9.3
Scotland and Ireland · €€€€
The Gleneagles Hotel
A 1924 railway palace in Perthshire with three championship courses and two Michelin stars
Golf hotelsGrand hotelsStarred restaurantSpa and wellnessFamily hotelsDogs welcome
United Kingdom and Ireland · 3 hotels
Scotland and Ireland
Castles, lodges and the weather that makes a fire matter
Best months
SeasonLate spring and September give the longest days and the driest weeks, October brings colour and quiet, and winter suits those who want a fire, a whisky and nobody else around.
AirportsEdinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness open up Scotland, Dublin, Cork and Shannon serve Ireland, and Belfast covers the north, with Inverness and Shannon the quickest routes into Highland and Atlantic country.
Scotland and Ireland share a hotel culture built on the country house: baronial castles in Perthshire and the Highlands, Georgian manors in Wicklow and Cork, and shooting lodges on estates where the drive from the gate takes longer than expected. The best of them keep an open fire in the hall, dogs in the bar and a drying room for boots. In Edinburgh and Dublin the Georgian townhouse sets the tone, while the west coasts add small inns above sea lochs and Atlantic bays where the nearest neighbour is a lighthouse.
Travellers come for quiet, for golf on links courses, for whisky and for kitchens that cook what the estate and the boats bring in. May, June and September offer the longest light and the fewest midges. Insiders book the lodge rather than the castle, ask about the shoulder weeks in October, and never trust a forecast beyond lunchtime.
Hotels in Scotland and Ireland
9.3
9.0
Scotland and Ireland · €€€
The Torridon
A Victorian lodge on a Highland sea loch, a star in the kitchen and dogs in the stables
Grand hotelsStarred restaurantVery quietPanorama viewDogs welcomeSustainable
8.7
Scotland and Ireland · €€€
Cliff House Hotel
A glass fronted house in an Irish cliff, a starred kitchen and the sea in every window
Starred restaurantPanorama viewSpa and wellnessSmall and personalFamily hotels
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