Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa

We chose to spend our Hogmany this year at the Old Course Hotel and could not have had a better time. We opted for the 2 night, DBB package with access to the disco to bring in the bells. I will say also, this was great value for money. Our room was beautiful and spacious with a great view of the golf course. Spotlessly clean as you would expect from a hotel of this calibre. The food for both dinners was excellent, beautifully served. The staff in the restaurant are accommodating, very friendly but professional, and you feel like they are happy to be there. The bar staff in the Road Hole bar are also excellent. Jamie created a cocktail on the 1st, at 6pm (a little ritual that I didn’t know about) and it was delicious. So much so,I asked, and he happily gave me, the recipe. Reception staff, concierge, hotel manager, everyone is so friendly and polite. Lovely atmosphere as the hotel was busy. Couldn’t fault it in any way. We are regular visitors to the Old Course, but our first time in many years, for Hogmany. Looking forward to next year already.

The worst Christmas!! We booked our Christmas online months in advance. Christmas dinner reservations were not available yet. Email correspondence followed and we were assured by David that we will have our Christmas dinner at the Swilkan Loft restaurant. On the 25th we were told by reception we will not have a Christmas lunch or dinner!! With no apologies the person from reception told us because we booked through the hotel's I Prefer Member Rate we didn't qualify for the Christmas dinner!! What a load of garbage! To make it even worse, the receptionist had the audacity to patronise us by saying that at least we saved money! Really? We had the most amazing Christmases in the past at Gleneagles Hotel, the Intercontinental The George in Edinburgh and even the Fairmont Hotel st Andrews. Their menus had a wide variety. But the variety on the festive menu at the Road Hole restaurant was limited and the food definitely not of a high standard. I don't expect an apology from the management of this hotel since the personal at reception seem to think it's a joke.

First let me say our stay for two nights was excellent and the hotel is lovely and well worth a visit. We paid for a two night Hogmnay celebration package and overall we had a lovely time. However, there were a couple of issues that I feel I need to point out, firstly at the Hogmnay celebration in the Swilcan function hall, I had to wait at the bar on more than one occasion for twenty minutes to get a drink, now I fully appreciated it was extremely busy but it did seem to be a little disorganised at the bar and out a damper on the evening. Secondly, we had breakfast on New Year’s Day and the hot breakfast items were lukewarm at best and which was disappointing. As I said our two night stay was really good but just a couple of issues for the hotel to improve on.

We went for lunch in the Roadhole Bar. We were disappointed firstly with the cleanliness. The glass table was badly streak marked and under the glass was a sea of crumbs no one had taken the time to clear away. The staff were fine, disinterested at best. Our lunch and drinks orders were mixed up. Simple requests forgotten / confused. Bits floating in the milk jug ! Finally the coffee was disgusting. A 5 star hotel serving machine coffee no better than you’d find in a petrol station. I was so shocked. We had our wedding at the Old Course and it’s sad to see how far it’s fallen since then. This is a long long long way from a 5 star hotel.

We have stayed at The Old Course many times in the past, however I think this will be our last visit. It’s lost its sparkle. In the past, we were welcomed by a little card in our room, personally addressed to us and welcoming us back for another stay. Not this time. Complimentary slippers were embroidered with the hotel name and logo, not anymore, just plain white now, nothing special. In the past we’ve enjoyed the Spa, without the time restrictions that are now in place. Not this time. You can of course pay £40 per head to use the Spa facilities but complimentary use is restricted, to mornings between 8am and 10am when most are having breakfast and in the evenings between 6pm and 8pm when most people want to get ready for dinner. Breakfast was a disappointment, cold plates at the buffet, made your breakfast cold rather quickly. The little things like the welcome card, and the embroidered slippers, made the Old Course a bit more special, and your visit a bit more personal. Like everything else, it’s gone up in price and down in quality. I’m afraid it’s now just like any other five star hotel. On the upside, The Jigger Inn was, as usual, brilliant !