Pool House, Poolewe, United Kingdom

Pool House boutiue hotel in Wester Ross is a lavishly romantic hideaway that wins awards for environmental friendliness as well as luxurious pampering. This 300-year-old house was once the home of Osgood Mackenzie, founder of the famous nearby Inverewe Garden. Since acquiring the hotel in 1991, Peter and Margaret Harrison and their daughters Liz and Mhairi have transformed it into a graceful haven of elegant Victoriana, crammed with antiques, paintings, porcelain and curiosities. The boutique hotel is great for exploring the coast, countryside and nearby Loch Ewe.

Unusually for a hotel of such quality, Pool House is run almost entirely by the charming owner family, and without a hint of ostentation. It’s worth forcing yourself out of your suite occasionally to walk the owners’ lovable dog Scampi. In so many ways, a stay at Pool House comes as close as any hotel to capturing the magic of the Scottish Highlands themselves.

The facilities

At this classically Scottish boutique hotel, open log fires warm the wood panelled rooms, and the bar boasts a massive selection of single malt whiskies. Fine dining at the restaurant overlooking the loch is an unforgettable experience, although exquisite sunsets and occasional otter sightings can cause guests to abandon their award-winning seven courses for the photo of a lifetime.

The rooms

The boutique hotel’s seven guestrooms come in the form of two rooms and five suites. Each room is enormous, sumptuously furnished and individually decorated with huge, comfortable beds and spacious Victorian bathrooms.

All the Pool House rooms have a sense of fun to them, beginning with the fact they’re all named after different battleships. The eccentric yet super-stylish decoration has a different theme in every room: the HMS Nairana is Indian-inspired, with its palatial, intricately carved arches and painted ceiling panels. HMS Bramble is all princess pastels with French antique furniture and a king sized Empire bed, while the HMS Opportune has an ultra-modern bathroom with a marble bath and wet room with body jets.