Contemporary style meets Scottish charm in this bright, upbeat and spacious hotel overlooking the Blythswood Square Park in Glasgow.

Cromlix (located a little over an hour from Edinburgh) is a picturesque country escape owned by the renowned Scottish tennis player, Andy Murray.

G&V's facade says it all. An ultramodern sandstone monolith with geometric contours, it would be conspicuous almost anywhere. But on Edinburgh's medieval monument-studded Royal Mile, the impact of the architectural fashion statement is considerably heightened. Indeed one might say that the hotel, which opened in 2009, is as irreverent as the Balmoral is nostalgic. If the hotel's valet staff weren't clad in matching kilts (featuring the Italian label’s signature zigzags), Scotland would be virtually invisible here, except from its fourth and fifth-floor windows, which overlook St. Giles' crown steeple to stunning effect.

The property is a novelty even by Milan's standards. So many Italian fashion hotels are stark, spare and serious, but monochrome was never part of Rosita Missoni's vocabulary, and her debut hotel is anything but austere. Its glossy interiors are characterized by an exuberant color scheme and an affinity for staccato patterns and tech-driven design flourishes. A pervasive sense of fun shows up in all the details, from quirky china patterns to vibrantly wallpapered elevators (going upstairs for the first time feels a bit like taking a ride in a giant kaleidoscope).

With its neon habit and its kinetic energy, the hotel does seem a bit displaced in misty, collegiate Edinburgh, and it's difficult not to wonder if the Missoni clan might have paired its inaugural property with a city that were (even vaguely) sartorially inclined. However, it's more difficult still, especially after a sleepless transatlantic flight, to argue with an invigorating rain shower, a luxurious Missoni bathrobe and a perfect cup of espresso (or three) brewed on command by one's own dedicated Nespresso machine. Aesthetic controversies aside, it is an eminently comfortable and pleasant place to be.

With 129 rooms and 7 suites, the G&V is marginally smaller than the Balmoral, but the absence of a soaring lobby and sprawling public areas makes it feel much more intimate. Facilities consist of a cheerful lobby bar, a popular Italian restaurant, a very basic fitness suite and a tiny but adorable spa with only two treatment rooms but plenty of personality.

At the end of a single lane–road flanked by small houses and open pastures stretching down to the sea, a dense forest hides one of the UK’s most exceptional hotels.

A footman comes out to greet guests as they circle around the hand-carved stone flower bed in front of the entrance. There is no front desk or receptionist, and no need to show your passport or hand over a credit card. Instead, simply sign the guest book before being escorted to the drawing room or directly to your room. All 20 rooms and suites are spacious with beautiful views of the gardens, while some on the higher floors have unobstructed views of the sea.

Glenapp’s award-winning restaurant boasts two separate grand dining rooms serving excellent gourmet cuisine sourced locally, including from the castle gardens. Guests can choose a six- or three-course set dinner menu. The Tea House, located in the formal walled garden, serves homemade cakes and treats. While more feminine in style throughout the year, the teahouse is transformed in winter into a masculine “tack room” pub with a billiards table.

Golf enthusiasts will appreciate the western coastline’s dramatic landscapes and tricky winds as they play on the four championship courses in Ayrshire – Royal Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes, and Turnberry – which are all within an hour’s drive of the hotel. Further access is available to an additional 20 courses nearby. Those looking for an even more unique challenge would enjoy island golf on the Isle of Arran, a short boat trip away across the Firth of Clyde.

Non-golfers, too, have plenty of activities both on and off property to choose from, including archery, fishing (including for salmon), mountain biking, hiking, croquet, tennis, clay pigeon shooting and private foraging sessions. Classic car rentals and horse-drawn carriage rides can be arranged with advanced notice. And the nearby historic estates of Culzean Castle, Dumfries House and Blair Estate are well worth a visit. Indagare can arrange a private lunch inside the library at Dumfries House.

Seafarers can hop aboard Glenapp’s own boat for excursions to the nearby islands. Ailsa Craig has a massive wildlife sanctuary home to over 40,000 birds, including puffins and visitors can hike to the top of the 1,100-ft summit for sweeping panoramic views. (On a clear day, you can easily see the coast of Ireland.) The Isle of Islay is home to many whisky distilleries and the main Hendricks’s distillery is also nearby.

Although Glenapp does not have a spa on property, the staff can arrange a visit to the Pebbles Spa a short drive away. Here, guests can bounce between massage treatments with Thalgo marine products and swimming in the infinity pool.

Gleneagles Townhouse is Edinburgh’s first luxury, boutique city hotel, with an all-day restaurant, rooftop terrace and wellness facility.

A Scottish country house with a soft English touch, Greywalls is a lovely, quaint escape 30 minutes east of Edinburgh. Indagare review.

St Andrews’ newest hotel is set on the Scores, the most beautiful street in town, and boasts an enviable location between the golf course and center of town. Having undergone a full renovation in 2014, the historic property has the gleam of a new hotel, but the charm of a decades-old institution. The 36 rooms are done in a comfortable, muted palate with sophisticated touches like suitcase-print wallpaper and modern leather headboards. Some of the rooms are on the smaller side, so splurge on a seaview room; there’s no better place to be on a blustery winter day than wrapped up in a tartan blanket with views of St Andrews Bay. While there is no gym or spa, modern touches like rainfall showers (the two executive suites feature bathtubs as well) and luxe bath products add a dose of coziness, and the staff’s easy geniality is infectious. The newly spruced up digs also include a French bistro-style restaurant, lively bar and romantic garden.

InterContinental Edinburgh The George pays due homage to its Scottish heritage with a décor of fine leathers and tartans as well as exceptional service.  

What do Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Charlie Chaplin, Jefferson Davis and Elton John have in common? All have stayed at Inverlochy Castle’s 17 well-appointed rooms that offer guests a regal, yet cozy inner sanctum where they won’t be afraid to prop their feet up. The property’s common areas offer a comforting space to socialize and for a moment pretend to be the personal guests of his Lordship in a bygone era. The spacious rooms and suites offer a home-like atmosphere with updated bathrooms and finishes and picturesque views across the surrounding mountains and countryside.

Though Inverlochy has a limited selection of outdoor activities on property – such as clay pigeon shooting and fishing – guests can also enjoy many other pursuits in the surrounding area. There are abundant opportunities for deer stalking, shooting, fishing, hiking, white water rafting, mountain biking, off-roading, rock climbing, mountaineering and even skiing. When the weather isn’t cooperating, guests can relax next to the fire in either the great hall or drawing room, or head upstairs to the billiards room and learn to play snooker, a game created by officers of British Expeditionary forces over 100 years ago. There is also a wide selection of board games as well as a DVD library with family-friendly selections.

Located within walking distance to the Old Course, Macdonald Rusacks Hotel frequently plays host to groups and business travellers. Although the hotel has a corporate feel, its 70 rooms have golf and sporting themes, and some have views of the Old Course. Also near the university, this hotel is the elegant mainstay in town.

Just a 10-minute walk from town, the contemporary Old Course Hotel most notably caters to visiting golfers. For those less interested in the links, the hotel also offers a world-class spa featuring a 66-foot swimming pool with waterfall, as well as a rooftop garden and lounge. Guests can dine in one of six restaurants on the property and indulge in everything from gourmet dining to pub fare.

This charming country house hotel lies just a few miles out of town. The turreted mansion house, set in 10 acres of gardens, has 24 bedrooms including two suites, 19 of which are located in the main house. Additional guest rooms are located in the adjacent lodges and the gatehouse. Staying here feels a bit like staying at a proper aunt’s house rather than a fancy hotel, but guests will be charmed by the welcoming and tranquil setting.

Lovely vistas of Edinburgh Castle are among the Balmoral's many assets, though guests requesting castle-facing rooms should also be sure to admire the views of their hotel from the castle's upper battery. A palatial structure that is easily identifiable from the summit of Castle Rock, the Balmoral is the city's unmistakable center of gravity. In Gaelic, Balmoral means "majestic dwelling," and indeed the hotel, with its ornate Victorian facade and venerable clock tower, is a landmark in its own right, rivaling even the castle itself.

The North British Railway Company built the hotel at the turn of the 20th century to serve passengers arriving Edinburgh's Waverley Station (the station is still adjacent to the Balmoral though no longer linked by a dedicated passageway). Despite a series of renovations and the introduction of innumerable modern comforts, the hotel has retained much of its character. Its principal hallways are still wide enough for two amply bustled ladies to pass each other walking in opposite directions, and in keeping with a tradition that dates back to Britain's railroad heyday, its monumental clock is still set three minutes fast in order to help prevent passengers from missing their trains. The only day of the year that the clock runs on time is Hogmanay (Scottish New Year's Eve).

In 1988 the hotel closed for a comprehensive restoration and subsequently became the inaugural property in Sir Rocco Forte's collection. A 2004 makeover by Olga Polizzi saw its 168 rooms and 20 suites clad in gentle lavenders and greens, a palette purportedly inspired by the heathers and mosses of the Scottish countryside. The rooms are generally tasteful and very comfortable if slightly anticlimactic as a corollary to the building's dramatic exterior.

At least part of the Balmoral's appeal lies in its full-service ease, and the amenities do not disappoint. Number One, which is the most formal of the hotel's three eateries, has maintained its Michelin star for more than a decade. Afternoon tea in the lavishly chandeliered Palm Court is attended by a harpist and a flurry of fluted Bollinger champagne. Exercise fiends will be pleased with the well-provisioned gym, and those craving serenity will find an unexpected urban sanctuary by the hotel's lovely indoor pool. It seems no great wonder that this is where J.K. Rowling famously holed up to complete the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series.

One of the most dramatic hotels in the Scottish Highlands, The Fife Arms is chockablock with rich colors and textures.

Spanning a panorama of heathered foothills on the fringes of the Highlands, Gleneagles, formerly a distinguished railroad property serviced by its own dedicated station, is a gracious country resort in the tradition of iconic leisure hotels like the Greenbrier. It is a place of such plenitude and ease, and a place so prolific in recreational possibilities, that it speaks even to those who would otherwise forego grandeur in favor of subtlety or mystery. While properties of similar magnitude can sometimes feel bland and cavernous, Gleneagles is rich in substance – and graced with a distinctly Scottish warmth.

There are 232 rooms at the resort, with rooms in the main house decorated in tasteful shades of gray with elegant, fresh touches and artwork. Braid House is an extension of the Main House with 59 rooms. The rooms are more contemporary, but have distinctly Scottish touches and fantastic views over the property.

Gleneagles is perhaps best known as a golf destination, and with good reason; it is home to the PGA National Academy for Scotland and three championship courses, among them the PGA Centenary Course, whose designer Jack Nicklaus called it "the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with." The resort's reputation as a golfer’s mecca is indeed richly deserved, but it is not the whole story; part of what is so remarkable about the host of the 2014 Ryder Cup is how brilliantly it manages to entertain, pamper and regale the legions of guests who find their way to Gleneagles on the coattails of a golf-obsessed sibling or spouse.

The menu of aristocratic country pursuits practiced at Gleneagles is as encyclopedic as it is sophisticated. The British School of Falconry has been based here since the early '90s (it is recommended to pre-book falconry to ensure availability), and the resort's Gundog School was the first of its kind in the world. Guests can spend a day stalking red deer through wooded glens or fishing rainbow trout in the company of a local ghillie. The fabulous equestrian program is yet another highlight, with its state-of-the-art indoor ring and nuanced curriculum featuring dressage, polo and show jumping in addition to exhilarating scenic trail rides. A team of miniature ponies with names like Arthur and Blueberry Muffin means even the smallest riders will be matched with a worthy steed. Indeed virtually any activity offered for adults has been adapted for children, who can learn to shoot, fish or even drive. Guests as young as six years old can get behind the wheel of specially commissioned mini Land Rovers to brave the resort's junior off-road driving course. The culture throughout Gleneagles' various "schools" is easygoing and warm and exceedingly hospitable to beginners, but the quality of the facilities and the caliber of instruction have also made it a destination worthy of serious sportsmen.

Gleneagles is also a place where spoiled city-dwellers can dip a toe into bucolic pleasures without having to forfeit urban luxuries. The spa is liberally staffed with acupuncturists, nutritionists and personal trainers and boasts 30 treatment rooms. There is a Shu Uemura salon and a nail bar offering a more extensive array of manicure and pedicure services than can often be found on the most cosmopolitan city blocks. Unsurprisingly, the resort's collection of eateries rivals its activities catalogue; what is surprising is that a resort like Gleneagles would be a gastronomic destination in its own right. But indeed, passionate epicures make their way to Perthshire for the sole purpose of dining at Andrew Fairlie, having booked their tables months in advance. When Gleneagles hosted the G8 Summit in 2005, Fairlie, a local culinary prodigy, cooked for a formidable roster of world leaders including Her Majesty the Queen. His restaurant, tucked inconspicuously into an interior alcove of the resort’s main building, is still Scotland's only two Michelin-starred outfit. In addition to Andrew Fairlie, the resort has many informal dining options, including the golf clubhouse for bites between tee times, The Strathearn for all-day dining, and Deseo for Mediterranean tapas.

For all its hundreds of pristine acres, Gleneagles does manage to be a bustling place at certain times of the year. Resort pool and fitness memberships are popular with locals, and conferences are scheduled year-round. Large groups are often accommodated in an extension wing called Braid House, comprising a long, linear corridor of identical suites. The most charming (and most serene) rooms at Gleneagles are located on the fourth floor of the patrician main building, where handsome two-bedroom family suites offer sweeping views of the Perthshire countryside.

The Waldorf Astoria Caledonian combines the glamour of the high-end hotelier with the old-world charms of Edinburgh.