Trump Turnberry below par, claim disgruntled guests

Donald Trump will attend Trump Turnberry's "grand opening ceremony" on Friday. Picture: John Devlin

In what signals a blow to the US presidential hopeful’s aspirations of transforming Turnberry into one of the world’s premier luxury hotels, some guests have urged people to stay clear of the South Ayrshire destination.

Over a quarter of those who have submitted a review of Trump Turnberry since it re-opened at the start of this month have rated their stay as either poor or terrible.

It comes as the Republican presumptive nominee for the White House is due to arrive at Turnberry by helicopter on Friday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference.

Although the average rating of Trump Turnberry since its soft re-opening on 1 June is four out of five on Tripadvisor, classed as ‘very good’, several guests have condemned the standard of service.

Some claimed they had to wait until 11pm before checking in and were forced to sleep in rooms without curtains or blinds, while others derided the “terrible” food on offer.

When Mr Trump bought the resort from its previous owners, the Dubai-based Leisurecorp, for a fee in the region of £36m, he vowed to invest “many millions of pounds in order to bring the hotel up to the highest levels of luxury.”

He promised: “When completed, I believe that the Turnberry hotel will be the finest and most luxurious hotel in all of Europe.”

However, after a outlay in the region of £140m, the nine month-long renovation programme has left several visitors to the resort over the past three weeks distinctly underwhelmed.

One British tourist, who stayed at Turnberry last week with friends, rated its location as the maximum five stars, but gave the rooms and the service a desultory one out of five. Overall, he rated the experience as terrible.

After returning from a round of golf at 5pm, he said he was told his party’s rooms were not ready, only to be offered a “terrible meal” by way of consolation at the Duel in Sun clubhouse restaurant before eventually checking in at around 11pm.

Once in, he discovered there were no curtains or blinds in the room, with “useless” air conditioning.

He wrote: “I could have excused all this if someone had just cared about the guests as it was the opening but alas they did not.

“The setting of the hotel and the sunsets are all just so special that if the management get this hotel right, they get the right chef and management then this will be one of the best in the world. So please sort it out. Sorry just is not good enough I am sorry to say.”

Another visitor who stayed at Trump Turnberry last week rated it as poor. The tourist, from New York, was full of praise for the redesigned golf course, describing it as “one of the best, if not [the] best in the world,” but said the hotel service had suffered since his last stay, when he rates it as excellent..

He explained: “We waited 75 minutes for food in an empty restaurant for dinner, 30 minutes for a beer after golf.”

Describing the massage in Turnberry’s spa as “very mediocre” and the housekeeping as “awful,” he said the concierge was unable to find dinner reservations that had been booked for his family.

He added: “Hotel is beautiful and views are fabulous. The course is great. Will play the course again but will likely stay in Troon and drive over.

“Haven’t even mentioned Trump’s name plastered everywhere. Hope the service improves!”

A US tourist from Wisconsin who stayed at the hotel on the first night after reopening on 1 June also scored Trump Turnberry as poor and said he “would never stay here again or recommend it to anyone else.”

The golfer added: “Trump and his organisation who run the resort need major league training like you get at Pebble Beach or Pinehurst.”

No one from Trump Turnberry was available for comment.

Nearly 250 demonstrators are expected to descend on the resort on Friday to register their opposition to Mr Trump’s controversial call for a blanket ban on Muslims entering the US.

The protest - drawn from various political parties and groups, including RISE, Stand Up To Racism, and Scotland Against Trump - is expected to spark a major security operation. The main resort will be in lockdown for the duration of the event, while Mr Trump will be flanked by US Secret Service agents.

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