Is This Scotland’s Happiest Hotel?

With an idyllic location, fantastic food, service and style, Margaret Hussey discovers a home from home at Ayrshire’s Glenapp Castle.

Hotel Review: Glenapp Castle, Ayrshire

Coming up the mile-long drive, we could already sense Glenapp Castle was something special. Set in over 100 acres of woodland, this Scottish hotel’s location is as picture perfect as the building itself. About an hour and a half from Glasgow – we travelled by train, and were transported from there in a Tesla – it’s in a part of West Scotland that many people bypass. Which is a shame: it’s breathtakingly beautiful, and Glenapp is the perfect bolthole from which to explore. That’s if you can tear yourself away from it.

Find the comfiest sofas in the lounges, roaring fires on cold days and the most discreet behind-the-scenes service. Staff appear as if on cue when you return from a walk. And as the hotel doesn’t have a bar, you can order a drink from anywhere: your room, the garden or the glasshouse. We had tea and biscuits outside admiring the castle’s splendour and its Saltire flying majestically.

The Italian garden. (© Andrea Jones)

A member of PoB Hotels, Glenapp is hugely proud of its Scottish roots; poet Robert Burns was born just down the road in Alloway. The staff are mainly local and many have worked here for years, always a good sign at a hotel in terms of happiness and culture. And happiness exudes everywhere, from the breakfast table where our waiter tells us he is ‘blessed beyond measure’ to work here to the sommelier who pops up at exactly the right time with the most delicious wine.

Meanwhile the kitchen, led by executive chef Peter Howarth, makes the most of the seafood on offer locally – Glenapp is on the Ayrshire Coastal Path – as well as what they grow in the bountiful vegetable gardens. It’s well worth a tour to see and smell everything from lavender to thyme, coriander to rosemary – as well as checking out what might be on your plate later, from kale to leeks, pears to strawberries.

We were lucky enough to sample the seven-course tasting menu, which changes daily and seasonally. There were delights of West Coast Cod with razor clam as well as Saint Bride’s duck with carrot dashi and cauliflower with miso tofu. It’s £135, and an additional £85 for the wine flight. The three-course gourmet menu doesn’t stint either, with Scottish langoustine and roasted aubergines with cashew satay on offer.

The entrance hall (© Nathan Rollinson)

The Azalea, the hotel’s second restaurant, is housed in the beautifully repurposed old Victorian glasshouse. It offers more casual dining, from afternoon tea to Sunday roast, and can be booked privately. It’s a great place to swing by if you are not staying at the hotel.

Glenapp Castle has 21 bedrooms, four in the penthouse and 17 suites. They are all individually dressed and wonderfully eclectic: think plush velvets, intense colours, swags, antiques, books and fresh flowers in every room thanks to the in-house florist. Our bathroom had a very decadent roll top bath, plus a powerful shower and Penhaligon products, too. The penthouse apartment – starting from £4,250 a night – is worth a peek too if it is not occupied, purely for the opulence and attention to detail. It has a media room, kitchen, its own sauna and treatment room.

Glenapp Castle also has its own boat and offers trips around the islands, spotting seals and dolphins. You can have a bespoke picnic on the island of Ailsa Craig or try its sea safari, the pinnacle of glamping. You stay on the Isle of Jura and feast under the stars thanks to your own private chef.

The Sea Safari

With such a unique destination, Glenapp has over 70 activities on offer from falconry to canoeing, kayaking to fishing, whisky tasting to beekeeping. We tried our hand at archery and got very competitive. I may not have hit the bullseye, but I was the first to burst the balloon!

You can also try curling, which originated in Scotland. Olympic curling stones are hewn from granite from Ailsa Craig, the imposing island we could see from our bedroom and our beacon to follow home after brisk seashore walks. On a clear day the views are stunning – we could even see the coastline of Ireland.

It was nearly time to leave and head back to Glasgow for our overnight train, the impressive Caledonian Sleeper. It’s a fantastic way to travel, its late-night departure giving us more time in this glorious part of Scotland as well as being good for the soul.

Before checking out, we sat outside with a glass of fizz in the Italian garden, originally designed by Gertrude Jekyll. As we sipped our champagne, the sound of bagpipes came into earshot as a couple were getting married. The setting, the piper in full regalia, the music and their sheer joy brought a tear to everyone’s eye. But that’s what Glenapp does to you.

BOOK IT

Rooms at Glenapp start from £525 per night. For more on the activities, excursions and dining visit glenappcastle.com

A classic room on the Caledonian Sleeper starts from £275 one way. sleeper.scot