The Gleneagles Hotel

I've reviewed this property in 2013 and 2019 and this visit was consistent with earlier ones. We stayed in the Tower Suite 415 on the 4th floor of the main building. This one is a duplex with a library and sitting room and access to a rooftop with pretty views of the resort and countryside. The suite was mostly functional but I wasn't thrilled with the bathroom although it was certainly spacious. The bathtub took a long time to fill up; the shower had many useless knobs and there was a small garbage can that required foot magic to open and close. A simple garbage can would have been much more welcome. The upstairs library couch was very uncomfortable to sit on and even in summer it's cold and usually windy on the roof. I would suggest not splurging on this suite for a future visit. Another reason to avoid these suites on the 4th floor is that there are only 2 elevators for this main building with over 200 rooms in it. That includes the service elevator. Only one of the elevators serves the 4th floor. I found myself walking up and down stairs a lot. If I were returning, I would stay on the first two levels above the lobby. This visit we learned from earlier ones and made sure to reserve everything about a month in advance. It still took almost a week to make all the arrangements going back and forth. Some comments about activities: There are 2 guided walks on offer. It's needlessly pricey because they give you a car to go back and forth the ten minutes to the walking point. Our guide was excellent and the walk was nice. But one of the walks is described as somewhat moderate. It's not; it's a tough walk of several hours up a mountain at a gradient of about 5-6 on a treadmill. The other walk is not totally flat but it is easy at a gradient of about 2 and sometimes 3. The activities concierges have not taken the walks so they are not good at describing them. My daughter went bouldering; she was very unhappy that they did not provide shoes and that the climbing paths were not marked to international standards. Their excuse is that they have only been open for a year. That's lame; the staff there know better except that management doesn't pay attention to them. It's not safe to climb without proper shoes and you can't expect international guests to bring their own to a small indoor activity at a resort. My daughter aborted the activity and fortunately they refunded the money we spent on the activity. She did enjoy the clay pigeon shooting. We enjoyed the mini golf course which is different than minigolf; the holes are about 40-50 yards each. You can rent bicycles; the free ones are hard to ride beyond the driveway and the clubhouse area because it's not a flat area and you need mountain bikes. Food here is strong; the smoothies in the Garden Cafe are excellent. Dinner in the Michelin starred outlet, the Burnham and Strathearn were all very good. The Strathearn has the only live entertainment in the evening and it is a good place to have desert if you eat elsewhere. The Italian guy with the cheese presentations at dinner at Strathearn is a hoot and clearly loves what he does. The gym is very good and has everything you want; a good number of locals have memberships and it's a nice opportunity to meet the locals. The steam rooms by the pool and in the spa were meh and ought to be better (nobody seems to be checking to see if they are on or not); the swimming pools were well heated and both excellent and the outdoor jacuzzi was fun. There are dressing rooms on two levels and bathing suit spinners in both locker rooms. My spa treatment was fine. The hotel provides free car rides to the nearby village of Auchterarder and we enjoyed walking the main street and doing some shopping there. The main cafe in town Kisa Cafe was adequate but the hotel food is better. The hotel has a lot of guests from the Gulf at this time of year and they are prominent; I guess they come for the cool weather. To get to the airport about an hour away, you will have to take a hotel car for 280 pounds. Consider it an exit tax. Our driver, a veteran of the UK foreign service, was fascinating though, and it was a great end to our trip. Paired with a visit to Edinburgh (about 90 minutes away) for the fringe festival, this was a great way to spend roughly a week in Scotland within 6 hours flying time of New York City. We were thrilled to have a week in the 60's in the middle of the New York summer and didn't mind that the weather kept changing from sunny to rainy almost every hour. Edinburgh has a nice relatively small airport and is easy to fly in and out of.

Absolutely fantastic experience at Gleneagles and a super meal at Andrew Fairlie’s. The breakfast was also brilliant . Wonderful experience.

Wonderful family vacation! The grounds are beautiful and there are a number of activities for all ages. The breakfast offered a variety of options - one of our favorite being the fresh berries! The concierge and staff were very helpful. Overall very relaxing and enjoyable.

Gleneagles did not disappoint again! Our recent stay and celebrations for my birthday were absolutely outstanding and mainly all due to the staff and their excellent customer service! Jacky in the Century Bar was so attentive, his knowledge of cocktails amazing and really made our stay memorable, he is a credit to your team!

We came for a wedding that was hosted at Gleneagles. Everything from staff interaction, food, room, decor, atmosphere, spa and golf went beyond our expectations. The expansive property is a joy to engage in. Will be back when we return to Scotland.