Whale watching, spectacular sunsets and starry, starry nights are among the wonders at this Victorian former hunting lodge on a wooded estate lapped by Loch Gairloch. 'Beautiful setting, great walking and beaches nearby,' a reader enthuses. It is almost worth a visit for the drive alone from Inverness through dramatic scenery, though 'good food, excellent service' and 'lovely public rooms' are further attractions. It is now part of the Original Collection (see Widbrook Grange, Forss House, The Kirkwall Hotel, and Melville Castle). Bedrooms are traditional, with antiques and original features. A loch-facing suite has a carved four-poster, a separate sitting room, an in-room roll-top bath. The estate acts as a natural larder for the loch-view restaurant, with its rare-breed lamb, Highland cattle and deer. Fish and shellfish are plucked straight from the loch. Packed lunches are available, for days spent exploring the rocky coastline, and the lodge has its own stalkers and ghillies if you come for the country sports. The wi-fi might be weak, but that makes the glorious isolation of the surroundings even better.