We are proud to share that Meallmore has been recognised twice at the Lottie Awards 2026. Meallmore has been named one of the UK's Top 10 Medium Care Home Providers for the second year running, and Culduthel Care Home in Inverness has earned a place in the UK's Top 100 Care Homes, chosen from more than 14,000 homes across England, Scotland and Wales.
For a family-owned Scottish provider, being placed alongside the largest names in UK care two years in a row means a great deal. It says something about consistency, and consistency is the hardest thing to achieve in care.
What the Lottie Awards actually measure
Now in their second year, the Lottie Awards recognise care homes that show exceptional commitment to residents, families and colleagues. What makes them useful for families comparing homes is that they are not decided by a panel reading submissions. They are data-led.
Top 100 winners are selected across seven weighted categories: regulatory ratings, enquiry handling, listing media and assets, facilities, activities, listing freshness, and verified family reviews. Lottie combines its own platform data with trusted external sources, including official regulatory ratings from the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, to produce a result that reflects the day-to-day reality of a home rather than how well it writes about itself.
Providers are assessed differently again, on listing quality across the whole portfolio, employee satisfaction and social media presence. That portfolio-wide view is why the Top 10 provider placing matters to us: it is not one strong home carrying the rest.
Culduthel Care Home: one of the UK's Top 100
Culduthel is a purpose-built home in Inverness offering nursing care and specialist dementia care, along with respite and short stays and palliative care when families need it.
To reach the Top 100 from a field of more than 14,000 homes, a home has to do the ordinary things exceptionally well and do them every single day: answer the phone properly when a worried family calls, keep the activities programme genuinely alive rather than pinned to a noticeboard, hold its regulatory grades, and earn reviews from the people who visit every week and see everything.
Denise Scott, Care Home Manager at Culduthel Care Home, said: "We're over the moon to have been named one of the top care homes across the whole of the UK. This recognition really is testament to the hard work and commitment of every single member of the team here at Culduthel, as everyone consistently drives to deliver the highest standard of personalised quality care. It's a very proud moment indeed - well done, team!"
Families looking locally can see the full picture of what is available on our page for care homes in Inverness, which covers Culduthel alongside our other Highland homes.
Top 10 Medium Care Home Provider, two years running
Cillian Hennessey, CEO at Meallmore, said: "We're thrilled to be included in the UK's top 10 medium care home providers for the second year in a row and are so proud of the team at Culduthel for their amazing result. This is truly outstanding recognition on a national level, reflecting the care, professionalism and dedication shown across all of our care homes in Scotland every day."
Will Donnelly, co-founder and CEO of Lottie, said: "The Lottie Awards are about recognising the incredible dedication of care professionals who make a real difference in people's lives every day. To be named among the Top 100 from more than 14,000 care homes across the UK is a huge achievement."
Recognition starts with the people delivering the care
National awards are a reflection of something that happens long before any judging takes place. It happens in handovers, in the way a nurse notices a change in someone's mood before it becomes a crisis, in the kitchen team remembering that someone will only eat if the porridge is made a particular way.
That is why we run our own Meallmore Colleague Awards each year, nominated by the people who work alongside each other. The Lottie recognition and the colleague recognition are two views of the same thing: care is delivered by people, and people do their best work when they are supported and seen.
What this means if you are looking for care
Awards are one signal among several, and they should never be the only one. If you are at the beginning of this process, the practical questions usually come in the same order: what standard of care is available, what will it cost, and how do we choose well.
Our guide on how to choose a care home sets out what to look for on a visit and the questions worth asking that are not on any brochure. On the money side, what a care home costs in Scotland explains the fee structure plainly, and free personal and nursing care covers the contribution available from your local authority and what it does and does not cover.
It is worth being clear about one point that causes a lot of confusion. Meallmore does not accept local authority residential rates for residential care. Residential places are funded through self funding, or through personal allowances plus an additional top-up.
About Meallmore
Meallmore is one of Scotland's largest family-owned care providers, operating homes across Scotland for older people, for adults with mental health needs, and for adults with learning or physical disabilities. Further homes are in development in Aberdeen City, Broughty Ferry and Clarkston. You can read more about where we came from and what we stand for in our story.
If you would like to talk through options for yourself or a relative, whether that is a permanent move, a short respite stay, or simply an early conversation to understand what is possible, please get in touch. Our teams are happy to talk without any pressure to decide anything.
