Hotels & accommodation

Gleneagles

Ennismore · Grand resort hotel on an 850-acre Perthshire estate, opened in 1924

Gleneagles opened in 1924, a grand railway-era hotel built by the Caledonian Railway on an 850-acre estate below the Ochil Hills near Auchterarder. A century on it remains Scotland's best-known resort hotel: a long, symmetrical stone palace at the end of a sweeping drive, around an hour from both Edinburgh and Glasgow and on the main road north into the Highlands.

Inside, the rooms and suites keep a country-house character — deep armchairs, estate and garden views, and bathrooms built for long soaks after a day outdoors. Families spread out in interconnecting rooms and suites, while the estate's own village of facilities means a stay can run for days without repeating itself.

Dining is a programme in itself. The Strathearn is the hotel's fine-dining room, all silver service and Scottish produce; the Birnam Brasserie serves a more relaxed Franco-American menu; and afternoon tea in The Glendevon, cocktails in The American Bar and pizza at The Dormy clubhouse fill the hours in between.

Golf is the headline — three championship courses, The King's, The Queen's and The PGA Centenary, which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup — but the estate also runs a spa, falconry and shooting schools, riding, fishing and off-road driving. As a scouting base it works two ways: Perthshire's towns are on the doorstep, and Edinburgh, Stirling and the southern Highlands are all an easy day trip.

• Opened in 1924; owned and operated by Ennismore
• Auchterarder, Perthshire — around an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow
• 850-acre estate below the Ochil Hills
• Over 230 rooms and suites
• Three championship golf courses; The PGA Centenary hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup

Visit the property — Gleneagles gleneagles.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the Scotland liveability score, safety rating or warnings.