, this Edwardian stone house, originally built for a mill owner’s bride, is today a fine small hotel owned by Sylvia and John Matthews.

Follow the fabled Road to the Isles and pass the head of Loch Shiel to reach Ina and Kieron Kelly’s 17th-century coaching inn, today a friendly family-run hotel with ‘comfortable bedrooms’ and ‘outstanding meals’.

‘Old-fashioned in the best way’, the Harrison family’s ‘lovely, eclectic guest house’ on the shores of Loch Ewe is run by ‘friendly, informative hosts who make a real effort to ensure every guest is taken care of’.

Tramp along the banks of nearby rivers Tummel and Tay, then back through woodland towards the McGown family’s friendly country hotel in a 17th-century turreted stone house just outside the town.