Old Course Hotel

Scotland
Europe

The Experience

The name and location should give you a clue as to this hotel's origins. It was originally the Station Hotel, a square concrete box built in the 1960s by British Transport Hotels, who once owned many of the poshest hotels in the UK, including Turnberry, Gleneagles and the Balmoral. The group jumped at the chance to build on the world’s most famous golf course while they could still get permission. The re-named and massively expanded Old Course Hotel is now a luxurious mecca for golf-lovers worldwide, thanks in great part to its nonpareil location.

The Rooms

The standard Eden Rooms look out over the hills of the Kingdom of Fife--one of the most scenic parts of Scotland--and may indeed be preferred by those not obsessed with golf courses. The beds and so forth are just fine, but the bathrooms, though sometimes on the small side, benefit from "the best water pressure in the United Kingdom"--surely music to the ears of North American guests. What else would you expect in a hotel owned by bathroom magnate Herb Kohler? Consider splurging for the Fairway Suite, which may offer the world's best golf-bathroom experience: Open the door, sit in the huge bathtub and see straight through the bedroom to the 16th fairway and the 17th tee.

The Service

Although it’s not exactly 100 percent Scottish, the service is good and seamless. There are generally quite a few well-trained French staffers on the team, and many of them have a remarkably good knowledge of the single-malt Scotch whiskies stocked in the Road Hole Bar. When it comes to golf, you're likely to encounter old Scottish retainers.

The Highlights

Despite the name and location, the hotel does not have automatic playing rights on the Old Course. Nevertheless, you would be very unlucky to stay here for four nights and not get a coveted tee-off time. The 19th hole is the hotel’s adjacent and very cozy pub, The Jigger, and unless you're a member of the nearby Royal & Ancient, this is the best place to celebrate (or console). This is a child-friendly hotel, by the way, and aspiring young golfers can always putt on The Himalayas Course. Not surprisingly, Mr. Kohler believes that "our bodies are in essence water," so the Kohler Waters Spa here is arguably the finest in Scotland.

 

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