Travel Wishlist - Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, Ayrshire

Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, Ayrshire

Glenapp Castle is a 17-bedroom Relais & Chateaux five-star hotel tucked away on the breathtaking Ayrshire coast. Hidden in 110 acres of woodland it offers scope for long romantic walks and beautiful views of Ailsa Craig and Northern Ireland plus a host of activities including perfume making, wilderness living, archery, clay pigeon shooting, stargazing, foraging, bee keeping and mountain biking.

The conversion of the castle’s entire top floor introduces The Endeavour, a new, self-contained castle penthouse apartment with 4,500 sq ft of luxurious accommodation, launching in September. Comprising four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a lounge with dining room for up to 16, a TV snug with seating for 12, sauna, library, games room, private lift and personal treatment room for massages and beauty treatments, it also has its own kitchen dining room with butler service and private chef available.

Glenapp has 17 unique suites with views of the sea, gardens and woodlands

Also unique to the Glenapp is its Hebridean Sea Safari experience where the Castle Boat and professional crew take guests to explore the islands of Jura, Islay, Eilean Mor MacCormick and Gigha, spotting basking sharks, dolphins, minke whales and seals. With a private chef on board, meals are feasts of lobster, oysters, racks of lamb and mackerel, sleeping in glamping tents pitched to catch the best views.

With its private estate and woodland, social distancing is easy, and the hotel has a choice of six dining areas to facilitate spacing. A new “stay safe” policy includes hygiene packs of sanitiser, masks, temperature strips, sanitising wipes in all rooms, dinner service adapted to enable 2m social distancing, residents-only dinner bookings over summer, plus hygiene stations throughout the hotel and the staff’s temperature taken on arrival to every shift.

Budget or boutique?

Independently owned by Paul Szkiler, Glenapp Castle strives to be a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel and won the 2019 Independent Hotel of the Year CIS Excellence Award last year.

Room service

There are 17 unique suites with four-poster beds and fireplaces, with either superb sea views, or views across the gardens and woodlands.

Wining and dining

The hotel’s award-winning restaurant uses local produce for its freshness and quality on its daily changing menus, including a six course dining experience, Taste of Glenapp three course menu, or afternoon tea.

All of the fish and shellfish are line-caught or hand-dived off the west coast, and the game comes from Ayrshire estates, while beef, lamb and pork are farmed only 17 miles from the castle.

The restaurant’s six-course gourmet menu can be enjoyed watching the sun set over Ailsa Craig, the Mull of Kintyre, and across the beautiful Ayrshire coastline.

A Mackenzie & Moncur Glasshouse in the impressive Walled Garden, originally built in the late 1800s, is now an impressive and unique dining space.

Worth getting out of bed for

There’s an abundance of more than 80 activities in the castle’s extensive grounds and surrounding area including French boules, archery, clay pigeon shooting, croquet, tennis, kayaking, curling, tank driving and interactive falconry displays.

In addition to the Hebridean Sea Safari experience, the Glenapp Castle boat takes guests on day trips around the fabulous Ailsa Craig island. On board guests can also watch the sea eagle, Ripley’s epic demonstration as she flies between the shore-line and the vessel.

The local Galloway Forest Park is one of only four “Dark Skies Parks” in Europe, where clean air and lack of light pollution highlight incredible night-time skies, with an astronomer on hand to explain the constellations visible from the hotel.

Little extras

There is high-speed wifi and parking. A Glenapp Garden Treasure Hunt is great fun for families. Transportation to the hotel can be organised and there are dog-friendly rooms as well as a recently launched app of activities and experiences to enjoy.

Guestbook comments

Glenapp Castle is majestic in appearance and its opulent interiors and friendly attentive staff make every guest feel like royalty.

Prices from £137.50 per person per night. Garden View Suites from £415 on a B&B basis. New flexible booking and staycation offers, including seven nights for the price of five, and four nights for the price of three, available until 23 December. Glenapp Castle Hotel, Ballantrae, Ayrshire KA26 0NZ (01465 831212, [email protected], www.glenappcastle.com)

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Travel Wishlist - Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, Ayrshire - Scotland on Sunday travel

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