Best Luxury Hotels in Scotland

Opt for modern accommodation in the city centre, right on the banks of the River Ness (some rooms have views directly over the fast-flowing water). Handy for the railway station, shops and nightlife, this serves as a great base for those wishing to tour the Highlands, but with plenty of places to go and things to do by day and after dark. There are 191 bedrooms spread over four floors, a kitchen for all-day dining and a lounge area, to relax with a beverage. AC Hotel caters equally well for families (including four-legged friends) and business travellers.

Found close to Culloden Moor, this was the place used by Bonnie Prince Charlie as lodging and battle HQ in Jacobean times. Now its 40 acres are given over to leisure and pleasure, with guests able to explore the expansive woodland and walled garden, fine dining on the best local produce at its Highland restaurant, sip rare whiskies in the traditional library and sleep in four-poster beds within the grand ivy-clad mansion house. You’ll be surrounded by an air of history in its 28 bedrooms, with large fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, tartan drapes, baronial architecture and antique furnishings from bygone eras.

Stroll a mere ten minutes from the centre of Inverness to discover this uber-trendy hotel – the city’s only to have five stars. The sleek, modern Rocpool Reserve, is contained in a Georgian mansion house and overlooks the River Ness. It has its own moody cocktail ‘r bar’ and Chez Roux (part of the wider Roux group) serving everything from amuse-bouche to hearty high-end fare and even special meals for your pooch. Four categories of bedrooms (11 in total) offer delights such as hot tubs, cabin-style saunas, balconies, oversized beds and Tassimo coffee machines, along with dark and dramatic decor. Valet services and beauty treatments are available on request.

Even closer to the ferry (fewer than five minutes walk), The Douglas Hotel is a boutique property overlooking the sea, with just 19 bedrooms, two suites and a lodge catering for four. Its origins date back to 1782 when it catered for the aristocracy; the hotel later became a medical practice and the doctor’s home, but, after falling derelict, was taken on by Sean Henry in 2010. The decor is both classic and fashionable, with plenty of tweed and plaid to reflect local culture. It has a bar and bistro, with a large terrace for boat and seal spotting on warmer days.

Just minutes from the ferry terminal at Brodick (staff collect guests in liveried vans), Auchrannie is set beside a burn, in the shadow of the mountains. Choose to stay in the spa hotel (best for families), the old house hotel, in a multi-bedroom lodge catering to groups, or at the far reaches of the resort in a couples’ timber-built one-bedroom retreat with a wood burner, a wood-fired hot tub, fire pit and wilderness views. All are within walking distance of the facilities; three restaurants, two pools, two thermal suites, a children’s play barn, an activities centre and games hall and ASPA for treatments.