I surprised my husband with a 40th birthday trip to play the Old Course and knew exactly in which hotel I wanted to stay. We spent 3 nights at The Old Course Hotel and had a wonderful time. The rooms are beautiful and well appointed, the beds are comfortable, and the service is great. We did manage to visit the spa for a short while and I would highly recommend going after a golfer's afternoon - the hot tub, sauna and plunge pool are very relaxing. This hotel is right next to town so it is an easy walk to shopping, restaurants and pubs, although the pub attached to the hotel called the Jiggers Inn is also worth a visit.

The meal at the Road Hole Grill was good but the ambiance had the hotel restaurant feel to it, but the Road Hole Bar was comfortable and was a place you wanted to stay a while. There is a restaurant in town that I highly recommend - the Doll's House was probably the best meal we had while in Scotland and the price was reasonable. The hotel recommended it to us and reservations are necessary. It is up in the middle of town so allow 15 minutes walking time to get there . Also, speaking of the town of St Andrews, even though there are two larger streets of shopping, I found that Edinburgh was a better choice for buying souvenirs to bring home to friends and family, unless, of course, you want golf attire. There are plenty of shops for that. Make sure you shop around, though, as the prices differ everywhere.

The Old Course Hotel is very special in that it is situated right along the 17th hole of the Old Course and as you go outside every day, you are constantly reminded how special your vacation is. There you are, standing right in front of the Holy Land of Golf, and as a non-golfer, even I felt it. I expect my husband and I will be returning to St Andrews in the next couple of years and I would not even think of staying in any other hotel.

We stayed in a Deluxe Jacques Garcia Designed Suite for 2 nights in early August to celebrate our joint Birthdays. We were slightly apprehensive as this was part of an annual trip to Scotland to visit Family and we normally round of our trip with a stay at Gleneagles but chose St Andrews this year as my husband was playing golf on the Old Course. Some of the reviews on this site made us initially question this decision. We arrived at the Hotel at 12.30pm fully expecting to wait as check in is 3pm but were pleasantly surprised when told the room was in fact ready. The suite was breathtaking – helped by the fact the weather was the best all summer and the view out the full length windows across the golf course and out to see was stunning. There was an entrance foyer with marble flooring with a wet bar off to one side and a guest toilet off to the other. The living room part of the suite was huge with a full length sofa, two armchairs and a coffee table in front of a fireplace. There was also a large polished wood dining table that could easily sit 8 and a chaise longue by the full length windows that opened out on to a balcony. We spent many a pleasant hour on the balcony, glass of champagne in hand watching golfers come up the 17th (Road Hole) fairway. The soft furnishings were a mixture of striking deep red and black and white. The bedroom was as sumptuously decorated with a his and her wardrobe, huge king size bed, sofa and another large balcony. The bathroom was large with a fun and huge Jacuzzi/mood lighting bath which filled from the ceiling!

We had a wonderful couple of evenings in the Road Hole Grill Bar – again with fabulous views over the golf course and out to sea. Service and the cocktails were great. We ate one evening in the Road Hole Grill and the food was some of the best we have had in Scotland – we felt it was even better than Andrew Fairlies at Gleneagles. The other night we had a bar meal in the Jigger Inn attached to the Hotel which has a very relaxed ambience and suited my husband after his game of golf.

The Spa at the Hotel is wonderful – I had two wonderful back massages and we used the thermal suite, pool and rooftop Jacuzzi which were all modern and very clean. The Spa staff were all very professional and friendly. All in all the service throughout the Hotel was very attentative and everyone we were served by used our names and remembered us the following day.

There were only one or two minor things that I noticed they could have done to make it even better – not a complaint just feedback. Firstly there was no guest questionnaire provided to feedback – had there been I would have commented on the hairdryer which was a tiny old style hotel one that had no force/heat and would never have dried my hair had I tried. They had new large powerful ones in the Spa – why not the rooms? Also there was no Hotel information pack in the room so unless you knew the Hotel or asked you would have no idea of the Facilities/dining options on offer.

To summarise we very much enjoyed our stay and will definitely return at some point.

Stayed one night on a Corporate occassion (The Open Golf). First time in the hotel, it is very smart as one would expect, nice service at reception, very nice rooms and ok decor.

Evening Meal - First class food and service, no faults.
The room - had one overlooking car park, was very nice but not WOW as you would expect from 5*.
Rest of hotel - OK but not as much class as Gleneagles etc.
Breakfast - very average, nothing special, cooked buffet was almost a joke on quality.

Overall - Nice but wouldn't go back unless it was cheap. Having 5* means you have high expectations, and comparing this to Gleneagles it comes 2nd best by far.

Living in Glasgow, my wife and I intermittantly travel to 5 star hotels in Scotland for a weekend break. For my wifes birthday, I thought we'd try St Andrews Old Course Hotel.

To be honest, it's just okay. The building is frankly ugly- a horrible yellow colour and the interior decor is forgettable. The only time anyone really spoke to us was when we checked in and when we left. Our room was enormous, with a huge bed but the room was roasting! The AC was rubbish so we slept badly both nights, never good after a bottle of champagne (and the rest).

The weather was awful, and the hotel is quite dull- an uninspired gym, average spa. So, we went exploring- the only way to get to town was to walk where we got soaked through.

The first night we ate at the golf bar, we were the only folk there. We had an average meal of steak and chips before retiring to our oven...sorry, bedroom.

The second night we dined at the upscale restaurant. The food was great but service was terrible. The wine waiter spilt wine EVERY time she poured it, and was completely unaware she was doing it. I would have complained to her but she was never there for more than 3 seconds. I was going to complain to the maitre'd but couldnt see who that might have been.

Breakfast was decidedly average, and the service was appalling. Really dreadful- there was no organisation so two waiters were annoying half the room whilst ignoring the other half (not good with hangover and poor sleep due to heat)

This place is not a patch on Gleneagles, Turnberry, Isle of Eriska, the Scotsman and such like. It likes to think it is, and charges similarly. It has none of the charm nor class of the other places. It must depend on Americans coming for the golf, who dont know any better and then have no option but to stay once they've travelled all that way. My advice would be, spend your money elsewhere- there are plenty of places in Scotland that are more deserving of your business.