curlicue large Castle Hotels of Scotland curlicue large

scotland map highland image map tayside image map lothians image map england

Jump to a list of all Scottish castle hotels here or click on a region.

 

Haven’t decided on a hotel yet? You can look at other available hotels in Scotland with Booking.com.

 

Ruined castles standing in misty, heather-filled fields or atop craggy hills pay witness to centuries of legend and romance.

History and authenticity define the castle hotels of Scotland. You can explore the Stuart family castle and let yourself be pampered in a fine baronial castle once favored by Queen Victoria.

Nothing captures the imagination more than the first view of a Scottish castle set upon an island in the middle of a gorgeous loch, belying the strife between the clans or the often brutal warfare between Scotland and England.

From the Iron Age stone towers of the Picts and the Norman-style motte-and-bailey castles of the 12th century, Scotland developed a distinctive tower house, evidence of which you’ll see throughout the country.

For 400 years, these defensive structures, comprising a single three- or four-story tower, stood firm against local attacks. If the castle-towers managed to survive full-blown assaults (these from the English), they were later modified for comfort, and new wings added around the tower.

In the 18th century grand houses replaced the tower houses as the ultimate in country living, but the castle “style” continued well into the 19th century. Baronial castles—complete with crenellation and towers—became quite the rage, and hundreds of these “castle” hotels exist in every part of Scotland.

Some great reasons to visit

Every region of Scotland captivates!

curlicue Highland Majestic mountain landscapes, romantic glens, brilliant purple and green moorlands, and dramatic and moody skies fit for a Sir Walter Scott novel exude an epic quality found nowhere else in Britain.

curlicue Lothians Dominated by the noble capital city of Edinburgh, the Lothians (made up of West Lothian, Midlothian, and East Lothian) is a region filled with castles, historic houses, beaches, and green hills and fields.

curlicue Tayside A region encompassing the old counties of Perth and Angus, Tayside is a lovely area of quiet glens where the Highlands meets the Lowlands.