19 Of The Best Luxury Hotels In Scotland

05/04/2022

Whether you want to feel like a countess on your own mountain estate or to be a part of the chicest crowd of jet setters, Scotland has you covered.

When it comes to luxury hotels, Scotland has some of the world's best to choose from. But knowing which one is the best for you can give you a headache.

If you know where you want to go, that can help reduce the options. But, if you simply need to get away and you're looking for that wow factor that speaks to you, it can be far more difficult to decide.

With all the diversity and eclectic charm that Scotland offers, sometimes the details and the amenities make the difference. The world-class spas, the Michelin-star restaurants, the championship golf courses, just to name a few. Oh, and don't forget to visit Nessie at Loch Ness!

So, to make things easier on your brain, we have compiled a list of the best luxury hotels Scotland has to offer and their elite set of amenities and services that make them unique.

While not exhaustive, you cannot go wrong with any of these, and the best situation would be to give them all a go! These are the luxury hotels that redefine the opulence, extravagance, and regalness of Scotland's best.

And, don't forget about our travel and lifestyle blog, where you can find the best luxury lifestyle news so that you can stop dreaming about your best life and start living it.

Here Are 19 of the Best Luxury Scottish Hotels

1. The Torridon, Wester Ross

More than simply a five-star luxury boutique hotel, The Torridon is the experience of being a Countess of the Scottish Highlands. The century-old hunting lodge is situated on 58-acres of the most spectacular and idyllic nature with a loch and private gardens.

The Torridon is an estate turned small luxury hotel offering elegant rooms, free private parking, a fine dining restaurant, and an afternoon tea fit for royalty.

Along with the main house, guests can book the Stables for more privacy or the private boathouse for week-long stays. The hotel features water activities, land activities, equipment hire, and exclusive luxury experiences.

The restaurant elevates the local produce, freshly-caught seafood or locally-raised meat to an entirely new dimension flavour. Every minute of your stay at The Torridon creates a memory you will cherish forever.

2. Inverlochy Castle Hotel, Fort William

Some luxury hotels in Scotland are all about the experience, while Inverlochy Castle Hotel, Fort William, is about lifestyle. The 19th-century castle once visited by Queen Victoria is now the finest country house hotel in the Highlands and is nestled away amongst the iconic landscape of Ben Nevis.

World-class service that exceeds many five-star luxury hotels in Scotland awaits the select few lucky enough to enjoy one of the 17 bedrooms with an en suite bathroom. Fine dining with Michel Roux Jr at Inverlochy Castle is a AA 3 Red Rosettes Chez Roux restaurant offering contemporary British cuisine with French influences.

Queen Victoria felt that Inverlochy Castle was every bit of a royal estate, and you will too!

3. Old Course Hotel, St Andrews

The iconic home of golf, St. Andrews is also home to the Old Course Hotel, golf course and luxury spa. The championship golf courses are only the tip of the iceberg at St. Andrews. The fine dining, elegant rooms, West Sands beach, and award-winning spa elevate the Old Course Hotel above simply being a landmark hotel, but a benchmark for five-star luxury.

The Duke's Course at the Old Course Hotel is a model for all championship golf courses, and history's best players have teed off there.

The Old Course Hotel features the only Kohler Waters Spa outside the United States. A luxury spa where wellbeing is redefined as a craft that only the experts of Kohler can deliver. The all-day immersion with therapeutic water treatments is unparalleled in Europe.

The couple's room, indoor pool, hydrotherapy experience, showers, and everything else epitomise the Kohler bathing experience that can be found nowhere else in Scotland.

4. Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire

Called The Glorious Playground for good reason, the five-star luxury hotel, spa, and golf course at Gleneagles Hotel features 205 elegant rooms with an en suite bathroom and 28 luxury suites framed by the Perthshire countryside. Gleneagles is as much about golf as anywhere else in Scotland, situated within 850-acres and among three championship golf courses and an ESPA spa.

The resident and day luxury spa at Gleneagles includes a wellness retreat, The Beauty Lodge, a five-star experience for your hair and nails. The Club provides fitness, swimming, a sauna and an outdoor hot tub. There are four fine dining restaurants, including the two-Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie restaurant.

While the outside of Gleneagles Hotel hasn't changed in centuries, the inside is an Art Deco masterpiece that combines classic with contemporary.

5. The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh

An icon of both Edinburgh and Scotland, The Balmoral Hotel is one of the most famous Scottish luxury hotels. A landmark hotel with an award-winning spa and Michelin-starred restaurant, even the address of The Balmoral Hotel is prestigious.

The flagship of the Rocco Forte collection, The Balmoral is a contemporary version of the world's grand hotels and still features Edinburgh's most lavish afternoon tea with harp music in the hotel's Palm Court.

The award-winning Balmoral Spa and Rocco Forte Wellness luxury spa is a unification of body, mind, and spirit with their proprietary Irene Forte Skincare products. Only half an hour from Edinburgh airport, The Balmoral is the elite Saturday or weekend getaway for those wanting to experience ultimate luxury.

6. Isle of Eriska Hotel, Benderloch

For those who require privacy and exclusivity on an entirely different level, the Isle of Eriska Hotel and Spa is not simply a five-star hotel but its own private island. If James Bond ever needed to just get away for a while, this is where he'd stay!

The island is 300-acres of private gardens, fine dining, a golf course, and a luxury spa available to the select guests of the property's 34 bedrooms spread out across the island's main house and additional private cottages.

The dining room is divided into four areas with a conservatory room that offers views of the island's exceptional natural landscape. The options for afternoon tea are impressive. Enjoy the Isle of Eriska Full Afternoon Tea, Champagne Afternoon Tea, or the Eriska Cream Tea in the Main House.

The Isle of Eriska Hotel offers guests a luxury hotel experience in a way that cannot be found anywhere else.

7. Monachyle Mhor Hotel, Lochearnhead

Many luxury hotels in Scotland are a century old. For those who appreciate a more contemporary luxury lifestyle, the Monachyle Mhor Hotel is a luxury boutique hotel with the feel of a country home. The residence of award-winning chef ward winning chef Tom Lewis and his family, The Monachyle Mhor is really a fine dining restaurant that you can stay at.

One of the most unique boutique hotels in the Scottish Highlands, Monachyle Manor Hotel is farm to kitchen sustainability at a genuinely luxury level. A fine dining restaurant with the comfort of family meals awaits you here.

Pass the days with adventures and expeditions of the surrounding countryside, including Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

8. Glenapp Castle, Ayrshire

Glenapp Castle has been called the best luxury castle hotel in Scotland. The property is 36-acres of exquisite private gardens and woodlands that act as the backdrop to the castle's 21 luxury suites, including the castle's prestigious penthouse apartment, with period furnishings that feel as if Glenapp Castle could be frozen in time.

Some of the suites offer views of the private gardens, and others have impressive views of the seascape overlooking Ailsa Craig. The suites at Glenapp Castle are opulence in their purest form.

Glenapp Castle's award-winning fine dining restaurant is Scottish cuisine that is an experience in itself and one of the finest culinary events in Scotland.

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9. Cromlix Hotel, Perthshire

The Cromlix hotel has been acquired by Scottish tennis superstar Andy Murray for the purpose of re-inventing what grand country house luxury hotels in Scotland are all about. The 34-acre property is one of the newest luxury hotels in Scotland and one of the most elite. There are only ten bedrooms, five suites, and the private self-contained Gate Lodge that sits 1.3 km away from the main house.

This hotel features free private parking for its guests, afternoon tea, outdoor experiences, and the best of fine dining.

The Cromlix Hotel offers one of the most impressive Chez Roux restaurant experiences, with its impressive open kitchen, providing diners with intimate access to the award-winning culinary staff.

10. Glencoe House, West Highlands

Sitting on 10-acres of private gardens in the heart of the Scottish Highlands is the award-winning Glencoe House. The historic mansion is one of Scotland's five-star luxury hotels that preserves the history of the area along with personalised, world-class service.

The Glencoe House comprises 14 massive suites furnished with period furniture. The Strathcona Lodges (formerly The Bell Suites) sit 50 meters from the main house, and all include private walled gardens with hot tubs.

Glencoe House may be a small luxury hotel, but it is huge on opulence, fine dining, and world-class service.

11. Fingal Luxury Floating Hotel, Edinburgh

Scotland's only luxury hotel that floats, the Fingal Luxury Floating Hotel is a superyacht with the feel of Cunard. Known as the Spirit of the Sea, the yacht is permanently berthed along Edinburgh's vibrant waterfront near the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Instead of rooms with balconies, the Fingal offers five-star luxury cabins with decks to enjoy champagne while gazing into Edinburgh's starry nightscapes. For a more regal stay, the Skerryvore Suite has its own sitting room and private deck.

The fine dining room aboard the Fingal Luxury Floating Hotel has floor to ceiling windows providing a sea view that only the Royal family's Britannia can match.

12. Crossbasket, Glasgow, West Coast

Scotland has many centuries-old castle-turn-luxury-hotels. But the 17th-century castle of Crossbasket is one of Scotland's most elite and luxurious hotels you will find. Crossbasket has only nine opulent suites, each with a breath-taking en suite bathroom that artisans individually crafted for each suite.

Additionally, the entire castle is also a private dining room for the Albert & Michel Roux Jr Restaurant, one of only six Chez Roux restaurants in Scotland's luxury hotels.

The castle's grounds have extensive private woodlands, including a river and majestic waterfalls. Locally, the area is prized for hiking, fishing, and golf course.

13. Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel, Glasgow

Glasgow's landmark hotel, the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel is where Europe's grand hotel history meets contemporary posh living and chic elegance. A stately 19th-century Gregorian townhouse with picturesque private gardens, the hotel remains the place to be as it was in its former heyday.

The Spa at Blythswood Square is more than just a wellness retreat, but Glasgow's "it" place to be and be seen.

14. Glenmorangie House, Tain

Glenmorangie House is not only one of Scotland's finest hotels, but one of the best whisky distilleries as well. Just minutes from the distillery, the boutique hotel is a world-class country house offering nine cosy bedrooms with coastal views of the Moray Firth. And it's conveniently located near one of the world's best links golf courses.

The fine-dining restaurant has been awarded two Red Rosettes and offers Scottish decadence in dinner party style dining.

The time you spend at Glenmorangie House will be cherished for years and will genuinely allow you to see that the most important parts of luxury are hospitality and yourself.

15. Prestonfield House, Edinburgh, East Coast

Having been called the most glamorous hotel in town and one of the best luxury hotels in the world, Prestonfield House is opulence, theatre and luxury as nowhere or no one else can do it! The 17th-century baroque mansion is considered the most exclusive hotel in town.

Even though Prestonfield House sits in the heart of Edinburgh and is less than 2 miles from the Royal Mile, it's surrounded by 20-acres of private gardens that allow the urban world to disappear. Each of the opulent 23 suites is different, and by booking online, you will arrive to a complimentary bottle of champagne to get you into the Prestonfield mood.

Rhubarb is Prestonfield's destination restaurant with Edinburgh's most sought-after private dining rooms. Everything a Prestonfield House is award-winning, including the wine list.

16. Boath House Hotel, Nairn, North East Scotland

On 22-acres along Scotland's Moray Coast and nestled with parklands, lakes, and a walled garden is Boath House Hotel. Offering eight elegant and cosy rooms with en suite bathrooms and cottages (and some are adults only), the Boath House Hotel is an entirely different face of luxury.

Surrounded by castles, golf courses, a distillery, the Culbin Forest and the Cairngorm National Park, the Boath House Hotel is a family-owned and operated Scottish gem known locally for its kitchen and works of art.

17. Airds Hotel, Argyll

A luxury romantic boutique hotel with a fine dining restaurant, the Airds Hotel is situated in one of Scotland's most romantic settings on the picturesque Argyll coast. The Airds Hotel's west coast location not only provides breath-taking scenery but is an irreplaceable source of the best shellfish for its award-winning restaurant.

The hotel has been awarded four AA Red Stars, the kitchen has been awarded three AA rosettes, and the Michelin guide has recommended the seasonal menu.

The 11 individually styled bedrooms and suites are boutiques to themselves and each furnished in designer and artisan fabrics and wallpapers. Every detail was crafted with luxury and elegance in mind, such as Bulgari toiletries in the en suite bathrooms.

For the most glorious breakfast on the Argyll coast, there is no other option.

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18. Cameron House Hotel, Loch Lomond

When you require prestige and luxury, Cameron House Hotel is where you need to be. Situated on 400-acres with its own private 24-mile long freshwater loch, Cameron House offers five-star luxurious en suite bedrooms, 14 exquisitely furnished suites, a championship golf course, rooftop infinity pool and four restaurants.

There are also self-contained lodges along the banks of the loch if you'd prefer to feel as if you were spending a weekend in your own lake house.

The luxury and exclusive Cameron Spa delivers unparalleled pampering in its 17 treatment rooms offering exclusive services such as hydro and thermal experiences along with ESPA and Made for Life Organics products.

The Leisure Club at Cameron includes a small water park at the family pool, bubble pool, steam room, sauna and state-of-the-art gym.

19. Crinan Hotel, Argyll

Though the property has been a hotel since the 17th-century, the Crinan Hotel has been a family-run luxury boutique hotel for the last 40-years.

Each of the 20 bedrooms, spaced out over three floors, was individually designed by Frances Macdonald (the hotel's owner) and all come with one of the most spectacular views of Scotland's West Coast. Each of the bathrooms is supplied with Arran Aromatics toiletries.

The Westward Restaurant and the rooftop Lock 16 are the Crinan Hotel's fine dining experiences. Lock 16 is locally renowned for its Jumbo Prawns Corryvreckan (langoustines), which arrive fresh daily.

As a guest of the hotel, you can also enjoy the Crinan Hotel Secret Garden.

FAQs

Are pets allowed at Crossbasket Castle?

Crossbasket Castle allows assistance dogs and adds no additional charges for them. However, the property does not permit any other pets. Many of the hotels on our list are welcoming of pets, and you can easily check the hotel's rules and policies online.

What are green fees at the Old Course St Andrews?

There are various green fee schedules at The Duke's Course.

From October to March - 9-holes = £40 and 18-holes = £60

The month of April - £85

From May to September - £140

However, the green fees for Scottish residents are discounted.

Which popular attractions are close to Isle of Eriska Hotel, Spa & Island?

No matter which direction you go, there are dozens of popular attractions. These include: The Jacobite Train (aka Harry Potter's Hogwarts Express), Kinlochleven, Seafari Adventures, Oban Distillery, and Loch Ness with its legendary Nessie.

Does The Torridon have a pool?

No, The Torridon does not have a swimming pool, but the hotel offers an incredible list of water activities available to guests.

Final Thoughts

Scotland is one of the most unique destinations in both the UK and Europe. It's seemingly living in an era that neither never ends nor never stops evolving. The entire country is a backdrop of idyllic landscape coupled with a history and heritage that can be found nowhere else.

And when it comes to luxury, Scotland does it in a way that makes the entire world take notice.

World-class spas, Michelin-star chefs, centuries-old castles, or contemporary country houses all get elevated to an entirely new level when it comes to Scotland's luxury hotels.

Scotland's standard of luxury is premised not solely on its history and nature, however, but just as much on unparalleled world-class service, extraordinary amenities, a sense of exclusivity, and the ability to momentarily experience the life of royalty.

No matter what style of luxury and degree of opulence best suits you, Scotland has a hotel and an experience to satisfy it. And, at the end of every stay at a hotel on our list, you will always feel that you have made the right choice.

Discover more luxury hotels throughout the UK

No matter where in the UK you are looking to go on holiday, we can give you plenty of ideas for luxury hotels you could stay in! Check out our other guides below: