It is one of Scotland's most famous and luxurious hotels but in the early hours of Monday it went up in flames.

Cameron House Hotel, an iconic five-star establishment on the banks of Loch Lomond, has charmed the rich, famous and powerful for generations.

Two people have died after the huge fire tore through the hotel at around 6.40am, with several others injured and guests evacuated en masse.

The full extent of the damage remains to be seen but the blaze appears to have affected at least three of the hotel's floors, with fire crews still at the scene.

An 18th century Baronial mansion, Cameron House was converted into a luxury hotel and resort in 1986 after it was sold by the Smollett family - who held the property for three centuries.

Originally merchants and shipbuilders, the Smolletts would become wealthy landed gentry, with Sir James Smollett involved in drawing up the 1707 Act of Union.

Most famous in the family was Tobias Smollett, an 18th century novelist and poet who travelled widely.

He is said to have once remarked: "I have seen Lake Garda, Albana, de Visco, Bolsetta and Geneva. Upon my honour I prefer Loch Lomond to them all."

In the 1970s, the Smollett family turned part of the resort into a safari park featuring bears, yaks, bison and other exotic animals.

In its time, the mansion has charmed former prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Anthony Eden and royalty in the form of Princess Margaret and Empress Eugenie of France.

After its sale and conversion into a hotel, Cameron House would become known as a haunt for celebrities, including as one of the most popular wedding venues for the rich and famous in the UK.

Those rumoured to be fans include Sean Connery, Robbie Williams, Cameron Diaz, Anna Friel and Jude Law.

The resort is also known for its championship standard golf course, award-winning spa, private luxury motor yacht Celtic Warrior and its Michelin-starred restaurant run by chef Martin Wishart.

More infamously, the venue also played host in 2009 to a notorious eight-hour binge drinking session by members of Scotland's national football team.

Captain Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor ended their international playing careers after they racked up a £1500 bill in the hotel in April that year.

It followed a defeat against Holland in the country's qualifying campaign for the World Cup - but also came only days before the side's subsequent fixture against Iceland.

Both players were sidelined to the bench for that encounter, where they compounded the error by making offensive gestures to photographers and were subsequently barred from playing for the national side.