The Traitors is back, with 22 contestants attempting to win up to £120,000 in the ultimate game of deceit. However, while the show is filmed at the stunning Ardross Castle, the contestants’ actually lodgings are a little less swanky…
Here, as the 2026 series kicks off, we take a peek inside the stunning castle, nestled in the Scottish Highlands. And reveal what contestants can expect from the less-than-plush airport hotel they actually stay in…
Where is The Traitors’ Ardross Castle?
As with the first three series, the Traitors series 4 is filmed at the stunning Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The challenges the contestants take part in are also all filmed on the castle’s estate.
It is located 30 minutes north of Inverness. The magnificent castle was built in the 19th century. It’s set within beautiful formal gardens and surrounded by more than 100 acres of parkland on the banks of the River Alness.
History of the castle
The 1st Duke of Sutherland bought the Ardross estate in the late 1700s and built a hunting lodge. In 1845, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland sold the estate to Sir Alexander Matheson. Matheson purchased the estate for £90,000 – which is equivalent to £13.5 million in today’s money.
Matheson commissioned architect Alexander Ross to redesign the castle in the Scots Baronial style. This incorporated the earlier mansion, plus an additional 30 rooms. The estate then changed hands several times, until, in 1983, the McTaggart family purchased it.
Inside the castle, there are numerous drawing rooms, a bar, a stunning kitchen and a formal dining room. There are also a number of bedrooms. Some of the contestants’ VTs are filmed there. They feature sumptuous interiors in stunning jewel colours, four-poster beds and roll-top baths.
The gardens and grounds are also stunning, and home to the peacocks seen on the show.
Can you stay at the Traitors Castle?
As well as being the setting of the smash-hit BBC show, Ardross Castle is also a wedding venue. Additionally, it’s used for corporate and private events. Unfortunately, Traitors fans can’t stay at the hotel – or book a tour to view it either.
A statement on the castle’s website reads: ” The Castle is not a hotel and we do not let individual rooms but can accommodate small groups. The castle and estate are privately owned and therefore there is no facility for tour parties or individual visits.”
The castle also acts as the location of the US version of The Traitors, hosted by Alan Cumming. It was also the setting for 2025’s Celebrity Traitors. But as one of the stars let slip, contestants don’t actually get to stay in the castle’s gorgeous rooms, that come complete with four-poster beds.
Instead, they’re put in solitary confinement at hotel near Inverness Airport.
Where the cast of The Traitors actually stay
Series 1 winner Hannah told us that the cast of The Traitors essentially “live” at the castle. However, Hannah told us that while she can “neither confirm nor deny” where they actually stay, it definitely isn’t on site.
“We don’t sleep in the castle. We slept separately,” she said.
This is because even when they’re not technically playing the game, they are still playing the game. “The thing is, when filming is not happening they still have to keep the game legitimate. So we have to be separate. We can’t be discussing the game or anything. The game still continues even though filming’s not. The game is genuine and carries on.”
She did lift the lid on what goes on (or rather doesn’t) at the lodgings, though. “We’re not allowed to mix until we can talk on camera. So everything that is on camera is genuine, it’s what happens,” she said.
Alan Cumming, meanwhile, has previously shared: “They [the contestants] all stayed in the airport hotel in the Inverness airport. How glamorous—you come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel.”
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‘A bit claustrophobic’
Contestants stay at the nearby Courtyard by Marriott, where prices can sit around £70 a night. The four-star hotel opened in March 2020. The rooms in the hotel are equipped with a flat-screen TV. They also have air conditioning and a wardrobe.
Jonathan Ross told of his time on the show: “We all stayed in the same hotel, I believe, but I can’t say that for sure because you never saw who was in which room or where. We stayed at the Inverness Airport Hotel, which was lovely. It was fine. You wouldn’t normally stay there for a few nights at a time, I guess.
“All of us found towards the end it was a bit claustrophobic. And there wasn’t a bath in the room so the day after we’d done that first challenge where we had to push that enormous Trojan horse up the hill, we all wanted to soak in a hot bath – especially the older people – and we couldn’t. You were standing in a shower instead.”
Staff at the Marriott did ‘look after’ the cast
However, he did add: “The food they made for us was very nice there and they looked after us. We were completely isolated from one another, and you don’t even have a phone in the room. When you want to order food or talk to somebody about something, you have to stick a laminate under the door. We had TV’s set up. Before they took our phones away, you could put your passwords in for Netflix and Amazon and stuff like that, when you first arrived, before the game began.”
Read more: Bookies reveal favourite to win The Traitors 2026 and predicts who’s under the red cloak
The Traitors continues tonight (January 2) at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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