Good Hotel Guide

‘The views are stunning’ from Shaun and Jenny McKivragan’s ‘small, personable’ hotel, in a dramatic setting above Loch Linnhe, with the Morvern mountains beyond.

On a sheltered cove on the wildly scenic Galloway coast, Sian and David Ibbotson’s stone hunting lodge is liked for its ‘tranquil setting’, its ‘professional, friendly, caring’ staff, and its fine collection of single malts.

There’s plenty of good walking around this converted Speyside villa – and plenty of whisky to warm the cockles at the end of a long day.

Drive through the ‘splendid’ wrought iron gates and up a ‘beautifully wooded’ path: in ‘meticulously tended’ grounds stands this ‘impressive’ 19th-century Scottish baronial castle.

A Victorian remodelling of an 18th-century inn, this stone mansion stands tall in a ‘beautiful situation’, with lawns stretching to the loch, and views of Ben Nevis.

Atop a tree-lined drive, arrive to a ‘cheerful welcome’ at Jan and Adam Moore’s ‘excellent’ hotel, in an 18th-century hunting and fishing lodge.

Find a spot for quiet contemplation, as did Guide readers this year, in the expertly maintained gardens or graceful public rooms of this ‘lovely place’ on the edge of the Cairngorms national park.

Seafood is an art at this ‘friendly, informal’ hotel in a ‘spectacular position’ overlooking the sea and a canal lock.

At the head of Badcall bay, this 18th-century manse is in a ‘splendid location’ – look through a gap in the trees towards a ‘tranquil scene’ of fishing boats on the water.

On the banks of the River Nith, near the Southern Upland Way, this restaurant-with-rooms with a ‘welcoming atmosphere’ and a ‘restful ambience’ is ‘well worth a detour for the food alone’.

‘Happily, as good as ever,’ writes a Guide reader this year, revisiting Graeme Lamb’s ‘well-run’ hotel on the Solway Firth, where the views stretch across the bay towards the hills of Cumbria.

‘Guests’ comfort is prioritised’ at the Allen family’s Victorian country house hotel, which stands in parkland, gazing over Highland cattle and gently rolling hills.

Alight from the ferry on this unspoilt island, and chances are that Ivan Lisovyy, the ‘can-do’ manager of Jane and Alex Howard’s unpretentious 18th-century inn, will be there to greet you.

‘A treat of a hotel.’ ‘It has never failed us,’ say regular guests of this ‘exceptionally pleasant’ 1840s dower house by the beautiful, wooded Pass of Killiecrankie.

Unstuffy, informal, perhaps a touch eccentric, the Macdonald family’s ‘fabulous’ Victorian country house stands in large wooded grounds with far-reaching views of Portree Bay.

‘What a delightful place!’ write regular Guide correspondents this year, of the Doull family’s restaurant-with-rooms..

‘Everything is presented with care and style’ at Sally and David Ruthven-Fox’s small hotel on the ‘peaceful shores’ of Loch Sunart.

Arrive to a complimentary glass of champagne, at Laurence and Katie Mackay’s Victorian country house hotel on the Isle of Mull.

‘It’s a spectacular drive’ to this whitewashed manse in an ‘extraordinary setting’ on the west coast of Harris.

‘We were thoroughly spoiled.’ Mena and Robyn Aitchison are much appreciated by Guide readers for the 'wonderful hospitality’ at their ‘well-located’ Georgian stone cottage-orné outside Inverness.

‘It’s like being a guest at a country house in an extraordinarily beautiful location,’ say Guide readers this year.

Steeped in stories of baronets and scandalous affairs, Susannah and Stuart Macpherson’s ‘beautiful Georgian house’ is today a ‘simply lovely hotel’ standing in extensive gardens ‘magnificent with mature trees’.

Sit on the terrace of Leslie and Margaret Crane’s ‘relaxed, friendly’ Georgian stone mansion overlooking Oban bay, and watch the ferries slip out of the harbour, bound for the Isles.

Watch for roaming deer as you follow the ‘long, attractive drive’ to the Milligan family’s Victorian country house on the banks of the River Tay.