Best Places to Stay in Arran: Top 13 Best Hotels on Isle of Arran

Probably my favorite Scottish island, Arran is incredible. With hikes, beaches, mountains, charming villages, and lots of wildlife, it’s got loads of stuff to love. Colloquially known as ‘Scotland in miniature,’ I totally recommend spending a few days on the island.

So to give you some overnighting recommendations for the place, we’ve brought you the 13 best hotels on Arran.

We’ve included super-indulgent Auchrannie Resort, along with best-for-budget Lochranza Youth Hostel (which are my two top picks across the whole island). But we’ve also featured lots more stuff, for families, hikers, couples, budget backpackers, and more.

Read on!

1. The Douglas Hotel – 4☆

If you’re looking for classy and elegant, the super-popular Douglas Hotel will probably tick all of your boxes.

You get friendly staff, fantastic food and beautiful decor, all in one of Arran’s most upmarket accommodations. And because you’re only a 2-minute walk from Brodick’s ferry terminal, you’re close to all the action, including lots of lively pubs, bars and restaurants. The hotel is also well-located for wandering up Goatfell, the biggest peak on the island.

It’s a great pick for a romantic stay, and one of the best boutique hotels in Scotland. The massive king size beds have comfy Egyptian cotton, and they offer a lovely balcony suite.

Best of all, some rooms have great views over Brodick Bay, one of Arran’s prettiest stretches of coastline.

• Best for: Couples and romantic stays
• Location: Right in the center of Brodick
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

2. Auchrannie Resort – 4☆

Even more indulgent than The Douglas Hotel, the Auchrannie Resort is the most exclusive and upmarket place we’ve featured on this list. You get open fires, wooden decor, leather interiors and a whole lotta charm.

Set in beautiful grounds, it’s a lovely place for a wander. It also has a gym, a beauty salon, a spa and a pool, along with three-award winning restaurants. So I’m obviously not recommending spending all of your Arran adventure cooped up in a hotel… but you could easily spend a few days in the Auchrannie Resort without ever leaving the grounds.

That said, it’s not all high-end excess. They also have garden-based lodges along with adventure activities, a childrens’ play barn, and loads more stuff for kids.

Just on the outskirts of Brodick, the location is also pretty great, with excellent connections to the rest of the island.

• Best for: Romantic stays and endless indulgence
• Location: The outer edge of Brodick
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: Yes
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: Yes

3. Corrie Hotel – 2☆

The Corrie Hotel is perfect if you’re looking for a quiet little stay away from some of Arran’s bigger places.

The rooms are a little basic, and they don’t look anything special. But they’re comfy and cozy, and the real appeal lies outside of the bedrooms. The communal areas are really beautiful and inviting (one of them has a pool table!), and the hotel owns a private stretch of beach. If you’re looking for a place right on the coast, you’ll absolutely love this.

They also have a great garden for slurping and sipping on drinks, and some tasty and affordable no-frills food.

Overall, if you want a reliable and welcoming hotel with decent prices and a great location, the Corrie Hotel is perfect.

• Best for: Family stays, and a relatively affordable hotel on the coast
• Location: Corrie, on the northern part of Arran’s east coast
• Price range: ££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

4. Kinloch Hotel – 3☆

Located in the lovely (and underrated!) village of Blackwaterfoot, the Kinloch Hotel is another great pick if you’re on the hunt for a luxurious place—they have a sauna, a pool, and an excellent buffet breakfast.

Blackwaterfoot is a great base for exploring some of Arran’s lesser-known adventures, including hidden caves, tucked-away beaches, relatively-unexplored sections of the Arran Coastal Way, and the Machrie Moor Standing Stones. If you want to miss the crowds while enjoying a big fat slice of luxury, this is a great place to stay.

Managed and operated by the same family since 1954, it’s a really welcoming place, and has a warm, friendly atmosphere. If you want to stay on the west coast of Arran, you really won’t find many better places than this.

• Best for: Romantic stays, relative luxury, and enjoying an underrated part of Arran
• Location: Blackwaterfoot, on the southern part of Arran’s west coast
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: Yes

5. The Lagg Hotel – 3☆

Right on the southern tip of Arran, and not too far from Blackwaterfoot, The Lagg Hotel is another good choice if you’re looking for an underrated base in a lesser-known part of the island.

Operating for nearly 250 years, it’s a family-run institution, and it’s like someone took the words ‘wholesome’ and ‘homely,’ and somehow transformed them into a place to sleep. With log fires and stone interiors, it’s a beautiful place to spend a few days.

Known as one of the island’s best hotels for foodies, they offer carefully-constructed and delicately-flavored twists on good old classics, focusing on local ingredients and tastes. You know those places where your plate of food looks more like an art installation? It’s one of those venues, but without all the usual pretense.

A 10-minute from a quiet and secluded beach, this is the perfect place to unwind, and a great choice if you want a tranquil base for exploring Arran.

• Best for: Peace and quiet for couples and solo travelers
• Location: The southern tip of Arran
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

6. The Arran Lodge – 3☆

This place is in Lamlash, the administrative center of Arran. The village is home to the island’s hospital, secondary school, and other bureaucratic stuff.

The Arran Lodge is the most high-end accommodation in the village, set in a beautiful stone-fronted country manor. Inside, the rooms are comfy, bright, modern, and spacious, with lovely facilities.

Lots of golfers stay at the place, as Lamlash Golf Course is really close to the hotel. It’s also well-located for taking trips to Holy Island, just off the Lamlash coast.

If you’re looking for something a bit more unique and affordable than a standard indoor stay here, the Arran Lodge also has some cozy little sleep huts attached to the back of the property. Though they’re more rudimentary than the standard hotel rooms, they’re fully equipped, with everything you need to sleep, cook, wash, and have a brilliant stay.

• Best for: A very comfortable stay for families, couples, solo travelers, and everyone in between
• Location: Lamlash, on Arran’s east coast
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

7. Lamlash Bay Hotel – 3☆

Lamlash Bay Hotel is just south of Arran Lodge, and right in the heart of Lamlash. Plonked on the coast, it’s perfect if you want to explore Lamlash Bay and other great beaches and bays in Arran. Close by, you also have lots of hikes, including super-famous Goatfell.

The hotel itself is pretty modern—while most hotels on Arran embrace their old-school antiquity, Lamlash Bay hotel has gone all classy and contemporary, with modern decor, pastel colors, and white-fronted facades.

The on-site food is great, with an excellent breakfast, and a restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine.

Lamlash Bay Hotel isn’t as atmospheric and homely as some other places we’ve featured, but the location is great, the staff are super-friendly, and the prices are pretty reasonable for such a modern place.

• Best for: Active couples who want a beautiful location for adventures
• Location: Right in the center of Lamlash
• Price range: £££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

8. Burlington Guest House – 3☆

A 10-minute drive south of Lamlash, you’ll find Burlington Guest House. A massively charming place, it’s set inside a big renovated house.

Situated in the quiet and calm village of tiny Whiting Bay, this is a great area for coastal walks. It’s an excellent option if you want to be close to the east coast’s action, but in a quiet area. Nearby, I think you have some of the best beaches on Arran.

From the outside, Burlington Guest House looks like an old-school bed & breakfast, but the insides are modern, clean and light, making the rooms feel nice and spacious. It’s clean and tidy, and well-maintained. The on-site restaurant is great, serving tasty pub-stye classics along with excellent pizzas.

Best of all, it’s a pretty affordable place, so it’s great for all types of travelers.

• Best for: Families, couples and single travelers who want to stay in a quiet place
• Location: In the small village of Whiting Bay
• Price range: ££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

9. Belvedere – 3☆

If you’re looking for a bed and breakfast in Brodick, this is our top pick. The staff are friendly and welcoming, and you get a hearty, tasty and traditional Scottish breakfast (dependent on Scottish Covid restrictions).

The rooms are pretty small, and not as modern as some other places on our list, but I don’t mind any of that stuff. Assuming you’re the same as me, this is a lovely place to stay.

The ferry is only a short walk away, as are all of Brodick’s excellent pubs, bars and restaurants.

On top of all that, a stay here comes with a pretty unusual twist. In the words of the accommodation itself, Belvedere is home to an “in-house clinical aromatherapist, hypnotherapist, reflexologist and Reiki master.” So if you’re into all that stuff, this is the perfect place to be.

• Best for: An affordable stay in Brodick—and people who like alternative medicine
• Location: Right in the center of Brodick
• Price range: ££
• Pet-friendly: No
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

10. Lochranza Youth Hostel

If you’re looking for a cheap place to stay on Arran, Lochranza Youth Hostel is our top pick.

With excellent prices and a friendly atmosphere, it’s a great place to meet other budget backpackers for adventures still to come. But unlike lots of hostels, it’s not just for young people—you get families, couples and older adventurers all staying here.

It’s perched in a lovely place, and in a great location for exploring what I reckon is the best part of the entire Arran Coastal Way: the 10-mile (16km) wander from Lochranza to Sannox. Aside from that, you’re also close to the hugely-underrated Pirnmill Hills, and Lochranza’s famous red deer.

Like most official HostellingScotland venues, the hostel is clean, tidy and spacious. The bedrooms are comfy, the common areas are welcoming, and the kitchen is better-equipped than most other hostels on the planet.

• Best for: An affordable stay in a great location
• Location: Lochranza, on the northern tip of Arran
• Price range: £
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

11. Stonewater House Vegan Bed & Breakfast

This one’s pretty niche. A homely bed and breakfast specializing in tasty vegan food, Stonewater House Bed & Breakfast is an excellent under-the-radar choice.

And when we say ‘vegan food,’ we don’t just mean some hastily-assembled bread and jelly. We mean fruit kebabs, vegan haggis, buckwheat pancakes and endless healthy stuff. Even if you’re not a vegan, you’ll love all the meals and morsels here. The pair who own the place are super passionate about nutrition, which is reflected in the brilliant food.

And like any good bed and breakfast should be, it’s warm and welcoming, and the couple who own it are friendly, chatty and accommodating.

Because it’s located in Lamlash, it’s in an excellent spot for exploring the east coast, and heading to Brodick and beyond.

• Best for: Couples, warm welcomes, and great vegan food
• Location: Right in the center of Lamlash
• Price range: ££
• Pet-friendly: No
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

12. Shore Lodge

Our second (and final) hostel, Shore Lodge is a lovely serene retreat, perfect if you want peace and quiet without having to spend loads of money to get it. The rooms are all bunkhouse-style with shared bathrooms, so they’re relatively basic. That said, they’re all comfortable and well-equipped.

Set in the grounds of Brodick Castle(!), the hostel is very close to Brodick—but just far enough from the center to avoid the bustle of the islands’ busiest place.

But the best thing about Shore Lodge is its proximity to endless excellent adventures. Right outside the doors of the hostel, you have the starting point for lots of Arran’s walks, including the best ascent up Goatfell, numerous wanders to lots more nearby summits, and the excellent low-level circular in Glen Rosa.

• Best for: Budget backpackers who want an excellent base for hiking
• Location: Just north of central Brodick
• Price range: £
• Pet-friendly: No
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

13. Kinneil Self Catering

If you like staying in your own holiday cottage where you can cook, relax, and enjoy your own space, this is our tip pick. The kitchens are fully-equipped, and the cottages are nice and peaceful.

Kinneil Self Catering isn’t as modern as some other places we’ve featured, but when an accommodation is this cute and cozy, it doesn’t matter. The decor is old-school and homely, and the apartments have a garden with beach views, for a lovely place to have dinner and drinks.

The location is absolutely perfect, right in the center of Lamlash—and with excellent views out to Holy Island.

The people who own Kinneil Self Catering are friendly and helpful, and can help you out with bike hire, maps, and recommendations for hikes.

• Best for: People who prefer self-catering, and families with kids
• Location: Right in the center of Lamlash
• Price range: ££
• Pet-friendly: Yes
• Spa: No
• Jacuzzi: No
• Pools: No

Final Thoughts and Further Reading

There they are – the top 13 hotels on Arran. Get one booked, hop on the ferry, and have one of the best adventures of your life!

Of them all, I recommend the Auchrannie Resort for anyone seeking upmarket indulgence. But for travelers on a budget, my favorite place is Lochranza Youth Hostel.

If you want to know anything else about traveling on Arran, check out our guides to the top reasons to visit, the island’s best hikes, and all of Arran’s best places to eat.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time!