Top Five Golf Hotels
Autumn can be a great time to take the irons out for a spin. Whether you’re planning a weekend with friends or a solo day to recharge, take a look at our top five UK hotels with golf courses.
Celtic Manor Resort (South Wales)
Hosts of the 2010 Ryder Cup, this five star award-winning resort needs no introduction. Set in more than 2000 acres of panoramic parkland at the gateway to Wales, Celtic Manor Resort is inclusive of three world-class championship courses, a golf academy featuring a floodlit driving range plus two luxurious golf clubhouses. The nine hole Footgolf course at Caerleon Golf Club, where players are tasked with making their way from hole to hole in as few kicks as they can, is a recent quirky addition. There are five accommodation options across Celtic Manor, with the Resort Hotel offering spectacular views of the surrounding Usk Valley proving most popular. With two award-winning spas - Forum Spa and Ocius – plus several restaurants, there’s something to keep everyone suitably relaxed and entertained.
Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa (Merseyside)
Set in 200 acres of parkland on Lancashire’s Golf Coast, the courses at Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa include the challenging 72-par Old Course - a former venue on the European Challenge Tour – and a 9-hole par three course that has been described as the best in the UK. Also named as the UK’s first PGA National Residential Golf Academy this is a great destination to perfect your game. The sophisticated four-star 62-room hotel has a spa that promises to be ‘a haven away from the rigours of daily life’, plus a bar boasting views of the 18th hole and a sophisticated grill restaurant. On the outskirts of Southport and just 13 miles away from Liverpool, Formby Hall Golf Club and Spa is one of the most popular golf retreats in the North West.
Gleneagles Hotel (Perthshire, Scotland)
This five star hotel is another prestigious classic amongst golf fans, with its three championship golf courses, including the Jack Nicklaus designed PGA Centenary Course, which is most notably remembered for hosting the 2014 Ryder Cup. Named the PGA National Academy for Scotland in 2010, Gleneagles also offers revolutionary coaching practices. The luxury 232 room hotel set in an 850-acre Perthshire estate, was described as "a Riviera in the Highlands" when it was opened in 1924. Today it boasts the only restaurant in Scotland with two Michelin stars, plus an award-winning ESPA spa and health club.
Carden Park (Cheshire)
Designed by Jack Nicklaus and son Steve, the Nicklaus golf course at Carden Park is a must for all golfing enthusiasts, and is one of two picturesque 18-hole courses on the Cheshire Country Estate. You’ll also find a driving range, practice green and intensive residential coaching programmes with PGA professionals are also available. With six distinct room categories, two restaurants and two bars, the four-star Carden Park hotel is a great getaway location. A three-acre vineyard was reinstated by the Estates team in 2008 and has since become one of the most successful vineyards in the North of England producing up to 6,000 bottles of Carden Old Gold sparkling wine.
Rockliffe Hall Hotel Golf & Spa (North Yorkshire)
Set in 375 acres of stunning countryside on the banks of the River Tees, 18th century Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth has the largest golf course in the UK, plus a golf academy with three PGA professionals. Designed by Hawtree, the world-renowned course architects, the 18-hole championship golf course here is often referred to as one of the most challenging in Europe. The five star 61-room country house hotel is accredited by Small Luxury Hotels of the World and includes a sophisticated spa and award-winning outdoor Spa Garden, three unique restaurants and an extensive wine cellar. Adjacent to Middlesbrough Football Club’s training HQ and set in a picturesque village, this well appointed resort offers one of the most luxurious hotel and spa experiences in the North East.