Argyll Hotel

Iona has drawn spiritual seekers and creative types for centuries, and the Argyll Hotel, the island's oldest, built around 160 years ago, has hosted many of them. Seventeen rooms sit above two sea-facing lounges, one with an open fire and a chess set, the other with the hotel's only television. Downstairs, a 40-cover restaurant and sun lounge look out over the Sound of Iona towards Mull, with a seafront lawn for when the sun shows up. The kitchen makes everything from scratch, including the bread, using supplies from the organic walled garden where possible along with local suppliers such as shellfish from Iona Seafood and the Tobermory Fish Company.

Sample dishes include roast hogget leg with garden parsley mash, spring nettle gnocchi with beetroot herb fritter, or dressed crab with homemade bread. Iona Abbey is a ten-minute walk away. Beyond that, the island's beaches and interior is best explored on foot. Boat trips ferry visitors out to Staffa and Fingal's Cave for puffins and guillemots. The hotel regularly hosts writing courses, Celtic history retreats and wild swimming weekends too.