In the shadow of Stirling Castle, overlooking a leafy square, this detached Victorian villa is home to the fine-dining Orangery restaurant and very handsome traditional bedrooms.

‘Staying in the inner courtyard of a 13th-century castle was always going to be unforgettable,’ writes an inspector, on a visit to Colin Nicolson and Jessica Thompson’s restaurant-with-rooms.

A thoughtful take on modern hospitality, the McLaren-Stewart family’s vegan hotel and restaurant bring together a deeply considered environmental ethos with contemporary style.

Walkers and wildlife-watchers returning to this small hotel on the shores of Loch Earn, in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, can dine from short, ambitious menus of classically inspired modern cooking.

Understated modern luxury and all-day gourmet dining stand in contrast to the Victorian exterior and wildly beautiful scenery around Loch Rannoch, at this hotel in a stone-built village.

There are glorious views from this traditional country house hotel with formal dining room, set in gardens and woodland on the shore of the Beauly Firth.

A single-track road leads to this remote and intimate Skye ‘black house’, with simple, chic bedrooms, glorious views and a restaurant serving a four-course set menu of local produce.

Tom and Michaela Kitchin preside at this gastropub, where Victorian interiors have had a smart-casual Scandi-Scotia makeover, and you can dine on pub classics in the bar, or get the nosebag on for Tom’s Michelin-starred nature-to-plate dishes in the converted stables.

Swiss gallerists Iwan and Manuela Wirth have had a creative fling at this Victorian coaching inn in a Cairngorms village famed for its Highland Games, filling interiors with important artworks and Victoriana, though menus are short, the cooking spare and elegant.

'In a beautiful position' on the shores of Loch Na Dal, in the lee of a wooded hill, this former hunting lodge offers 'comfortable bedrooms and public rooms and excellent food'.

Walkers, kayakers and wildlife-watchers are in their element at this friendly inn, with views to the Isle of Bute, moorings for the waterborne, bedrooms supplied with fresh coffee, and seasonal produce cooked with flair.

Close to Loch Shiel, this old coaching inn has hosted travellers along the Road to the Isles since the 17th century.

In a wooded estate on Loch Torridon, this baronial-style hunting lodge appeals to sybarites and sporty types, with luxurious bedrooms, tasting menus sourced from the kitchen garden and farm, and a brasserie.

Decorated in cool Scandi-Scots style, this former crofter’s house on the shores of Loch Dunvegan is a celebrated restaurant showcasing local produce, with, across the courtyard, spacious, split-level bedrooms painted in restful shades.

A 'paradise for foodies and garden lovers in a tranquil corner of Aberdeenshire', this country-house hotel in the fertile Howe of Cromar is an architectural gem.

This remote restaurant-with-rooms is unexpectedly stylish, with the odd wacky touch, such options as a ferry cabin and yurts in the grounds, and sophisticated modern Scottish cooking.

In the remote, dark-sky, wilderness landscape of Rannoch Moor, this dog-friendly restaurant-with-rooms is a warm hideaway with simple but well-supplied bedrooms, comfy lounge, and locally sourced menus.

Beside the ferry landing, with views to Mull and Staffa, this family-run hotel and island social hub has smart, uncluttered bedrooms, and short menus of locally fished and farmed produce.

On the shores of Loch Linnhe, with views to Lismore and the mountains of Moven, this former pier-master’s house is a lovely hotel with stylish bedrooms and a varied menu, long on fish, served in the sea-view dining room.

'The welcome and food are always wonderful,' write trusted readers on a return visit to this restaurant-with-rooms, occupying a Victorian terrace house in a coastal hamlet close to glorious Lunan Bay.

If you don’t see owners Amanda and Niall Leveson Gower around their small hotel, they may be at sister venture Hamersay House, or out diving for scallops and gathering mussels for supper.

The long drive is worth it to this edge-of-the-world location, where a Georgian manse, with pretty, traditional rooms and superb food, overlooks a long sandy beach.

Wildlife spotters are in their element at this 18th-century lodge in ‘a beautiful setting’ on the shores of Loch Sunart.

Overlooking Scapa Flow, the Doulls’ restaurant-with-rooms has spruce modern bedrooms and a many-windowed dining room, where Paul Doull’s menus of locally farmed and fished produce vie for attention with the seascape.

In the vast, remote, elemental landscape of Assynt, a 19th-century coaching inn overlooking Loch Glendhu has moved with the times to become a relaxed modern hotel.

Take afternoon tea on the terrace at this former Victorian tweed mill and you hear nothing but birdsong and the plash of the Gynack Burn that once powered the looms.

A whitewashed crofter’s cottage with a red tin roof, on a scenic, single-track road, is the unlikely setting for this much-loved restaurant-with-rooms.

A tree-lined drive leads to this splendid Victorian Scottish baronial pile and luxury hotel in landscaped grounds, where dinner can be a grand occasion or a more informal affair.

With peacocks in the garden, kilt-wearing staff, fire-warmed sitting rooms and antiques at every turn, this 17th-century country house is an indulgent experience.

A dream destination for golfing gourmets, Geoffrey and Katherine Smeddle’s restaurant-with-rooms offers Michelin-starred cooking just a 12-minute drive from St Andrews.