The Prince’s House

Ina and Kieran Kelly have nurtured a loyal following: guests come to this small hotel at the head of Loch Shiel for the ‘friendly’ welcome, ‘attentive’ service and ‘outstanding’ cooking. As a 17th-century ‘change house’, it provided shelter and a change of horse for travellers heading to and from the coast. Today, it is a gateway into the western Highlands, and a fine-dining experience. ‘The superb meal was the highlight of our stay,’ say Guide contributors this year. The ‘excellent’, traditionally furnished bedrooms have a ‘very comfortable’ bed and ‘lots of storage space’; the best has a Jacobean four-poster and views across the hills (a honeymoon favourite, say the hosts). The oldest part of the building houses the wood-panelled restaurant. Here, Kieran Kelly – ‘a talented chef par excellence’ – cooks ‘some of the finest food we have ever eaten’. His innovative Scottish menu might include terrine of wild duck, chutney apple, hibiscus syrup; pan-seared West Coast scallops, fennel–crème fraîche velouté. Breakfast has freshly squeezed orange juice; ‘excellent’ porridge. Walks from the front door. (AJG, Ralph Wilson)