Start with one of Scotland’s finest Georgian mansions set in 416 acres of magnificent gardens and parkland (think Capability Brown, a sea of rhododendrons, ancient stone circles and stob crosses). Add the kind of comfort, cuisine and service that has won them four AA Red Stars and two rosettes, the RAC Blue.
Ribbon, the Macallan Taste of Scotland Hotel of the Year Award and Golf International magazine’s Hotel of the Year award and you soon run out of superlatives for Balbirnie.
Despite the lure of the “wee white ball” you might find it hard to leave your bedroom, each one of the 30 rooms unique and comfortably elegant. Snuggle into your fluffy bathrobe, pour yourself a sherry from the crystal decanter, nibble on a fresh peach and tune into the Golf Channel on satellite TV.
You’ll be tempted out by the Balbirnie kitchen and cellar that go a long way to make up for one of those less than perfect golf rounds. Sample traditional Scottish fare such as collops of venison and Glen Moray smoked salmon, or international “signature” dishes; wash it down with one of Balbirnie Cellar’s 350 wines from around the world; finish the evening with a single malt from the 110 varieties available in the original Old Library Bar.
But you’re here for the golf, of course. The magic of St. Andrews is a mere hop away where the famous links await, as is the fantastic new Kyle Phllips-designed Kingsbarns Course or spend a day links-hopping at Lundin Links, Crail and Elie… or drive 45 minutes to Carnoustie or Gleneagles….or …you get the picture!
Need a day off? How about horse-riding in the park, clay target shooting, fishing, falconry, a bicycle ride along the Fife coast with its quaint fishing villages, a visit to historic Falkland Palace or a thirty-minute drive to Perth and Scone Palace or Edinburgh.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But the Links-Club’s partnership with Balbirnie House can make the dream reality.