Another Place, The Machrie

The draw here is the Machrie Links, a windswept old course on Islay that golfers treat as a kind of pilgrimage. The hotel wraps around that obsession without being consumed by it: rooms are quietly luxurious, the spa is extensive, and the restaurant looks out over the sea with locally sourced food that suits the surroundings. Non-golfers find plenty of excuse to stay, mostly involving dramatic Hebridean scenery and not leaving the spa.