The Old Course Hotel is bringing a modern twist to a classic
St Andrews is known for three things: being the third oldest university in the English-speaking world; sparking the love affair between Prince William and Kate; and being the home of golf.
If you’re thinking of checking it out, the famous The Old Course Hotel has teamed up with some impressive experts to create a variety of year-long offerings and seasonal retreats that are set to put it on the map for “active wellness” as well as greens and gowns.
Inside The Old Course Hotel
The Old Course Hotel is just over an hour’s drive from Edinburgh airport. The 175-bedroom building looks out over the east coast of Scotland and boasts the oldest golf course in the world, a hallowed green strip of land where the game has been played for over 600 years. A mecca for golfers, to play the Old Course you must enter a ballot, but the hotel has its own course, The Duke’s, not far away.
The tiny, ancient town of St Andrews is a 10-minute stroll away, while the windswept beach and coastal paths are similarly close. The grey stone town with its castle and cathedral ruins and historic university buildings feels unmarked by the passage of time. Every building and landmark has its own folklore or resident ghost, something the locals mention as matter-of-factly as the soup of the day.
The hotel itself is exceedingly comfortable, with tartan carpets, deep armchairs, large windows that make the most of the ethereal golden light and a library you can call from your room to borrow a book.
The rise of ‘active wellness’
The Kohler Spa is where the hotel really shines. Bamford products, Dyson hair stylers, teddy-bear-soft white robes. Serious time and effort have been put into creating a space that feels special. There are the usual swimming pools, hydro and plunge pools, steam room and sauna but there is also Espuro, the world’s first foam bath ritual where a steam room fills to your waist with plant-based, skin-nourishing foam.
To relax for bed, there’s a ‘floating sound meditation’. Lying on inflatable mattresses, under an eye mask and warm blanket, I bobbed in a large pool while Tibetan singing bowls were played. The quiet snores around me showed more than one person was lulled to slumber. In the morning there was yoga in the conservatory as the sky flooded with a rose-gold sunrise.
Anna Deacon, wild swimming and wellness expert whose new book is coming out in September, will host retreats here across the year and developed the hotel’s ‘Fire & Ice’ contrast therapy. Guiding me through the sauna and snow rooms, Deacon explained that the discovery of burned mounds have revealed an ancient Scottish heritage of saunas.
Medal-winning Olympian Keri-Anne Payne led us in a sunrise sea swim. The idea of the winter sea in Scotland at dawn was not immediately appealing but it was a highlight of the weekend. The natural rock pool is protected from the sea and you can spot seals swimming nearby. A short dip is all that’s required and afterwards you’re swaddled in fluffy dry robes and furnished with hot water bottles, coffee and shortbread. For those seeking something more relaxing, a fleet of therapists will meet you in the cosy spa lounge complete with a crackling fire and cosy throws, to indulge you in a variety of reviving therapies.
Indulgent good times
The sweeping views of the top floor Road Hole makes this the best place to eat and drink. Each day at 6pm there is a ‘bartenders’ choice’ complimentary pour for hotel guests at the bar – when I visited it was a smoky, honeyed old fashioned. The whisky list is, as you would hope, extensive and they have partnered with Veuve Clicquot to offer champagne tastings including prestige cuvée La Grande Dame 2015 and indoor Winter Garden champagne picnics.
Just outside is a quaint, white-painted pub called ‘The Jigger Inn’ which used to be the old stationmaster’s lodge but now serves some of the best fish and chips in the area, washed down with a Jigger Ale. Do not miss the haggis crumpet, topped with a fried egg; the Scottish comfort food you didn’t realise you needed.
• Rooms start from £600 per night. Children stay and eat for free over the holidays. For more information visit the website here.