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.

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

‘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.

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.

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.

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

At a handsomely furnished 19th-century house on the Isle of Islay, a pair of ‘fabulous hosts’ offers guests a sweet welcome – with home-baked treats and a pot of tea.

Across a galvanised footbridge, the huge windows of Neil Hope and Lesley Unwin’s modern, architect-designed B&B bring those ‘glorious views’ of Broadford Bay and the Cuillin mountains right into the house.

‘What a delightful place to stay.’ On the northern shore of Islay, this ‘charming, beautifully appointed’ B&B is run by ‘wonderfully welcoming’ Fiona Doyle.

The buzzy hub of this Inner Hebridean island, this small hotel has been run by three generations of the Oliphant family since the 1960s.

Amid large gardens, Graeme and Emma Clark’s well-placed white-washed house gazes across the Mull of Oa to the Atlantic beyond.

Overlooking the beautiful harbour town, a Georgian-style country house (Perle Hotels) in landscaped gardens has been given a sleekly modern interior.

In a ‘peaceful area teeming with wildlife’, Elaine and Richard’s sturdy guest house is maintaining its reputation for ‘high quality service and catering’ on the dramatic northwest coast of Lewis.

In ‘a fabulous location on one of the wildest, least-developed of all Scottish islands’, the McCallum family’s whitewashed pub, restaurant and hotel is the place to eat on Jura.

Amid the ‘drowned landscape’ of North Uist, with its tidal strands, lochans and peat bogs, this former shooting lodge overlooking Loch Langass is run as a hotel by Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower.

On the crest of Borve’s golden sand beach, Lena and Richard MacLennan’s ‘lovely, comfortable’ guest house has ‘superb views’ over the sound of Taransay.

A paradise for wildlife and wilderness lovers, Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower’s laid-back modern hotel sits in a small village within an easy drive of dazzling white sand beaches.