‘Graeme Lamb’s beautiful hotel is one of our favourites,’ writes a Guide reader this year, of this ‘peaceful, well-maintained’ place in an ‘idyllic’ setting by the water.

Carefree informality and an unpretentious ambience reign at this white-painted 18th-century inn, minutes up a single-track road from the ferry.

On this ‘very special’ island off the Isle of Mull, ‘charming’ owners Wendy and Rob MacManaway create a homely, relaxing atmosphere at their ‘informal’ 19th-century former crofter’s cottage, its lawns tumbling down to the rocky shoreline.

‘There is a wonderful balance of hospitality and efficiency at this long-established hotel,’ say regular Guide correspondents, of Henrietta Fergusson’s much-liked 19th-century dower house, at the entrance to the beautiful, wooded Pass of Killiecrankie.

‘Luxurious’, ‘relaxing’, ‘warmly welcoming’, Katherine and Geoffrey Smeddle’s rustic restaurant-with-rooms receives rave reviews from trusted correspondents, whose reports earn it a full entry in the Guide.

Soak in the house-party atmosphere at the Macdonald family’s country pile, a ‘fabulous’ house standing peacefully in acres of mature wooded gardens, with views of Portree Bay.

A passion for all things Orcadian is evident in this award-winning restaurant-with-rooms overlooking Scapa Flow. From the art and craft pieces on display in the fire-warmed lounge, to the stone-ground beremeal flour in the home-baked bere bunno loaf, local wins the day.

‘Hurray! This is how a good hotel should be,’ crow Guide inspectors in 2016. ‘You immediately feel, as you walk in the door, that they’re keen to make you feel at home.’

The surroundings are vast: well-kept lawns lead to thick woodland; there are waterfalls, a tumbling burn, an old Victorian trout pond and a private beach. Inside this pretty Victorian hunting lodge, however, things shrink down to a human scale, as hosts Laurence and Katie Mackay create a ‘house- party atmosphere’.

‘Lovely, warm and welcoming, it is one of our favourite places to stay.’ Formed from a collection of whitewashed cottages in a fishing village, Jean Urquhart’s unusual bookshop-with-rooms began in 1970 as a café in a boatshed, where musicians could sing for their supper.

In a ‘remarkable’ setting on the remote west coast of Harris, this ‘peaceful’ whitewashed manse soothes frazzled souls with the ‘wonderfully laid-back, professional’ hospitality within.

There is nothing dour about this ‘pleasant, peaceful’ guest house much loved by Guide readers.

Watch the Arctic terns tumble above Wester Sound in this ‘beautiful, peaceful, unusual’ spot, where Pierre Dupont runs a laid-back hotel in his 18th-century house.

A long drive on a single-track country road leads to this Georgian house built for a baronet, today an ‘outstanding’ traditional hotel owned by Stuart and Susannah Macpherson.

There are ‘dramatic’ views of the ferries on Oban bay from Leslie and Margaret Crane’s ‘excellent’ hotel, to be sure, but there’s much interest within the Georgian stone mansion as well, say guests this year.

In an ‘interesting’ spot in Scotland, ‘very friendly’ hosts Celia and Derek Kitchingman run their ‘lively’ restaurant-with-rooms in a former tweed mill on the banks of the River Gynack.

‘Absolutely charming’ owners, ‘wonderful’ food and an atmosphere of ‘informal warmth’ draw fans to this well-loved hotel in ‘one of the wildest and most beautiful locations’.

From the watercolour paintings and home-made fruitcake to the woodland and garden dotted with ‘daffodils everywhere’, countryside charisma fills this gracious guest house on the edge of Crailoch Burn.

Regular guests speak with fondness of Cherry and Gordon Gunn’s ‘delightful’ B&B, in an extended 17th-century farmhouse.

Come hungry. Overlooking Lochinver Bay, this modest restaurant-with-rooms is owned and run by self-taught chefs/patrons Lesley Crosfield and Colin Craig, who hold a Michelin star for their modern Scottish cooking.

‘We had a fantastic stay, with an excellent welcome; dinner was as good as we’d hoped.’ At ‘the back of beyond’ – ‘which is, of course, part of its charm’ – a single-track road leads to Shirley and Eddie Spear’s low-built, whitewashed restaurant-with-rooms overlooking Loch Dunvegan.

Life slows down at this informal, ‘beautifully remote’ hotel, which stands amid the ‘captivating wild scenery’ of uninhabited moorland.

Once thought of as the most beautiful Regency house in Scotland (it was designed by Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson), this ‘wonderful’ luxury hotel is owned and run by the Matheson family.

‘On a wild winter night, we received a warm welcome by owner/host/chef/tout-rond-bon-oeuf Angus Fordyce and his wife,’ writes a regular Guide reader in 2016.