Having explored dozens of countries around the world, Scotland is one that I can never get enough of. Before I leave, I’m already planning my next trip. Characterized by wild landscapes with soaring heather-covered mountains, lush hills, and sparkling lakes, with an ancient past that’s left a significant mark, there are countless castles ranging from crumbling ruins to fairytale structures that now serve as luxurious castle hotels. As a place that’s synonymous with romance, couples will find castle hotels, manor houses, intimate boutique hotels, and other properties that are just about guaranteed to spark or reignite the flame of love, including these.
Glengarry Castle Hotel - Invergarry
Take a time-traveling adventure with a stay at Glengarry Castle Hotel, a grand mid-19th-century Baronial mansion that comes complete with towering turrets on 60 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens and woodlands on the banks of Loch Oich. The ruins of Invergarry Castle, where Bonnie Prince Charlie once stayed, are just a short walk down the road. There’s an elegant dining room for fine dining on multi-course dinners focused on high-quality local, seasonal produce. A sumptuous complimentary breakfast is served here, complete with views over the gardens and meadow where sheep are grazing. The Drawing Room and Library offer a quiet place for Afternoon Tea or an after-dinner dram. Rooms feature period furnishings, roaring log fires, and all the modern comforts.
Key Amenities
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Elegant rooms with period furnishings
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Lakeside setting with landscaped gardens
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Complimentary breakfasts and fine dining available for dinner
Glengarry Castle Hotel, Invergarry PH35 4HW, UK— +44 1809 501254
Gleneagles Hotel - Auchterarder
One of the best spa resorts in the UK, the Gleneagles Hotel is an iconic landmark hotel set within a French chateau meets Scottish baronial building with luxurious modern comforts. It’s famous for its championship golf courses, as well as offering a pro shop and professional coaching for all abilities. Everything from horse riding to falconry and fishing can be enjoyed too. Afterward, there are many ways to relax, including two indoor pools, an outdoor heated pool, a steam room, a sauna, a hot tub, and a lavish spa new that recently added some new wellness offerings with OTO CBD. Guests can enjoy a variety of CBD massages that deliver an optimal dose of CBD alongside crystals and sound therapy. Other treatments include CBD Glow Therapy and unique signature facials to rebalance, refresh, and hydrate the skin.
Key Amenities
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Two-starred Michelin dining
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Championship golf courses with professional coaching available
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Luxurious spa with CBD massages and treatments
Balmoral Hotel - Edinburgh
The Balmoral Hotel is a top-rated Edinburgh hotel that offers the ultimate romantic escape right in the heart of the city. If you want to explore the city’s famous hilltop castle and the Royal Mile, its 1 Princes Street address at the corner of the Old Town and New Town makes it ideal, within a 10-minute walk away. It offers a swimming pool, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and rooms with castle views.
Key Amenities
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Michelin-star dining
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Swimming pool on-site
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Prime location within a 10-minute walk of the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle
Mint Croft Hotel - Isle of Skye
The Mint Croft Hotel offers accommodations in historic crofters cottages overlooking the sea that were designed for couples looking for an indulgent romantic break. Enjoy a self-catering stay that includes some amenities, including a library with books to borrow and an island kit for exploring that comes with guides, maps, walking sticks, and binoculars. It’s just a short stroll to a pebbly beach where you can watch for minke whales, porpoises, and seals. You’ll enjoy peaceful surroundings and plenty of privacy while cozied up in your cottage, all of which include Nespresso machines, TVs with DVD players and DVD libraries, books, and board games.
Key Amenities
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Private stand-alone cottages designed for romance
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Island amenity kit with guides, maps, walking sticks, and binoculars
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Spectacular sea views
Sherbrooke Castle Hotel - Glasgow
A stay at this historic castle might make you feel as if you’re Scottish royalty. Located just five minutes from the city center of Glasgow, the 4-star Sherbrooke Castle Hotel was crafted in rich red sandstone with towers and turrets and sits among beautifully landscaped gardens. Opened as a hotel in 1945, guests enjoy a complimentary breakfast in the elegant on-site restaurant that also offers a menu of locally sourced dishes and traditional afternoon tea. There is a wide range of room options, including some with beautiful four-poster beds.
Key Amenities
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Complimentary full Scottish breakfast & a restaurant serving dishes with locally sourced ingredients
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Beautiful just 5 minutes from Glasgow’s city center
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Rooms with four-poster beds
11 Sherbrooke Ave, Pollokshields, Glasgow G41 4PG, UK— +44 141 427 4227
The Fife Arms - Braemar
The Fife Arms is an incredibly romantic hotel that sits within a 19th-century hunting lodge in the Highlands. It’s located in the center of the charming village of Braemar in Cairngorms National Park, which means you’ll be perfectly situated for easy access to miles of hiking trails as well as enjoying the village setting with its picturesque stone homes, tea rooms, and independent shops. There’s a spa on-site for pampering, and dinner can be enjoyed traditional country house style in the Clunie Dining Room or in the bar, which serves tasty pub grub. All rooms are themed and include traditional furnishings, coffeemakers, Wi-Fi, and TVs. Some come with river views too.
Key Amenities
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Ideal location within the boundaries of Cairngorms National Park
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Multiple on-site dining and drinking options
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Rooms with river views
The Torridon - Wester Ross
You’ll reach The Torridon after meandering on narrow roads in the western Highlands and as soon as it comes into view, you’re sure to be impressed. The first thing you might notice is the shaggy Highland Cows, often referred to as the “Hairy Coos,” while the smell of pine wafts in the air. The building itself looks like something from a storybook, originally built in 1887, with nods to Queen Victoria, the reigning monarch at the time. The grand castle-style hotel with turrets sits on 58 acres of parkland and includes a whisky bar with over 350 varieties. There’s a gourmet restaurant serving local dishes and various activities like sea kayaking can be enjoyed too. The range of rooms includes options with DVD players, a complimentary decanter of whisky, and loch or Highland landscape views.
Key Amenities
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Luxurious rooms with Highland or lake views
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Gourmet restaurant and whisky bar
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Activities include sea kayaking
Annat, By Achnasheen, Wester Ross IV22 2EY, UK— +44 1445 791242
Glengorm Castle - Isle of Mull
A popular castle hotel in Scotland, Glengorm Castle sits at the northern tip of the Isle of Mull just west of Oban. The Brontë-esque structure with turrets and towers includes accommodation in self-catering apartments that sit on a sprawling 5,000-acre estate with blackface sheep and Highland cattle. It’s surrounded by postcard-perfect beaches where otters, eagles, and orchids can be spotted. In the castle itself, you can cozy up to a roaring fire in the Main Hall or head to the library to enjoy a complimentary whisky by an open fire.
Key Amenities
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Location near beautiful beaches with wildlife
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Surrounded by beautiful beaches and wildlife
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Accommodation in self-catering apartments
Glengorm Castle, Tobermory, Isle of Mull PA75 6QE, UK— +44 1688 302321
Graemeshall House - Kirkwall, Orkney
Originally built as the home for the Bishop of Orkney in 1626, the historic Graemeshall House also had a stint as a museum before being transformed into the B&B-style guesthouse you see today. A spectacular manor oozing with elegance and charm from the past, it’s filled with antique furnishings and sparkling chandeliers while offering a secluded setting close to walking trails and a beach. The town of Kirkwall and its many attractions is less than 15 minutes away, and every morning you’ll enjoy a generous gourmet breakfast served by your very welcoming host. There are just two rooms, both with ultra-comfy super-king size beds, flat-screen TVs, a wine cooler, tea- and coffee-making facilities.
Key Amenities
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Historic character in a 1626 manor house
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Secluded setting yet less than 15 minutes from Kirkwall
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Generous complimentary breakfast served daily
Barcaldine Castle - Oban
A “mini fairytale castle,” Barcaldine was built in 1609 and includes the requisite turrets, tall ceilings, and a huge stone fireplace. A luxury B&B, it hosts six bedrooms with romantic features like stone fireplaces and antiques. All are unique, three of which include four-poster beds. Many upscale extras include such as bottles of old-fashioned lemonade, proper coffee, chocolates, and robes and slippers. Breakfast is outstanding and includes the full Scottish fry-up, and Afternoon Tea can be enjoyed too.
Key Amenities
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Less than a 10-minute walk from Loch Creran
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Cooked-to-order breakfasts and extras like chocolates and coffee
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Some rooms include antique four-poster beds and fireplaces
Amhuinnsuidhe Castle Estate - Isle of Harris
Amhuinnsuidhe is often described as “heaven on earth.” Overlooking West Loch Tarbert on the beautiful Isle of Harris, known for its Caribbean-like beaches (without the warmth), full breakfast and dinner are included, with most seafood collected right from the waters that are just steps from its door. Fishing and hunting excursions are available, while accommodation is in traditional rooms, most of which feature views of the loch. Some have four-poster beds, and all include robes and slippers. When you’re in need of a drink, you’ll find an honest bar.
Key Amenities
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Full breakfast and dinner included
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Rooms with views of the loch and four-poster beds
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Magnificently landscaped grounds for peaceful strolls
Culzean Castle - Maybole
Culzean Castle looks as if it stepped right out of the pages of a storybook. The clifftop castle boasts views across the sea to mountains on the Island of Arran in the heart of Burns country, providing the perfect base if you want to explore poet Robert Burns’ haunts. One of the finest Georgian castles in the country, complete with a circular saloon and oval staircase, the top floor was converted into a self-contained apartment in the 1940s and offered to General Dwight D. Eisenhower for his lifetime tenancy. Today, guests enjoy exclusive, self-catering accommodation in six bedrooms arranged around the stunning staircase.
Key Amenities
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Sea views
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Storied past
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Home-like comforts such as full kitchens and washing machines
The Witchery by the Castle - Edinburgh
The Witchery by the Castle is the perfect complement to Edinburgh’s history and its majestic castle. An incredibly romantic adults-only offering with gothic glamor, it’s just a 5-minute walk to the castle. Its nine suites are all unique and opulent, with big four-poster beds and velvet-lined walls. Some have two-person standing baths and fireplaces. A sumptuous breakfast is delivered to your room every morning while its candlelit dinners have become world famous.
Key Amenities
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Prime location five minutes on foot to Edinburgh Castle
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Gothic glamor suites with four-poster beds
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Complimentary breakfast served in-room
Inverlochy Castle Hotel - Fort William
Queen Victoria stayed for a week in 1873 and claimed she’d never seen “a lovelier or more romantic spot” than Inverlochy. Nestled in the West Highlands, Inverlochy Castle Hotel offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and a wide range of activities, including fishing and other water sports on Loch Oich, tennis, and clay pigeon shooting, with golf nearby at Fort William Golf Course. Or, you can always stroll hand-in-hand next to the water’s edge and enjoy picnics along the banks. The on-site Albert and Michel Roux Jr restaurant offers a highly-acclaimed modern menu while every room includes mountain or garden views, flat-screen TVs with DVD players, and four-poster or half-canopy beds.
Key Amenities
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Breathtaking West Highlands views
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Wide range of activities, including fishing and other water sports on Loch Oich
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Outstanding restaurant on-site
