Luxury travel guide: Scotland at its...

Great Britain’s northernmost nation offers a wealth of historical cityscapes and countryside pursuits

From loch to hillside, Scotland is a destination best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, while staying in some of the UK’s grandest hotels.

From cliff-top castles to remote country estates, from eclectic Edinburgh to gregarious Glasgow and beyond, there’s no other place like it. Countryside pursuits, award-winning spas and estate-to-plate fine dining make family-friendly Scotland a must on any UK tour.

Inspired by Starring Great Britain: A Premium Collection 2025, here’s Connecting Travel’s guide to luxury Scotland.

Explore Edinburgh’s landmark Balmoral
Few hotels scream Scotland as loud as The Balmoral, one of Edinburgh’s most prestigious addresses at 1 Princes Street in the heart of the ancient capital. Housed within a neo-renaissance building with a clock tower, sweeping staircases, Venetian chandeliers and kilted doorman, it has been an Edinburgh landmark for more than a century, and in 2021 it became the first hotel in Scotland to receive a Five-Star rating in the Forbes Travel Guide.

There are 167 rooms and 20 suites with enviable views of Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat and the Old Town, including the elegant JK Rowling Suite, where the Harry Potter author finished writing The Dealthy Hallows. Some rooms have working fireplaces, and all feature Balmoral’s bespoke tartan furnishings

The spa encompasses a lap pool, Finnish sauna and Turkish steam room, while dining highlights include French-inspired cuisine at Number One, a 4 AA Rosette Restaurant showcasing seasonal Scottish ingredients, and the decadent afternoon tea at the palm tree-lined central court, elevated with vintage bubbles and live harp music. the-balmoral-hotel

JK Rowling Suite, The Balmoral

Live like a lord at Prestonfield House
Bringing country estate grandeur to the heart of Edinburgh, it’s easy to see why Prestonfeild House was named the Best Hotel in Scotland in 2025’s The Good Hotel Guide.

Situated just beneath Arthur’s Seat, Prestonfield House sits within a 20-acre private park roamed by highland cows and peacocks, and it is within walking distance of the city’s main sights. Built in 1687 as the grand baroque home for Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, it has hosted illustrious guests, including Sean Connery and Elton John.

There are just 18 rooms and five suites, each uniquely decorated with velvet wallpaper, statement antiques, oil paintings and eccentric knick-knacks. Views stretch over Arthur’s Seat and Royal Holyrood Park. Sumptuous suites are vast and romantic, some with mahogany four-poster beds.

The Owner’s Suite accessed via a private turret staircase comes with a chariot bath for two

Fine-dining restaurant Rhubarb serves fresh seasonal Scottish produce, while The Tapestry Room, filled with ancestral portraits, is the perfect spot for after-dinner drinks, or head to the rose-filled gardens for afternoon tea in the Gothic Tea House.

Spoiling extras include around-the-clock room service, a decadent Scottish breakfast and Penhaligon’s toiletries. prestonfield.com

Owner's Suite, Prestonfield House

Party in style at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh
Adding a contemporary spin to Edinburgh’s Unesco-listed Old Town, Virgin Hotels Edinburgh is just a five-minute walk from Edinburgh Castle.

The property retains much of its 19th-century character but has been given a modern makeover with a Virgin-red colour scheme. The 222 rooms – known as ‘chambers’ – feature dedicated areas for living and sleeping, some with outdoor terraces and castle views. All feature fully-stocked Smeg mini fridges (containing bottles of the local Iron Bru), Nespresso machines and yoga mats.

The pinnacle suite is ‘Sir Richard’s Flat’, which guests can enjoy when the billionaire is not in residence. For families, there’s the King Suite with bunk beds or the Kasbah Tamadot, a suite with a Bedouin tent-style mezzanine, ideal for movie nights.

Dining options include the Commons Club, an intimate vaulted cellar restaurant serving Scottish flavours such as seaweed tortellini, and Eve, offering live music and Italian fare. virginhotels.com/edinburgh

Commons Club Bar, Virgin Hotels Edinburgh

Reside in Glasgow’s most decadent suite
A luxury landmark for almost 200 years, Glasgow’s Kimpton Blythswood Square is a series of Georgian townhouses first designed for the aristocracy. The only five-star property in the city with AA accreditation, it combines private gardens to unwind in while also being close to the centre, with luxury boutique-lined Ingram Street just a 15-minute walk away.

Rooms and suites are refined with Georgian architectural details including original marble fireplaces, wood panelling and high ceilings, some with roll-top baths and views of the private street gardens. The Penthouse Suite is arguably the city’s most decadent place to stay, with a private lift, steam room, sunken bath, expansive terrace and unbeatable views of the Glasgow skyline from a rooftop garden.

Guests can feast on freshly-caught Scottish seafood platters at Iasg (from the Gaelic word for fish), unwind in the subterranean spa with its saunas and steam rooms, pool and warm room with heated marble benches, or take in a film at the intimate in-house cinema with seats fashioned from Harris tweeds. Don’t miss ‘social hour’, which takes place in the lobby each afternoon. kimptonblythswoodsquare.com

Penthouse Suite, Kimpton Blythswood Square

Play billiards, tennis and croquet at Cromlix
Owned by former world number-one tennis star Andy Murray and his wife Kim, Cromlix is an intimate country retreat in the heart of the Stirlingshire countryside, located to the east of Loch Lomond and just three miles from Murray’s hometown Dunblane.

The refurbished Victorian mansion is set on 34 acres of Scottish woodland with a small loch and offers guests an array of experiences from flower arranging, foraging and falconry to archery, fishing and games of tennis on the Wimbledon-grade tennis court.

Alongside the mansion’s original chapel for weddings, the main house includes two drawing rooms, a conservatory, billiards room, art deco-styled bar and conservatory restaurant, which dishes up seasonal Scottish produce and Asian flavours courtesy of Darin Campbell, who previously helmed Scotland’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Gleneagles.

There are just 10 rooms and five suites in the main house, each spacious and grand with a soft pastel palette, statement floral wallpaper and antique Scottish furniture. In addition, there’s a self-contained country cottage at the entrance to the estate. cromlix.com

Laurel Gate Lodge has a double bedroom, kitchen and living area with a sofa bed

Laurel Gate Lodge at Cromlix

Holiday like Winston Churchill at Loch Lomond’s Cameron House
Set on the shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland’s largest lake, just 30 minutes from Glasgow, Cameron House makes the most of its waterside location with paddleboarding, jet skiing and rides aboard the UK’s only seaplane.

Successfully fusing luxury and adventure, the hotel was voted among the top five in the UK by Condé Nast Traveler US Readers’ Choice 2024 Awards and ranked 16th best resort in Europe in the UK Readers’ Choice 2024 Awards.

The main property is a 17th-century baronial mansion with countless claims to fame, having hosted legendary luminaries, including Winston Churchill, during its years as a private residence, and is joined by a newer extension offering a wide range of accommodations.

There are interconnecting family rooms with bunk beds and elegant suites with cast iron bathtubs and balconies perched atop turrets with outdoor tables, as well as apartments and cottages. For families, self-catering lodges by the woods provide extra space and privacy and easy access to the large pool with flume and waterslides.

There’s an 18-hole golf course, a spa with steam rooms, ice showers and an outdoor pool, a luxury cinema offering complimentary screenings with popcorn, and an array of outdoor pursuits, from falconry and archery to 4x4 tours of the Highlands.

There’s also an art deco-styled bar, a library for afternoon tea, and eight distinct dining options, from a steakhouse to a pizza place cameronhouse.co.uk

Locally caught seafood a theme throughout

Cameron House, Loch Lomond

Reign supreme at Glenapp Castle
Set on the west coast, less than an hour’s drive from Galloway, Britain’s largest forest park, and close to Ayrshire’s famed golf courses, Glenapp Castle is a fairytale five-star hotel straight out of a storybook, with turrets and towers surrounding gardens and woodland.

The romance continues inside the Victorian castle with 17 elegant rooms and suites offering high ceilings, wood panelling, period furniture, log fires, four-poster beds and sea views across to the Isle of Arran and even Northern Ireland on a clear day.

The best place to capture that scenery is from the Penthouse Suite, a sprawling 418-square-metre suite with four bedrooms, a sauna, treatment room, library and games room, kitchen and dining area for up to 16 guests and a private rooftop terrace with panoramic views.

Butler service, a personal chef and a private elevator add extra luxury

Outside, there’s a tennis court and a croquet lawn, and guest experiences include falconry displays, shooting on the estate, trout fishing in nearby rivers, forest bathing and yoga.

Opened in May 2025 is The Azalea, its newest dining experience, set in a Victorian glasshouse within the Walled Gardens, showcases Ayrshire seafood and lamb and estate-grown vegetables. glenappcastle.com

Glenapp Castle

Play games and golf at family-friendly Gleneagles
Famous for its historic golf course, Gleneagles in the heart of Perthshire is a country-estate hotel steeped in hospitality heritage. It hosted the first match between American and British professional golfers, in what’s regarded as the precursor to The Ryder Cup, which it went on to host in 2014.

While many of the estate’s original Victorian features remain, including its dedicated railway station, Gleneagles has undergone a multi-million-pound refurbishment with a newer wing, Braid House, offering rooms with balconies overlooking the estate. Included among the 205 rooms and 28 luxury suites is the two-bedroom Tower Suite set across two floors.

Beyond the championship golf courses, there’s a menu of more than 50 country pursuits, from riding, shooting, fishing and falconry to off-road driving, axe throwing and even ferret racing. Children are also catered for with a supervised creche, dedicated gaming space and curated activities, from fire building to nature tours.

The award-winning spa is home to an outdoor pool, sauna and steam room, heated loungers and an extensive menu of treatments, from body scrubs using botanicals found on the estate, to anti-ageing facials using the Barbara Sturm brand.

Dining is equally diverse, with five restaurants and five bars, including Andrew Fairlie, Scotland’s longest-standing two Michelin-starred restaurant. The tasting menu includes vegetables from the estate’s walled Victorian garden. gleneagles.com

Gleneagle's historic golf course

Break for the Borders at SCHLOSS Roxburghe
With its 18-hole championship golf course, award-winning spa and outdoor pursuits, SCHLOSS Roxburghe in the Scottish Borders near Northumberland is a worthy member of the Destination by Hyatt collection of independent hotels and resorts.

Formerly owned by the Duke of Roxburghe, the castle, complete with ornate turrets, brims with history dating back to the 12th century, and has been tastefully modernised with a newer extension and spa.

This property has 78 rooms and suites spread across the old house, with some featuring antiques and canopied four-poster beds. In the more modernised wing, suites come with expansive balconies and freestanding tubs. There are also 51 self-catering stone cottages dotted among the woodlands.

The two-bedroom Gardeners Cottage comes with a firepit and hot tub

The multiple restaurants operate an ‘estate-to-plate’ philosophy with optional drinks’ pairings, and the modernist spa, housed in a glass cube, comes with a heated infinity pool, saunas and plunge pool. Guests can golf among waterways and woods, play croquet on the lawn or participate in fly fishing, clay pigeon shooting and archery. schloss-roxburghe

Spa and pool at SCHLOSS Roxburghe

Shop for fashion fit for royalty at Johnsons of Elgin
Wherever you lay your hat, no trip to Scotland would be complete without investing in heritage tweed, cashmere or fine woollens, designed both for the elements and elegance.

Now you can dress like royalty at Johnstons of Elgin, in the Scottish Borders, which in 2024 was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to His Majesty The King. One of the finest moments in the family-run company’s 227-year history, it’s also recognised for its sustainability efforts. All cashmere and merino wool pieces are crafted using natural, renewable, biodegradable fabrics at its Scottish mills, with its two-century-old working Elgin Mill offering behind-the-scenes tours, personal shopping experiences and dining.

There are ranges for men, women and children plus a host of accessories, from cashmere scarves to their Scottish original Balmacaan Coat, as well as blankets and throws. johnstonsofelgin.com