What’s the story?
Much cash has been splashed in the 18 years since the American golf nut Herb Kohler bought this St Andrews landmark, but it’s what Kohler did during lockdown that has really upped the hotel’s game. Opened this autumn, an extensive upstairs wing has an excellent new restaurant, 31 new rooms and a fourth-floor penthouse suite.
What do we like?
The exterior won’t win any Grand Designs awards — the hotel was built in the late 1960s and the look is unavoidably Sainsbury’s-on-Sea — but the location is impressive. Right beside the historic Old Course (the roof has rubber tiles to combat errant drives off the 17th tee), the hotel has views over the golf course and sea from half of the 175 bedrooms.
The same views are yours from both fourth-floor restaurants, an elegant oak-panelled bar and a rooftop garden/cocktail bar. And the £7 million spa has a 20m lap pool, steam and sauna.
Make sure you get a sea-view room; many have balconies, all have vast picture windows filled with ever-shifting coastal light. Emerald herringbone carpets and gold cushions bring the gorse-lined fairways in; black-and-white framed photos of fishing nets and plus-four-wearing golfers feel winningly East Neuk of Fife.
Kohler made his millions in plumbing and bathroom supplies, so expect expensive tiles, his-and-hers vanity mirrors and delicately patterned sinks. You can stay in the new penthouse suite for £2,340. With a second downstairs room for children, it has sweeping sea views, a free-standing tub, vast walk-in wardrobe, and a wide rooftop terrace with sofas and a fire pit.
Advertisement
As for where to eat, the fourth-floor 3AA Rosette Road Hole restaurant features East Neuk’s excellent seafood and Black Isle beef. The new Swilcan Loft, which is more informal and has a 1960s Manhattan vibe, uses the same kitchen but has a pared-down menu and sweeping views from its wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows. Downstairs, the cosy Jigger Inn pub spills outside into a covered heated drinking/dining space.
What’s near by?
The town itself is a mix of gothic façades and tangled 15th-century wynds, with Scotland’s oldest university and the ruins of a medieval clifftop cathedral.
On Sundays the Old Course closes and dog walkers, students and strollers retake the fairways in a tradition dating back 500 years. Cross to West Sands beach, the setting for the iconic opening of Chariots of Fire. Fifteen minutes’ drive south, Crail is a fishing village with lanes wending towards a 16th-century harbour.
Jeremy Lazell was a guest of the Old Course Hotel. B&B doubles from £265; mains in Swilcan Loft from £22 (oldcoursehotel.co.uk)
Family-friendly; wheelchair-accessible; dog-friendly
