Good Hotel Guide

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.

‘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’.

Near the mainland’s northern tip, Ian and Sabine Richards’s Georgian mansion is surrounded by woodland and waterfall on the Forss river, a fishing hotspot.

‘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’.

Standing in a tranquil ‘elegant gardens’, this ‘extremely welcoming’, turreted 1920s mansion is owned by Mark and Christopher Forrester, grandsons of two of the original founders.

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.

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 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.

‘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’.

‘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.

‘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.

Approached by a private road, this ‘large, rambling but wonderful’ late Georgian mansion, in ‘magnificent grounds’, is owned and cherished by Susannah and Stuart Macpherson.

A stone villa built in 1870 for the Duke of Argyll, Leslie and Margaret Crane’s small, friendly hotel looks out over Oban Bay to Lismore, the Morvern hills and Mull.