Beyond ‘splendid wrought iron gates’, a ‘beautifully wooded half-mile drive’ leads to Paul and Poppy Szkiler’s towered and turreted Victorian pile, with a fountain ‘dominating the forecourt'.

‘Top of the range in every respect.’ Much praise from a Guide stalwart after this year's visit to the MacRobert Trust’s ‘wonderful’ hotel bordering the Cairngorms national park.

Light, bright and full of life, Sean and Karen O’Byrne’s super-modern, eco-friendly house is all Scandi style and floor-to-ceiling windows offering memorable views of Loch Creran.

‘A beautiful hotel with wonderful food and lovely young staff.’ Readers this year loved their stay at Don and Wendy Matheson’s Georgian mansion in gardens and parkland.

South of Goat Fell’s pyramidal peak, this child-friendly destination is a large resort on the Isle of Arran.

An Edinburgh icon for over a century, this Victorian railway stop-over is today a thoroughly 21st-century hotel (Rocco Forte Hotels).