The best little guest house in Scotland

A REMOTE guesthouse in the Outer Hebrides has won one of the Oscars of the hotel industry.

Scarista House on the Isle of Harris took a César gong in this year’s Good Hotel Guide, beating almost 100 other top destinations across Scotland.

The Martin family, who own the six-bedroom Georgian manse, took on the guest house in 1999 when they moved from Sussex.

Tim Martin, whose wife Patricia, 45, is in London today to accept the award, said they used to visit Harris up to three times a year and took the opportunity when Scarista House went on the market.

The 57-year-old said: “It’s very rewarding to get such a measured approval and an award from the industry. It’s very gratifying.

“It’s the incredible topographical beauty and sense of community here. We wanted to take the cooking in particular at Scarista to another level.

“Some people get a sense of this as a family home and a lot of our guests become friends, with a lot coming back year after year.

“What we aim for is traditional comfort and skilled natural cooking, and we work very hard at that.

“Some people find the furnishings a bit frayed, but we aim for comfort over smartness.”

The guide described Scarista as “a special place in a splendid setting”, with dinner as a “slightly formal affair” and a “delicious” breakfast of freshly-squeezed orange juice, Ayrshire bacon and Stornoway black pudding.

Mr Martin, who previously ran the restaurant in the Henry Wood Hall recording studios in London, said in general the expectations of guests continue to rise.

The father of three added: “More people are expecting their expectations to be met, however they may have been formed, and however difficult it might be to meet. It is just part of the culture of travel nowadays and in an age of instant and unedited reviews on the internet.”

Scarista House – which offers bed and breakfast at about £200 per night – has been a guest house since the 1970s and now joins previous top title holders in Scotland including the Kilberry Inn in Kintyre, the Three Chimneys on Skye, Bealach House at Duror, Appin, and last year’s champion, Killiecrankie House, in Perthshire.

The book’s editor, Adam Raphael, said Scotland was continuing to improve its quality, particularly with food. With more than 50,000 places to stay in the UK, and only 850 in the guide, 95 feature from Scotland.

Mr Raphael said: “They have to be very special to survive as a business, and to get in our book. Scottish hotels have a combination of great locations and good service. Many are on remote islands so they really have to be good to get in the book.”

Other winners this year included Burgh Island, in Devon ,as “most romantic hotel”, Suffolk’s Lavenham Priory as “best historic house” and Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall, as the “best family hotel”.