In ‘an extraordinarily beautiful location’ on Shetland’s wild West coast, ‘charming, unobtrusive host’ Pierre Dupont runs his guest house on informal lines. The 18th-century property overlooking the Sound of Vaila, extended over the centuries, is cosily furnished, with antiques and paintings. To stay here, says a fan, is to feel like a guest in a private country house. Regular readers this year were greeted by Mr Dupont and given tea in the conservatory with ‘a gorgeous piece of cake’. The approach to their loft room felt a little precarious (short, wooden steps, no banister rail). The first-floor Laird’s Room, with tester bed, or Vaila, with four-poster, might have been a better bet. Informality cuts both ways. If you want a drink in the lounge, you might have to pop into the kitchen and ask. The dinner menu, decided on the day, is not written but recited. ‘On our second night, four of us heard “steak”; it turned out to be skate.’ In the dining room, though, the relaxed atmosphere works its magic, people start chatting. ‘We all had a great evening.’ (A and HB, and others)