Gleneagles Hotel

For the Torquay hotel, see Gleneagles Hotel, Torquay.
Gleneagles Hotel

Gleneagles Hotel and surrounding grounds
General information
Location Auchterarder
Perthshire, Scotland
PH3 1NF
Opening 7 June 1924
Owner Diageo
Design and construction
Developer Caledonian Railway Company
Other information
Number of restaurants 4
Website
gleneagles.com
Gleneagles Hotel
Club information
Location Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Established 1924
Type Private
Owned by Diageo
Total holes 63
Tournaments hosted Ryder Cup, Johnnie Walker Championship
Website www.gleneagles.com
King's Course
Designed by James Braid
Par 71
Length 6,790 yards
Queen's Course
Designed by James Braid
Par 68
Length 5,965 yards
PGA Centenary Course
Designed by Jack Nicklaus
Par 73
Length 7,320 yards
Wee Course (9 holes)
Designed by George Alexander
Par 27
Length 1481 yards

Gleneagles Hotel is a luxury hotel near Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

History

The hotel, which opened in 1924, was built by the former Caledonian Railway Company and retains its own railway station. The hotel's golf course and luxurious surroundings meant that golf and grouse shooting at Gleneagles had, by the 1950s, become a fixed part of high society's calendar, along with yachting at Cowes and polo at Deauville.

When the hotel was being built, an up-and-coming dance band leader named Henry Hall was involved in buying their pianos, and organising the dance band entertainment. He decided that radio broadcasts would be an ideal way to advertise the new hotel, so was given permission to move his Trafford Band from Manchester's Midland Hotel to the Gleneagles and form a new band in Manchester. The hotel's opening night was celebrated with Scotland's first ever outside broadcast on June 4, 1924.

After the season ended, the band moved to the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. Summer 1925 saw the band return to Gleneagles, although their commercial recordings were made in Manchester, and the winter seasons were in Liverpool.[1]

Between 1982 and 1986, £11 million was spent on renovation and since 1982 the hotel has been open all year round. In 1986, and every year since, the hotel has been awarded five red stars by the AA. The hotel is now owned by the international alcoholic beverage firm Diageo.[2]

The hotel was redeveloped[3] in preparation for hosting the 40th Ryder Cup Matches in 2014 played on the PGA Centenary Course.

Facilities

Restaurants

Gleneagles has four restaurants. The Strathearn is the hotel's main and most formal restaurant, and where the guests are served with breakfast. The Deseo restaurant is a Mediterranean, family restaurant. It has six main areas: the main restaurant floor; Braids coffee bar; Deseo cocktail bar; Deseo at the spa; the quiet area (which is an adults-only quiet dining area) and the food emporium. The last contains an area filled with the fresh produce used by the chefs, and an area from which one can watch the chefs work behind a fish, meat and cheese counter. In addition can be found The Dormy Clubhouse, and the fourth restaurant is a fine dining restaurant, awarded two Michelin stars.[4][5]

Golf

Gleneagles has remained famous for its world class golf courses: the King's Course, Queen's Course and PGA Centenary Course, previously known as the Monarch's Course. There is also a nine-hole course called the Wee Course and a Golf Academy which opened in 1994. The Jack Nicklaus designed PGA Centenary Course opened in 1993 and hosted the Ryder Cup in 2014. When asked about his work, Nicklaus said, “It’s the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with.” [6]

Significant tournaments that have taken place (or will take place) at Gleneagles include:[7]

Transport links

The closest airport to Gleneagles with scheduled filghts is Dundee Airport, 27 miles (43 kilometres) away and operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL).[8]

Conference venue

The facade of the hotel

Its luxury and degree of remoteness have made Gleneagles an ideal location for international conferences and as a spa retreat.

Significant conferences that have taken place (or will take place) at Gleneagles include:

Other facilities

Sir Jackie Stewart, of Formula One fame, developed close ties with Gleneagles Hotel and established a successful clay pigeon shooting school.

The British School of Falconry has been located at Gleneagles since 1992.[9]

Glenmor Holiday Homes

The village of Glenmor has holiday homes set within the grounds of the hotel.[10]

Awards

Gleneagles Hotel has won/holds many awards,[11] including

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Henry Hall biography". John Wright. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Diageo (19 April 2005). "Johnnie Walker Increases its Global Commitment to Golf". Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  3. ↑ Simon Brown (1 February 2008). "Gleneagles Announces Launch of New Destination Spa". PR Web. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  4. ↑ "Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles". Gleneagles Hotel. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  5. ↑ "Andrew Fairlie's personal website". Andrew Fairlie's personal website. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  6. ↑ https://trugolf.com/news/gleneagles-home-of-the-2014-ryder-cup/
  7. ↑ "Golf championships at Gleneagles". Gleneagles Hotel. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  8. ↑ HIAL http://www.hial.co.uk/dundee-airport.html
  9. ↑ "British School of Faconry at Gleneagles". Gleneagles Hotel. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Glenmor holiday homes at Gleneagles". Gleneagles Hotel. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Gleneagles' Awards". Gleneagles Hotel. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  12. ↑ "5 red Stars from AA". Automobile Association. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  13. ↑ "Conde Nast Gold List 2009". Conde Nast Traveller. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  14. ↑ "World Travel Awards 2008". World Travel Awards. Retrieved 19 January 2009.

External links

Coordinates: 56°17′09″N 3°44′51″W / 56.28583°N 3.74750°W