- Famous guests: Sir Winston Churchill being one example.
- Secluded location: Hidden in the forests of South Ayrshire.
- Architecture: Designed by David Bryce in the 1860s in Scottish Baronial style.
- Luxury: 5-star service, Michelin Star-winning restaurant, elegant period features, landscaped gardens and sea views.
- Enter your dates and check prices here
Glenapp is a very charming boutique castle hotel tucked away in the forests of South Ayrshire, Scotland.
It has, since its inception in the year 2000, offered the best in 5-star luxury with consistently high levels of hospitality and service.
Designed by renowned architect David Bryce in the 1860s, it is to this day one of the finest examples of the Scottish Baronial style of architecture.
It is filled with elegant period features and furnishings, has a world-class, Michelin Star-winning, restaurant, and with acres of landscaped gardens, sea views and a secluded forest setting it makes for a wonderfully romantic hideaway.
What are the rooms like?
- Variety: Seventeen B&B rooms and suites to choose from.
- Scenic views: Sea views from upper floors and distant hills of Ireland on clear days.
- Comfort: Spacious and lavishly furnished with Victorian-era antiques.
- Technology: All rooms have TV, study desk, and luxurious en-suite bathrooms.
- See each room in detail here
There are seventeen B&B rooms and suites to choose from at Glenapp Castle. Many of them (on the upper floors) have sea views where you can look out upon the famous volcanic rock of Ailsa Craig, the Isle of Arran, and Holy Island in the distance.
And on clear days it’s even possible to catch a glimpse of the hills of Antrim far across the water in Ireland.
These are more expensive, naturally, than the ground floor rooms but you will find all of their rooms super comfortable, spacious, and lavishly furnished with Victorian-era antiques.
Each room comes with extra seating, a study desk and TV, and they also all come with suitably luxurious en-suite bathrooms.
Some of the larger rooms also come with their own fireplace.
What are prices like?
Facilities & Things to Do:
- Dining: Michelin-starred restaurant, tearooms for light lunches and home-baked treats, and generous breakfast.
- Common areas: Oak-panelled hallways, drawing room with board games, lounges with fireplaces.
- Gardens: 36 acres, perfect for peaceful evening strolls.
- Activities: Tennis, falconry, archery, croquet, boules, boating, fishing, hiking, horse riding, golf, cycling and more.
- Practical services: Airport transfers, car hire, packed lunches, babysitting, massage, and full concierge services.
The restaurant is a star attraction at the castle, with some superb food to be sampled and some lavish three to six-course dinner options.
There are also tearooms to be enjoyed which serve light lunches and some delicious home-baked treats.
Their breakfast is suitably fantastic too, generous and full of choice. You can dine inside or, in fine weather, outside on the lawns overlooking the Victorian greenhouses.
There is much common space around the castle and you can wander the beautiful oak-panelled hallways, enjoy board games in the drawing room, or relax around the fire in the lounges.
The gardens, all 36 acres of them, are very beautiful and make for some very peaceful, atmospheric, evening strolls.
The more active among you will appreciate the tennis courts plus you can watch falconry exhibits or try your hand at archery, croquet, or boules on the castle grounds.
All sorts of other sporting activities can also be arranged at the hotel. The staff at Glenapp are consistently helpful and can organize all sorts of things in the local area.
These include boat trip adventures as far out as Ailsa Craig, fishing (river salmon fishing & sea fishing) hikes around the Galloway Forest Park, horse riding, golf, cycling and plenty more.
More practical things can always be arranged, things like airport transfer, car hire, packed lunches, child minding/babysitting, massage services, and a full range of the usual 5-star hotel concierge services.
How is the location? And how do I get there?
- Hidden gem: South Ayrshire, scenic and often overlooked.
- Nearby attractions: Galloway Forest Park, Isle of Arran, Mull of Kintyre, Holy Island, and over 40 castles.
- Historic significance: Birthplace of Robert Burns and many Scottish clans.
- Transport: 40 miles from Glasgow Prestwick Airport, 70 miles from Glasgow city, transfers available.
Usually overshadowed by the more famous Highlands to the north, this part of Scotland is, to the more savvy traveller, a hidden beauty.
Just up the road from the castle hotel there is the Galloway Forest Park, Scotland’s largest and an area of wild scenery: mountains, forests, and rivers.
The Isle of Arran is close by too by boat, as is the Mull of Kintyre, and also, farther away, the mystical, ancient monastic site of Holy Island.
There is history here too, Ayrshire has over 40 castles scattered around and was the homeland of 14 Scottish clans.
These include the Campbells, the Montgomerys, the Wallaces, the Hunters, and the Hamiltons. It is also the birthplace of probably Scotland’s most iconic writer: Robert Burns.
Most famous perhaps for the New Year’s Eve anthem Auld Lang Syne, his birthplace, in Alloway outside the town of Ayr, is now a museum known as Burns Cottage and one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions.
In terms of access, Glenapp Castle Hotel is just over 40 miles from Glasgow Prestwick Airport and about 70 miles from the city of Glasgow and its main international airport in nearby Paisley.
Transfers can be arranged to and from these airports by the hotel.
Any interesting history I should know about?
- Original build: Private residence for James Hunter by David Bryce.
- Architectural style: Scottish Baronial gothic revival with tourelles.
- Gardens: Designed by Gertrude Jekyll with Victorian-style glasshouses and exotic species.
- Historical figures: Elsie Mackay, First Earl of Inchcape, Winston Churchill.
Originally commissioned as a private residence for James Hunter, the local Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County, the castle was designed by one of Britain’s most famous architects of the time, David Bryce, from Edinburgh.
At the time, the mid-19th century, Scotland was undergoing a revival of what was known as Scottish Baronial architecture.
This was a gothic style rooted in the 16th century, one which fell in and out of fashion as part of the Gothic Revival until the early 20th century.
It was frequently characterized by, amongst other things, the presence of many small turrets known as tourelles.
Much of the walled gardens surrounding the castle were designed by another famous figure of the time, Gertrude Jekyll. She was a renowned horticulturist and garden designer who created hundreds of gardens in her lifetime and also wrote countless books on the subject.
They also include some very Victorian-style glasshouses in which, as was very much in vogue at the time, many exotic species from warmer climes were, and are still, grown.
And what about the reviews? What did other guests like?
“First and foremost the entire staff could not have been any nicer, more helpful or more lovely. I have stayed in other castles in Scotland and this was the best bar none. Everything was seamless which is so unusual nowadays. The food was outstanding. I travel all over the world and stay at 5 star hotels most of the time and our stay at Glenapp was outstanding in every way…”
“A real treat. We felt truly spoiled. From the welcome on arrival, until we left, everything was excellent. All staff were faultless. Every last detail had been thought about. Food was wonderful and the grounds provided excellent walks…”
