The Good Hotel Guide has revealed its top 10 hotels in Great Britain and Ireland in its golf category for 2023 alongside its annual list of 12 César winners given to the hotels, inns and B&Bs considered outstanding in their particular category.
The Good Hotel Guide, now in its 46th edition, is the only truly independent hotel guide in the United Kingdom as it does not accept payment for inclusion or free hospitality in return for coverage, making the list a reliable source of recommended places to stay on a golf break.
Included in the prestigious list of golf hotels is the celebrated Peat Inn in Cupar, Scotland, which boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms that has long been a magnet for golfers as well as gastronomes as well as the lesser-known Rayanne House in Holywood which is home to Rory McIlroy’s home club just two minutes walk away.
Also featured is The Atlantic Hotel in St Brelade whose floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the links course at La Moye Golf Club that was famously redesigned by revered golf course architect, James Braid, in 1935.
The full list of golf hotels is:
Stella Maris, Ballycastle
If you can tear yourself away from the sea views at this former coastguard’s HQ on the Wild Atlantic Way, two superb links courses, Enniscrone and Carne, are 40 minutes’ drive away. Both designed by the late Eddie Hackett, they are thrilling to play and sensitive to their beautiful natural surroundings.
Park House Hotel & Spa, Bepton
An Edwardian country house originally catering to the polo set has evolved over four generations into a leisure resort with a six-hole, 18-tee golf course and a putting green. Day visitors are also welcome at neighbouring Cowdray Park Golf Club, in the lovely setting of the South Downs national park.
The Atlantic Hotel, St Brelade
Some rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the links course of La Moye Golf Club, bordering the grounds of this leisure-oriented hotel. Founded in 1902, redesigned by James Braid in 1935, and further developed over time, the course has panoramic views across St Ouen’s Bay.
The Peat Inn, Cupar
The world-renowned Royal and Ancient at St Andrews is just 12 minutes’ drive from Geoffrey and Katherine Smeddle’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms, a magnet for golfer and gastronome. There is an enticing choice of other historic courses within easy reach, but for foodies the most compelling courses will be on the inn’s tasting menus.
Trefeddian, Aberdovey
Book tee time when staying here and join men of Harlech in the hollows, on the greens and in the rough of Royal St David’s links, overlooked by Harlech Castle, with views to Snowdonia. Or there is Aberdovey’s own magical course, one of the best 18-hole links courses in Wales, right below.
Rayanne House, Holywood
A gargantuan gourmet breakfast at Conor and Bernie McClelland’s B&B overlooking Belfast lough sets golfers up for a round at Rory McIlroy’s home club, Holywood, just two minutes’ walk away. There is even a McIlroy-themed bedroom here for the real enthusiast, and discounted green fees have been negotiated for guests.
Headlam Hall, Darlington
To the east of this country house hotel on the outskirts of Darlington lies a nine-hole golf course in gently undulating pastureland with woodlands, ponds and streams. A resident professional is on hand to give tuition, while equipment and accessories can be bought from the golf shop.
Star Castle, St Mary’s
Subject to availability, guests at this historic hotel have complimentary use of the Isles of Scilly Golf Club, England’s most south-westerly course. The nine-hole, 18-tee course is maintained by volunteer members and has been cherished by islanders since it was founded in 1904.
Beechwood Hotel, North Walsham
Hugh and Emma Asher, owners of this creeper-smothered hotel, have teamed up with Mundesley Golf Club to offer two-night, half-board packages that include a voucher for a full day’s golfing. The course offers a fair challenge to beginners and more advanced players, and the ambience, as at the hotel, is friendly and unstuffy.
This year the Césars (named after famous Swiss hotelier César Ritz) include a hotel run by aristocracy with a well-being focus, a former motorway service station on the M6, a Grade I listed townhouse where the in-room coffee maker can be found in a doll’s house, a revamped 11th-century Cotswold stone inn, a 1950s Scottish youth hostel with loch views that is now a stunning hotel, and Michelin-starred properties in the heart of the British countryside with bird-watching and red squirrel spotting opportunities on the door step.
The Good Hotel Guide (GHG) also awards Editor’s Choice certificates to properties, selected by the GHG’s editorial team based on reports from readers, in the following categories*: Seaside, Hotels with a View, Restaurants with Rooms, Foodie, Historic, Family, Romantic, Weddings, Eco, Fishing, Golf, Cities/Towns, Spa, Quirky, B&Bs, Budget, Dog-Friendly, Country House, Walking, Gardens and Pubs with Rooms.
Established in 1978, the Good Hotel Guide is the only truly independent UK hotel guide – hotels cannot buy their entry into the print edition and neither the editors nor the inspectors accept free hospitality on their anonymous visits to hotels. Now owned by Richard Fraiman, who has been CEO since 2014, the editorial team is headed up by the former travel editor and assistant travel editor of The Times, Jane Knight and Kate Quill, respectively.
The Good Hotel Guide features 650 hotels, inns, B&Bs and guesthouses, with 414 main entries and 44 new entries (these being a combination of new properties and new entries to the Guide).
Readers play a crucial role by reporting on existing entries as well as recommending new discoveries. Unlike reader-review websites, which are open to abuse from unscrupulous hoteliers and guests with a grudge, these reports are carefully filtered. ‘Word of mouth in print’ is a good way of describing how the Good Hotel Guide works. Whenever a review of a hotel or B&B is received, the author’s name, address and other details are carefully recorded.
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The Good Hotel Guide 46th Edition: Great Britain & Ireland will be published on Monday 3rd October 2022, priced at £20 from all good bookshops. Good Hotel Guide gift vouchers are also available, in denominations from £50 to £500.
