The Royal Treatment
A golfer's guide to the castlehotels of Scotland and Ireland.
By James W. Finegan
Golf Digest Index
Spring 2007
Castle hotels. Aye, there's a phrase to bring out the romantic in even the most golf-obsessed among us. Over the years--in truth, the decades--my wife and I have visited Scotland and Ireland many times, on occasion staying at hotels with a royal pedigree. Some of these lodgings are richly endowed, others are less opulent, but all have character and charm. It is often easy to envision kings and queens laying down their heads at night just where we do.
Not incidentally, some of these hotels have golf right there on the estate--for instance, 27 holes at Skibo Castle. At others, such as Glenapp Castle and Culloden Estate & Spa, an easy spin up the road will find you on the first tee at Turnberry or Royal Belfast, respectively. Following are eight of my favorite castle hotels: four in Scotland, four in Ireland. I hope this article, and the accompanying photographs, will help you assemble a memorable itinerary of your own.
SCOTLAND
The Scottish quartet is headed by Skibo Castle (pictured above), on the outskirts of Dornoch. This baronial pile, the centerpiece of a 7,000-acre enclave, once belonged to Scotland-born Andrew Carnegie, who made his millions in American steel during the 19th century. Today it is home to the Carnegie Club, with a membership limited by invitation.
The golf is outstanding, a testing contemporary links framed by the waters of the Dornoch Firth, the river Evelix, and Loch Evelix, plus a delightful nine-hole parkland layout. Less than 10 minutes away is Royal Dornoch, No. 3 on Golf Digest's ranking of the 100 Best Courses Outside the United States.
Nonetheless, golf is just one element of the Skibo appeal. The chief attraction is a lifestyle that combines refinement with luxury. What is irreplaceable here is the ambience of an Andrew Carnegie house party (among the great man's guests were King Edward VII, Rudyard Kipling, Lloyd George and assorted Rockefellers).
Dinner is served promptly at 8 in "Mr. Carnegie's Dining Room," the blaze from the hearth and the flames from the silver candelabra casting a glow upon the massive dark-stained oak furniture. The accommodations today are no less sumptuous than then--in some cases, guests enjoy a period fireplace not only in their spacious bedroom but also in their spacious bathroom. The silk draperies with their heavy gold-tasseled fringes, the Aubusson carpets, the priceless wall coverings (Spanish-tooled leather in one area), the gilt-framed oil paintings--all of which proclaimed the good life to the steel king's visitors and still, 100 years later, delight Carnegie Club members and, as a matter of fact, nonmembers. For such visitors are welcome to live the dream--but only for a short stay, and then just once.
Seven miles from center-city Edinburgh, in Midlothian, is Melville Castle, at the end of a long and sloping tree-framed drive. The river North Esk meanders through the heavily wooded 50-acre property. Five oak trees that were planted by Mary Queen of Scots 450 years ago still thrive. The great house, erected in 1786 on the footprint of a medieval castle, is graceful and symmetrical, with its castellated towers, its parapets and battlements.
Melville Castle has 33 accommodations, including six duplex suites. Guest quarters are comfortable rather than palatial. Meals are served in the cellar brasserie, with its barrel-vaulted stone ceilings.
None of the three nearby courses--Melville, Whitehill House, King's Acre--is first-rate. But the treasured East Lothian layouts, 30 minutes away, provide unforgettable links golf: Muirfield, scene of 15 Open Championships; Gullane No. 1, up, down, over and around Gullane Hill; and North Berwick, whose great holes and grand sea views make it the top choice in Scotland for many golfers.
In the village of Markinch, 30 minutes from St. Andrews and Edinburgh, lies Balbirnie House and, on its doorstep, the Balbirnie Park Golf Course. The classic proportions of the 18th-century manor are reflected in its rooms, especially the splendid Long Gallery, whose windows look out upon the woods and sweeping lawns. There are 30 accommodations, including three suites. Dinner is served in the Orangery Restaurant, with its sparkling skylight roof. You will want to relax in the drawing room beside a log fire as you peruse the menu, then follow the meal with a nightcap in the congenial library/bar (plenty of single malts here).
At 6,334 yards from the back tees, the Balbirnie Park par-71 course looks to be on the short side. But the uphill holes play long. Natural contours are the foundation of this eminently fair course. Sand--there are only 59 bunkers--is judiciously deployed. Though Balbirnie is not a championship layout, there is plenty of satisfying golf to be had here. Keep in mind that some of the world's best seaside golf is just a half-hour away, at St. Andrews, Kingsbarns, Crail, Elie, Lundin Links and Leven.
There is no golf at Glenapp Castle--only a hotel that is unsurpassed in Scotland. Opened in 2000, with an international clientele, Glenapp is 17 miles south of Turnberry. Its rooms are impeccably decorated, with several English periods (Queen Anne, Georgian and Edwardian) well represented. Fourteen of the 17 rooms look down from this hilltop setting to the Irish Sea and to Ailsa Craig, the sun glinting off this turtle-backed plug of an extinct volcano. It is mesmerizing.
Dinner is a six-course feast characterized by flair and imagination: mosaic of braised smoked ham, Morteau sausage, guinea fowl and foie gras; loin of venison with root vegetables and port jus, flavored with Valrhona chocolate; and quenelle of Dunsyre blue cheese with pinot noir jelly and walnut salad. Among the finds in the Glenapp wine cellar is a rare grand cru chablis, Domaine Denis Race, vintage 2003, for £59 ($114).
As for golf, a 25-minute drive up coastal A77 puts you on the Turnberry Hotel's glorious Ailsa course, scene of three Open Championships (1977, 1986, 1994), with a fourth scheduled for 2009. Ailsa provides a stretch of eight holes, 4 through 11, that has us shaking our heads in disbelief at the sheer nobility, challenge and drama of such an unbroken seaside sequence. Also awaiting at Turnberry is the Kintyre 18, Donald Steel's makeover of the old Arran course.
One other Scottish castle bears mentioning: the queen's own haven in the highlands, Balmoral. Play on its spirited little nine-hole layout is normally restricted to royals, employees, nearby residents and their guests. However, vacationers renting one of Balmoral's several "holiday cottages" also have access.
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Photographs by Bjorn Ioos
