Glenapp Castle ~ Press Reviews

< back to full list of articles and reviews

TOWN & COUNTRY TRAVEL (Fall Issue, 2003)

'Scotland's New Star'

Looking for the next great country-house hotel? Head to the south-western coast of Scotland and Glenapp Castle. Though open only since 2000, Glenapp possesses the august setting, the sense of history and the culinary excellence of a place many years its senior. Fay and Graham Cowan spent an epic six years restoring the Baronial-style mansion and it's thirty acres of Victorian gardens and woodlands.

Seventeen rooms and suites, many with fireplaces, have been done up in a light-handed traditional manner, and the public rooms are stately without edging over into pomposity. The hilltop site, overlooking the Irish Sea, is nothing short of stunning.

The location, ninety minutes from Glasgow by car, is ideal for golfers who want to play challenging courses like Royal Troon and Turnberry. Other options include shooting, fishing, tennis, horseback riding or simply strolling the gardens, where the greenhouse nurtures espaliered apricot trees.

Chef Tristan Welch (formerly of L'Arpège in Paris and London's Le Gavroche) makes inventive use of ingredients, from the tiniest wild chives to local langoustines.

In sum, Glenapp is one of those hotels you long to return to.

< back to full list of articles and reviews