A hotel set on a remote Scottish island that has just 12 rooms has been voted the best place to stay in the whole of the UK.
Once a humble Victorian inn, the building has been beautifully restored with colourful interiors and a unique whisky theme. The island has a long association with whisky and is home to a famous distillery, so there’s no better spot to place a themed hotel with delightful features such as hidden mini bottles in every room.
Ardbeg House on the Isle of Islay, the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, beat fierce competition from all sorts of accommodation to be crowned the Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2026 by The Times. It was described as a “sophisticated boutique bolt hole with 12 bedrooms that display such dazzling maximalism, you’ll be drunk on their design even before you’ve even had a wee dram.”
Each room has its own unique design full of quirky vintage-inspired details, and the interiors are a riot of colours. Upon check-in, guests are treated to a dram, and each stay includes a tour of the Ardbeg Distillery. If you aren’t able to make the tour, your hosts will arrange a whisky tasting in the house, so you can try the island’s iconic drink for yourself.
Downstairs, there’s a restaurant serving local produce from hand-dived scallops to Islay lamb and trout caught in the nearby bay. The whisky theme continues, with beef that’s cooked low and slow over a woodfire made from old barrels.
After dinner, grab a seat at the Islay Bar, which has its own whisky menu with an incredible selection just from the island alone. And that’s before you venture into its list of other Scottish whiskies. Luckily, there are staff on hand to guide you through the list or set up a flight of whiskies for a tasting.
A short walk from the hotel is the Ardbeg Distillery, and when tours are available you can see the manufacturing process for yourself and learn all about their whiskies before enjoying a tasting among the oak barrels and copper stills.
Islay is packed with unspoilt green landscapes and sweeping coastlines including white sand beaches. Saligo Bay is particularly beautiful for a windswept walk, and has soft sand and dunes where you can sit and enjoy a picnic in the summer.
Take the Carraig Fhada lighthouse walk and you can walk around the base of the building and enjoy the sea views. A short walk away are the famous Singing Sands, and on this beach you’ll find a phenomenon that only happens in a handful of places around the world.
As you walk across them in certain conditions, the sand makes a ‘singing’ noise, which can be quite spooky. But even without the singing, it’s a beautiful little cove to visit and it’s a great walk along the unspoilt coast.
Double rooms at Ardbeg House start at £225 a night for two including breakfast. Book online at ardbeghouse.com.
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