Good Hotel Guide

‘Highly, highly recommended. We shall return.’ Much praise from a reader for this ‘wonderful little boutique hotel’ with ‘delightful’ views across Loch Linnhe and the Morvern mountains.

In the lea of the cliffs, overlooking a private beach on the rugged Galloway coast, Sian and David Ibbotson’s Victorian hunting lodge offers a great sense of escape.

In ‘a splendid location’, Fiona and Richard Trevor’s 18th-century church manse looks out at fishing boats bobbing on the water of a tranquil inlet.

‘From the moment you pull up at this beautiful hotel, you are treated like royalty,’ writes a reader on a return visit to this Victorian country house on the shores of Loch Faskally.

Built for a veteran of Culloden and remodelled in Victorian times, Jane MacFarlane’s stone mansion stands in a breathtaking situation on the shores of Loch Shiel, with views of Ben Nevis and the Glenfinnan Monument.

In springtime, the drive up to Jan and Adam Moore’s 18th-century former sporting lodge is ‘lined with young trees in blossom, bulbs everywhere’.

‘A beautiful location, lovely gardens, good food and friendly service – and a view from our room that was probably the best we have ever enjoyed.’

‘Down a long single-track road, flanked by stone eagles at the gate,’ this Victorian hunting lodge stands in ‘a glorious setting’ by Loch Gairloch, ‘with enchanting views of cavorting seals’.

Heathery tones and tweedy fabrics bring a breath of fresh Orkney air to this family-run hotel in two Victorian villas just outside the city centre.

‘What an amazing location! Seafood and sea views remain the two major draws at this ‘friendly, informal’ hotel in a ‘spectacular position’ where the Crinan canal meets the loch.

A scenic approach leads to ‘imaginative, well-cooked food’ and ‘especially comfortable bedrooms’ at this ‘lovely, small' restaurant-with-rooms’ in an area ripe with history and hiking routes.

Mellow sandstone battlements, turrets and towers are revealed only at the final turn of the ‘lengthy’ drive through the ‘vibrant, meticulously tended’ grounds of Paul and Poppy Szkiler’s 19th-century baronial pile.

‘A haven of tranquillity and quiet comfort’, Graeme Lamb’s ‘well-run’ hotel stands in ‘a wonderful setting’ on the shore, looking across the Solway Firth to the Lake District hills.

‘So nice to come back here,’ writes a trusted reader, on returning to the Allen family’s creeper-covered Victorian country house on a hillside above a peaceful valley.

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.

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.

‘As excellent as ever.’ Regular guests were ‘delighted to report’ this year that this ‘wonderful’ 1840s dower house at the gateway to the Highlands ‘remains unchanged’.

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

A passion for all things Orcadian infuses this ‘delightful’ and ‘welcoming’ restaurant-with-rooms overlooking Scapa Flow and the southern Orkney islands.

Amid its own grounds of lawn and woodland, on the shores of Loch Sunart, Sally and David Ruthven-Fox run a welcoming small hotel.

‘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’.

‘What a gem!’ Robyn and Mena Aitchison, the ‘charming’ owners, run this ‘extremely pleasant small B&B’ with ‘wonderful hospitality.’

In ‘an extraordinarily beautiful location’ on Shetland’s wild West coast, ‘charming, unobtrusive host’ Pierre Dupont runs his guest house on informal lines.