The Most Luxurious Hotels to Book in Scotland

One of the best luxury hotel choices in Aberdeen, the Chester Hotel is sharply stylish. It’s housed in a traditional-looking Victorian villa, but the rooms are decorated with outstanding flair, in soft, sexy greys, with Scandi-style monochrome textiles and artful lighting. The beds are massive, and there are Nespresso machines and immaculate grey-tiled bathrooms. Downstairs, the bar has a warm, speakeasy vibe and you can dine on dishes using locally sourced ingredients, or enjoy an afternoon tea featuring creations by the hotel pastry chef.

If you’re looking for a luxury hotel in Scotland, try this turreted stronghold close to the coast. Your approach, along a long tree-lined drive through green countryside, feels as if it should be accompanied by some classical strings, building up to a crescendo on arrival. Rooms have canopies, pelmets, four-posters and chandeliers aplenty, and there’s even a penthouse suite with a spiral staircase and its own lift. The best rooms have sea views over to the Isle of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre.

With monsoon showers, roll-top bathtubs and rooms featuring king-size beds and floor-to-ceiling windows, Dakota is a sophisticated luxury hotel in Scotland, and the kind of place that makes you wish you could extend your holiday indefinitely. This is a five-star with a Manhattan loft-style vibe, decorated in grown-up shades of grey and brown. Cuisine is equally sumptuous, with lots of Scottish produce, and dishes including lobster thermidor, monkfish curry and steaks flamed at the Dakota Grill.

James Thomson’s Prestonfield House is a grand white-walled mansion, once a private home, and is now one of the best luxury hotels in Scotland. Set in 8ha (20 acres) of gardens, next to the mountain of Arthur’s Seat, you’re nevertheless within easy reach of central Edinburgh. Staying here, you will genuinely feel as if you’ve pitched up in a palace. Rooms have a truly baroque splendour, with ample silk wall coverings, tapestries and antique four-posters piled high with velvet cushions and bedspreads in rich colours.

The Balmoral in Edinburgh is a five-star icon in the city, a venerable humdinger among all the luxury hotels in Scotland. Rooms and suites are decorated to echo the colours of the Scottish Highlands: heather and thistle, with pale tartans and grand furnishings. Suites are especially glamorous, with plenty of seating to sink into, lots of gilt and gold and marble-clad bathrooms. The Number One restaurant is Michelin-starred, with plum-coloured walls and gleaming-white table linen, and offers sophisticated eating based around ingredients such as roe venison and Exmoor sturgeon.

If you want to visit one of the wildest corners of Britain, but do so in comfort and style, a stay at the Torridon is ideal. Set at the end of the famous Loch Torridon on the west coast, nestled among 23ha (58 acres) of immaculate parkland and surrounded by mountains and stunning views whichever way you look, this hotel boasts a whisky bar with more than 350 single malts and a restaurant committed to serving the finest locally sourced fresh ingredients. It is also conveniently near the long-distance route billed as Scotland’s answer to the US Route 66 – the North Coast 500.

When it comes to history, this hotel takes some beating. Bonnie Prince Charlie slept here on several occasions, including the nights before the Battle of Culloden, when the Jacobite cause came crashing down in defeat. Culloden House is surrounded by its own woodland and beautiful gardens, with an award-winning restaurant, a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and a warm Highland welcome. There are also championship golf courses close by, and even a sauna in the dungeon!

Inverlochy Castle is a royal experience indeed, as luxurious as they come, and in an area of Scotland famed for its beauty and vistas. The dining rooms are furnished with gifts from the King of Norway; Queen Victoria stayed here for a week; and with Albert and Michel Roux Jr in charge of the kitchens, it’s home to chef royalty, too. Glenfinnan, where Charles Edward Stuart raised his father’s standard, is just a short distance away, as is the Great Glen Way, the falls in Glen Nevis and the mighty bulk of Ben Nevis itself.

Designed by Edwin Lutyens – one of the greatest British architects of the 20th century – Greywalls is oddly named, as the walls themselves are more of a welcoming cinnamon colour. The formal walled gardens, the Roux restaurant, the luxurious massages on offer and the location at the edge of the world-renowned golf links at Muirfield all add up to a unique stay. Edinburgh is only a 30-minute drive away, and the area around the hotel is full of hidden treasures to explore.

Crystal glassware, polished silver trays, regal headboards, antiques and rich upholstery: Gleneagles is a grand country house retreat surrounded by magnificent Scottish countryside, and the most renowned luxury hotel in Scotland with good reason. Here, you can try horse riding, golfing, shooting, falconry and fishing: all the pursuits essential to a certain type of traditional British country life. Alternative indulgences include an indoor pool, spa, gym and theatrically splendid places to eat and drink.