The very unglamorous £53-a-night airport hotel where The Traitors stars actually sleep has been revealed - and it's not Ardross Castle.

The hit BBC series The Traitors is filmed at the lavish gothic Ardross Castle, a stunning 19th-century Scottish Baronial estate in the Scottish Highlands.

However, fans may be disappointed to learn that contestants do not actually stay in the castle overnight. 

Instead, after each day of filming, the stars are whisked away in 4x4s to a nearby airport hotel around 40 minutes away. 

During the day, the castle is used for breakfast scenes, post-mission lunches, tactical discussions and the infamous round table banishments. 

But once filming wraps, contestants leave one by one and return to their accommodation alone. 

During their time on the show, players reportedly stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport, where rooms cost as little as £53-a-night per person. 

The four-star hotel sits right beside the airport runway and is used purely for practical reasons rather than luxury. 

Facilities at the hotel include a restaurant, fitness centre, meeting spaces, a convenience store and a business centre. 

The Traitors US host Alan Cumming, 60, previously poked fun at the accommodation.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, he said: 'They all stayed in the airport hotel in Inverness airport. How glamorous – you come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness airport hotel.' 

However, former Celebrity Traitors contestant Jonathan Ross, 65, previously insisted he had no complaints with his accommodation. 

Responding to a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: 'It’s a very nice hotel and the food is good. No complaints.' 

The official Traitors X account replied simply: 'Good to know.' 

Jonathan also cleared up whether the Traitors returned to the castle in the evening to meet in the turret. 

He confirmed: 'No. We wait there until all the Faithfuls have left.'

According to The Mirror, the BBC's choice of accommodation comes down to practicality, as the hotel is large enough to accommodate both contestants and production staff.

The publication also reported that the setup allows producers to keep players separated and monitored when off camera. 

Host Claudia Winkleman, 54, has also reportedly revealed that contestants are taken straight to their individual rooms after filming and are not allowed to interact with each other or anyone outside the game.

Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment.  

The news comes after The Traitors fans were left in disbelief after the Faithfuls didn't spot Rachel Duffy 'outing herself' as a Traitor. 

Host Claudia chose Rachel as a Traitor in episode one, along with Stephen Libby and Hugo Lodge.

So far, banished Fiona and Harriet accused Rachel of being a Traitor - but viewers now believe the players missed another obvious sign.

During episode seven, Rachel told her fellow contestants at the roundtable how she had spent the past few months being trained by a former FBI agent.

In particular, this involves skills in identifying people's ability to lie, as well as micro-expressions.

At breakfast in episode nine, Rachel claimed she'd worked out a Traitor's identity - but wouldn't say who until that evening's roundtable. 

The other players seemed to take her seriously, as they joined her in banishing Ellie Buckley, who revealed she was a Faithful.

Writing on social media, one fan penned: 'I still can’t get over the fact they didn’t pile on Rachel’s ‘I have something to share at the roundtable later based on someone’s mistake last night’ play from last week.'

Another added: 'They forget about Rachel’s ‘I have something which I’ll reveal later at the round table’ thing that led to a faithful Ellie being banished.'

A third said: 'Surely this has to throw suspicion on Rachel! 

'Between Fiona and Harriet both going in hard and l she then brings up Ellie pretty much out of nowhere when not much talk about her was happening and she ended up being faithful, come on stop ignoring the signs.'

While a fourth commented: '#TheTraitors how is no one suspicious of Rachel from the fact she went so hard on Ellie. 

'Why aren’t they calling out her c**p fbi training. Why aren't they seeing how wrong shes getting her votes but proclaims to be an expert.'