ONE of Scotland's most exclusive and inaccessible hotels, home to the country's only two-star Michelin restaurant, has been put up for sale.

The Altnaharrie Inn on Loch Broom in Wester Ross, which guests have to reach by boat, has gone on the market with an asking price of more than (pounds) 500,000.

For 22 years, Gunn Eriksen, a self-taught chef, and her husband, Fred Brown, had attracted visitors from around the world.

Last night, the owners of the Altnaharrie were staying silent over their reasons for the sale, but it is believed that they intend to move to Eriksen's native Norway.

Guests had been drawn to the hotel by the reputation of

Eriksen's cooking, which was based on local produce and which also included wild herbs such as hawthorn, sorrel and nettles gathered from nearby hillsides.

Few were deterred by the inn's idiosyncratic habit of shutting for up to eight months of the year. The inn closed its doors 18 months ago, and there had been no sign of it reopening.

A gravel track across the Dundonnell was the only road link to Altnaharrie's remote location, so guests had to be collected by private launch from Ullapool and ferried across Loch Broom to the hotel's jetty. Beside every bed there was a torch for use during the night when the hotel's generator was switched off.

The cost of one night's stay, which was between (pounds) 165 and (pounds) 205 per night without wine, included a pre-set five course dinner with no alternatives. Breakfast was served for only half an hour, between 8.30am and 9am, and there were no radios, telephones or televisions in the five guest bedrooms and two cottages.

Despite such strictures, the Altnaharrie Inn earned a reputation as the best hotel in Scotland. It attained five rosettes in the AA guide and achieved a rating of nine out of 10 in last year's Good Food Guide. Eriksen cooked every dish herself.

Andrew Fairlie, whose restaurant at Gleneagles Hotel has one Michelin star, described eating at the Altnaharrie Inn as: ''One of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.''

When the owners announced that they were closing, initially for just one year, Eriksen said that two slipped discs which she had suffered were not the reason behind the closure and she was vague about when the hotel would open again.

''We have decided for various reasons to concentrate on other things, and who knows what will happen after that,'' she said at the time.

Two Edinburgh agents, FPD Savills and Langley-Taylor are handling the sale, which is expected to attract widespread interest both in Britain and overseas.

As well as the house, which has been extensively refurbished over the past 20 years, the property includes two cottages, each with two en-suite bedrooms, and staff quarters.

The grounds extend to seven acres and there are two moorings and a boat house on the 400m frontage on Loch Broom, as well as several other outbuildings.

Chris Hall, of Langley-Taylor, said Altnaharrie, was being sold as a private house and not as an hotel.

''As it has not traded for around 18 months it is not being sold as a going concern, but obviously if someone wanted to operate it as a hotel then the name carries a very special reputation,'' he said.

''It's as charming and comfortable as you would expect from somewhere that has been such an exclusive hotel''

However, the hotel would lose its Michelin stars under a new owner.

Mr Hall believes that the Altnaharrie will change hands very quickly and for considerably more than the asking price.

He said: ''The market is very good for properties of this quality particularly, as in this case, when they are in such a private spot.

''Obviously, because of its remote location, it cannot be viewed without some planning, but I would be very surprised if we were not looking at a closing date sometime between four and eight weeks from now,'' he said.

His confidence was mirrored by Jamie McNab, of FPD Savills, who said: ''Waterside properties of this quality are few and far between and generally attract substantial interest.''