7 Best Hotels in Stirling and the Central Highlands, Scotland

One of the large Victorian houses set back from the main road, this B&B is a quiet refuge with spacious, updated rooms and large windows. Most rooms have wooden floors and modern furniture; there are also four apartments. The dining room is bright and airy, and corridors and stairs are wide. You can enjoy the view of the surrounding hills from the large front garden.

Occupying a large stone landmark neoclassical building in the center of town and near the castle, this is a modern hotel in the grand style, with 21st-century amenities. Rooms are spacious and bright, decorated mostly in dramatic black and white. Black and white is also the theme of the ample public areas, bars, and a grill room that has a fashionable Jasper oven. There is no on-site fitness center, but guests can use one nearby.

This small boutique hotel in a restored townhouse is situated in the heart of Stirling. The rooms have been tastefully modernized and feature some exposed brick and a range of interesting paintings. Each room is different, but all have comfortable beds; many have some vintage furniture. The downstairs bar and restaurant is small but quiet and relaxing, with a wood fire and some imaginative cooking, too.

A lively hotel and pub in the heart of Pitlochry, you'll find spacious and elegant rooms here. The bar is busy and lively, with an extensive drink menu while the restaurant has a familiar pub menu. On weekends there is live music starting at 9 pm.

Balquhidder Glen is the perfect place for walkers and cyclists, and this modest but casually chic hotel has been designed with them in mind. It combines all-day fine cooking with attractively minimalist, cheap, and practical rooms done in mostly white, with pops of color. Hearty and filling, the food is suitable for the end of an energetic day; also look for occasional luxuries like oysters and mussels. A big breakfast costs £10. Families will appreciate the games room, with a pool table, TV, and board games. The all-day food menu (from noon until 9 pm) is geared towards active guests.

This small hotel with a lively traditional pub scores above all on location: it is just outside the walls of Stirling Castle, and the views are spectacular, especially from the upper floors where the guest rooms are located. The rooms are quite petite but clean and have ample beds; the lively downstairs bar serves wholesome traditional fare.

Dating from 1803, this handsome, rambling B&B with spacious rooms is part of a working farm. The house is surrounded by woods and flower gardens, with a lovely walled garden beyond. There are several sitting rooms for guests, inviting you to relax. It is a restful place that feels just slightly out of time, which is part of its charm.