The Gleneagles Hotel
This resort is located in Perthshire, Scotland, occupying 850 landscaped acres, and is about an hour's drive northwest of Edinburgh. This is Scotland's finest golf resort, thanks to its four world-renowned courses. In fact, it hosted the Ryder Cup in 1927, and is scheduled to do so again in 2014. This place also offers superb contemporary style, excellent service, an enviable spa, and complete programs in shooting, falconry and off-road driving. Maintenance is good, and improvements are almost constant.
Gleneagles, though far from ancient, provides a wonderful first impression, its historic like facade wrapped around a flag-topped tower. Inside, two semicircular reception stands allow a personal greeting at check-in. Most public areas retain their largely classical tone, with pillars and pilasters supporting soaring ceilings, although art-deco accents spread out from the cocktail lounge.
Strathearn, the curving dining room off the grand corridor, has won great acclaim with it’s modernized Scottish menu. Another restaurant. in the health center, serves hybrid Italian-Californian fare. The clubhouse bar and grill and the brasserie with an open kitchen offer lighter alternatives in a family-friendly atmosphere.
A meandering walk through hallways lined with boutiques leads to a covered way through trailing plants and lily ponds, which in turn leads to an impressively modern recreation center. Here, two large pools (one for lap swimming, and one more leisure-oriented) share the space with a large whirlpool, and just outside is a fountained hot tub that can accommodate more than a dozen soakers. Two squash courts, a petanque court, four all-weather tennis courts, spa treatments, a Turkish bath and mountain bikes are all here. Close by are an old-style snooker room and children's entertainment area, with extensive programs during the summer months. The shooting school, the largest equestrian center in Europe, and even a school of British falconry ensure plenty of sporting choices.
Though accommodations vary in size, quality runs high throughout, with double-glazed French windows, thick carpeting, antique furnishings, TVs with DVD and CD players, safes, minibars and trouser presses. The large tiled baths have robes and hair dryers. Courtyard rooms have less space and shower-only baths, and the number of time-share chalets lying near one of the golf courses has recently been boosted. The best choices in the main hotel are those rooms in the -60 and -90 series, as these have the most stylish decor.
The newer four-story Baird House wing, located at the west end of the hotel, offers superlative amenities. Guests here have a private lounge with complimentary beverages and snacks. Many of the units are split-level, but their high tariffs are justified with such extras as plank floors, large sitting areas with sofas and fireplaces, spacious bedrooms with top-notch TVs, and DVD and CD players. The large baths have claw-foot tubs, radiant floor heat, robes, anti-fog mirrors, heated towel racks, and lots of plush oversized towels and toiletries.
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