Sit on the decking at this former 17th-century coaching inn overlooking Loch Glendhu, and watch basking seals – or supper being landed on the old ferry slipway. Owners Tanja Lister and Sonia Virechauveix are ‘wonderful, charming, full of energy, completely focused on keeping the hotel’s edge’, writes a regular visitor this year. The staff are ‘clearly part of a large family with shared values and a focus on guests’. The interior has a stripped-down look, ‘almost Scandinavian in style’, bare floorboards, wood-burners, loch views through big windows. Most bedrooms are in the main house, but the best are the four in the annexe, Willie’s Hoose – one that can sleep four, one with wheelchair access, all facing the loch. Limited Wi-Fi is a fair trade-off for vast, empty beaches and a star-filled dark sky. Jo Christison’s food has a simplicity which allows ingredients to shine. ‘They work closely with local suppliers – the pigs are exercised on a beach, and so on.’ Lobsters, langoustines and crabs are creel caught, mussels rope grown, scallops hand dived. A ‘magnificent shellfish bisque’ was enjoyed at lunch. ‘We are keen to return for a longer stay.’ (Robert Gower, and others)