Want to know where the best hostelry is… well, we suggest you whisk yourself off to Britain’s best hotel.
Maybe not where you expected but whisky island Islay is The Times’s choice of best inn on our islands.
With Ardbeg House, attached to one of the ten distilleries on the island.
Which means there is a whisky home for every 300 of the isle’s inhabitants.
And which is why it’s a magnet for those of us who love the uisge beatha, or water of life, the Gaelic euphemism for whisky.
Gael force
And big reveal here, that’s probably as far as my mastery of the Scots language stretches.
Not that you need it on the Inner Hebrides but it does help you feel more of an islander.
And which is why we bring my old schoolfriend and Gaelic scholar and wordsmith Martin around with us!
That and the fact that he was our friend Stewart’s best man when he married his Japanese sweetheart Hisayo back in the day.
With the wedding party all decked out in kimonos.
And us breaking bread and sake and wine and, yes, of course whisky at the Ardbeg.
Drams are made of this
The Ardbeg boasts 12 bespoke bedrooms and suites inspired by the distillery’s history.
With the owners promising that each has a secret miniature dram tucked away for you to find.
With clues to local myths embedded in the artwork, and subtle touches that nod to the island’s characters and folklore.
Several of the bedrooms can be set up with a king bed, or twin single beds in the Fèis, Creation, Legend, Wild or Rebel rooms.
Four rooms boast a separate sofa-bed – the Legend, Monster, Untamed, and Invention rooms with a third person costing an extra £65/night.
Signature dishes and nips
Of course you’ll be wined and dined with the best local produce.
Which means the Signature Restaurant.
With its pan-fried Islay sea trout, Ardbeg smoked venison pie, Islay cauliflower schnitzel.
Local hand-dived king scallops, and Islay duck cannelloni.
While the Islay Bar is the holy of holies for Ardbeg’s distinctive smoky, peaty whisky.
And altruistically they serve the best offerings from the other Islay distilleries.
As well as craft beers, small-batch gins, and island-made produce.
You can bus it, ferry it with CalMac or fly with Loganair with our friends at the Islay tourist board always there to help you.
Superior rooms at Ardbeg House are from £297 per room per night and £341 per room per night for premier suites.
