Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

It's a little like Local Hero, a patch of heaven in the middle of nowhere with vast skies, forested hills and the Sound of Jura pouring past. As for the Kilberry, it stands on the road in this tiny village (cars pass at the rate of one an hour). Outside, the phone box is soon to become the smallest whisky bar in the world. Inside, oodles of rustic charm, with Farrow & Ball colours, exposed stone walls and an open fire that burns most nights. Half-bottles of champagne wait at the bar, as do local ales and excellent malts. In summer life spills onto the roadside for lunch in the sun. And the food here is the big draw. Clare's cooking is some of the best on the west coast, perhaps mussels and surf clams cooked in white wine, rack of hill lamb marinated in honey, then mocha brûlée with coffee ice cream. Spotless bedrooms have pretty colours, comfy beds, robes in compact shower rooms. Two are bigger; one has a sitting room, the other a hot tub on a private terrace. Elsewhere, sandy beaches, standing stones and golf at Machrihanish. Worth the detour.