‘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’.

An 18th-century former coaching inn, which gave its name to the village that grew up around it, is run today as a restaurant-with-rooms by chef/proprietor Geoffrey Smeddle and his wife, Katherine.

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

A passion for all things Orcadian infuses this ‘delightful’ and ‘welcoming’ restaurant-with-rooms overlooking Scapa Flow and the southern Orkney islands.

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’.

‘This is not just a good hotel but a very good hotel.’ High praise this year from a trusted reader, for every aspect of the hospitality at Lord and Lady Macdonald’s historic former hunting lodge on the Isle of Skye.

‘What a gem!’ Robyn and Mena Aitchison, the ‘charming’ owners, run this ‘extremely pleasant small B&B’ with ‘wonderful hospitality.’

In ‘an extraordinarily beautiful location’ on Shetland’s wild West coast, ‘charming, unobtrusive host’ Pierre Dupont runs his guest house on informal lines.

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.

A stone villa built in 1870 for the Duke of Argyll, Leslie and Margaret Crane’s small, friendly hotel looks out over Oban Bay to Lismore, the Morvern hills and Mull.

‘The best hotel break we have ever had’ was enjoyed by visitors this year to William and Sonia Marshall’s Victorian villa.

‘Derek and Celia are just fabulous,’ praised visitors this year. ‘Friendly, efficient – and they’ve done a magnificent job in maintaining and enhancing this former tweed mill.’

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.

In a wild coastal corner of the Highlands, this white-painted Victorian house gazes out across moorland, croft and sea.

‘We felt comfortable and well fed,’ report readers, following a stay at Shirley and Eddie Spear’s remote restaurant-with-rooms overlooking Loch Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye.

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.