The Gleneagles Hotel

Between Perth and Stirling, on 850 acres at Auchterarder in Perthshire, Scotland, The Gleneagles Hotel opened in 1924 as a luxury hotel and sporting estate. Conceived by the Caledonian Railway as a country palace reached by its own station, it is known for three golf courses, including the PGA Centenary Course that hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup, for the 2005 G8 summit, and for Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, the only restaurant in Scotland with two Michelin stars.

History

Donald Matheson, general manager of the Caledonian Railway, conceived the hotel before the First World War as a resort in the manner of the grand railway hotels. The King's and Queen's golf courses, designed by James Braid, opened in 1919, but the hotel itself, delayed by the war, opened in June 1924 under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which had absorbed the Caledonian the year before. It was nationalised with the railways in 1948 and run by British Transport Hotels until 1981, when it passed into private hands. Guinness, later Diageo, owned it from 1984 until 2015, when it was sold to the hotel group Ennismore.

Three events fixed the estate in public memory. In July 2005 the G8 summit was held at the hotel, with the leaders of the eight countries lodged there behind a security cordon. In September 2014 the Ryder Cup was played on the PGA Centenary Course, Europe beating the United States 16½ to 11½. In September 2019 the Solheim Cup followed on the same course, Europe winning on the final putt.

Architecture and design

The hotel is a long, symmetrical building of grey stone in the manner of a French country house, with a central block and wings looking south over the courses to the Ochil Hills. It is a category B listed building. Under Ennismore the interiors were redesigned from 2015, with the Century Bar, the American Bar and the public rooms reworked in a style that mixes Scottish materials with the hotel's 1920s origins.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 205 rooms and 28 suites in the main building, many with views over the golf courses. Self-catering lodges on the estate house families and golfing parties.

Dining

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles opened in 2001 and has held two Michelin stars since 2006; after the chef's death in 2019 the restaurant continues under his head chef, Stephen McLaughlin. The Strathearn, the main dining room, keeps the hotel's tradition of tableside trolleys for carving and flambé. The Birnam Brasserie serves through the day, and the American Bar and the Century Bar serve cocktails and whisky.

Wellness

The spa has an indoor swimming pool, thermal suites and treatment rooms, with a health club alongside. The estate's sporting school offers falconry, gundog handling, shooting, off-road driving and riding at the equestrian centre.

Weddings and events

Gleneagles is one of the best-known wedding venues in Scotland, with ceremonies held in the hotel and on the estate and receptions in its banqueting rooms. The conference facilities used for the G8 summit serve corporate meetings and incentive groups, and the Gleneagles Arena, an indoor equestrian arena, is used for large events.

Location

The estate lies beside the A9 at Auchterarder, an hour's drive, give or take, from either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Gleneagles railway station, on the line between Stirling and Perth, stands at the edge of the estate with a hotel shuttle, and the drive from Edinburgh Airport takes about 50 minutes.