In short… The most well-known and beloved hotel in the country, an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow, Gleneagles has been attracting families, golfers and avid sportsmen from all over the world for a century.
The look & feel… Set in the most beautiful rolling hills, this isolated 850-acre retreat immediately reminded me of the other grand railway hotels I love, like The Greenbrier in West Virginia or Quebec’s Chateau Montebello—resorts that were created in the middle of nowhere as a refuge for city people. Because of this, activity is in their DNA—there’s literally a whole concierge office dedicated to on- (and off-) site activities. Golf is the obvious one, but there’s a shooting club with endless options to hone your clay-shooting skills, falconry, gun dogs (where you can also learn hand-and-whistle commands), hiking, spa, beautiful tennis courts—and the list goes on. It attracts lots of families, but couples as well, and somehow is big enough to feel uncrowded, but also very cozy. The hotel refers to itself as a “glorious playground,” and I think they nailed their description perfectly.
The rooms… Traditional but not stuffy. Our suite was quite large, but given the scale of the place and that everything was made at a time when space wasn’t so scarce, I imagine all the rooms feel generous. Ours had just the right amount of furniture. (I have an issue with rooms that are stuffed with too many pieces—I want to start a petition against the couch at the base of the bed, which just makes me bump into it at night when I get up, or becomes a place to throw clothes.) Lots of windows with beautiful light, from which we spotted flocks of geese, and also stars. A very comfortable bed. I loved the heated bathroom floor—every time I went into the bathroom I was so happy, and now it’s my obsession to have one at some point in my own house, along with a heated towel rack. The bath products are made in-house and have names like Scottish Heather, etc., with no single-use plastics.
Food & Drink… We arrived just in time for lunch, and when I heard that our lunch was going to be at the golf club restaurant, The Dormy, I’m not gonna lie—I wasn’t that excited. Until we sat down and saw that more than half of the menu was Indian, and got a look at the food coming out of the kitchen, and then we were very excited. It was the best Indian I’ve had, maybe ever? Friends messaged me and said the same after seeing me post about it. We had a ton of leftovers, which our daughter took with her back to Edinburgh and ate over the next two days. We had excellent martinis at the Century Bar, alongside the most delicious giant olives. Then lunch at the Century Bar with the most epic club sandwich (with a perfectly cooked egg), a burger with local wagyu and a marmalade that was insane, and fries that looked like McDonalds, but were actually good. We had dinner at Strathearn, which was so lovely—a darkly lit room where so much is served tableside, from the smoked salmon plate to the deboning of the sole meunière to the proper Sunday roast that Matt ordered. We didn’t eat dessert, but we watched the crèpes suzette being made for our neighbors. One of my favorite rooms was the American Bar, quite possibly the sexiest bar I’ve been in. On our first night, we had a nightcap in the small main bar room—so dark you can barely recognize anyone in there—and Matt said their Negroni was incredible. On the second night, we sat in one of the other rooms (there are three total, so they all feel very intimate), and tried their icy martinis (their specialty) in glasses that had been custom-made for the bar. Incredible, and so elegant. While we normally skip breakfast, on our final morning we fueled up for the long travel day ahead, and feasted on their wild smoked salmon.
The activities… We had an epic day of falconry, which was really fascinating—we didn’t just put on a leather glove for the birds to take off and land on it, we actually walked with Margo, a 16-year-old Harris Hawk, as she hunted. That was followed by a gun dog session, where we took out two labs and worked with them on retrieving and holding on commands. Besides their being so cute, we learned so much—and maybe we’ll be better dog owners now! Then it was off to the Shooting Club, which was so well appointed—a nice variety of Berettas to use, very hands-on, thoughtful instruction, and a challenging course for beginners as well as more experienced shooters. There’s also archery and fishing, which we didn’t do as there just weren’t enough hours in the day.
The spa/wellness… Both Matt and I had excellent massages with very intuitive therapists, and friends we met there said the same. They make their own oils from local herbs. The gym is also quite impressive—big, spacious and modern—and has our favorite equipment from Technogym. It was full, but didn’t seem crowded.
Extra tip goes to…Our server River at the Century Bar, who guided us well, with strong opinions, on a very good lunch order.
Date of stay… October 19-21, 2024
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