The Gleneagles Hotel

We were really looking forward to a luxurious weekend at Gleneagles and arrived after our flight to Edinburgh, excited and ready to be pampered. Unfortunately several service issues left us with a very poor impression of the hotel and its staff and we definitely won't be returning. We'd called ahead several times to let the hotel know we'd be arriving mid morning and to request our Estate Room in Braid House be made ready as soon as possible. After several visits back to reception and 45 pounds worth of drinks in the bar our room was finally "ready" at 2.30pm. We'd been waiting for over 5 hours by this time. Imagine our shock then when we entered our room to find the maid still in there, obviously just having started to clean the room. Duvet, pillows on the floor, sofa in the middle of the room, previous guest's rubbish still on the desk etc. The maid was so embarrassed and apologetic and rang reception to find out why we'd been given a key to a dirty room. So, back to the bar for another hour killing time til our room was actually ready at 3.30pm. Felt like all we'd done so far at Gleneagles was wait for them to get their act together. And paying hundreds of pounds a night for the privelege! The Strathearn Restaurant was outstanding. Great food and excellent service from the staff. We can say the same for the Club Restaurant at the Spa / leisure centre. We had treatments in the Spa which were okay, but overpriced and not as good as we've experienced elsewhere. Staff on reception and guest services were extremely poor and need to be trained in what customer service is actually all about - serving your customers and not telling them how busy you are or telling them to go buy a newspaper in the shop down the corridor rather than going to actually find you one to read while waiting for your transfer! Overall Gleneagles for us didn't meet expectations by a long way and we'd much rather have spent the considerable amount it cost on a weekend in New York! We expressed our issues to the hotel management by letter but their response was laclustre and wouldn't encourage us to return.

I have been staying in this hotel now for almost 12 years. There are big changes here now with a lot of foreign people in the front of house who are working in the hotel and language (at times)is a barrier. In general the "old" management has now left to further their careers and the "new" management are making a big impact in one area - OFFERS\DEALS!!! Now we all like a deal from time to time but "GE" is not offering as good a room rate as they normally did.The argument is that they are happy to underfill the hotel with high room rate guests rather than filling the hotel with low room rate guests, I can understand this to some degree, but come on GE-no more January Sale!!!!-- thats a big mistake at that time of the year.Strathern Restaurant- big changes here, new Head Chef and the Restaurant Manager "Hubert" have come up with some of the most beautiful food on this earth. This restaurant is now running at its best, improvement will be hard!!! Ourdoor Activities, the rates which yo have to pay for these are sometimes heavey so be prepared to have a good credit limit on your card or have plenty of cash with you as you can soon spend a lot of money in a short space of time. The rooms are great and most of them are now re-furbished to the last T.. If you have the chance to stay in one of the Whiskey rooms, you even get your own Espresso machine which makes fantastic coffee and the aroma in the room mmm (if your a coffee fanatic that is) Leisure Club well it is the place to relax with great facilities and an abundance of towels and poolside loungers and chairs. GE is still a great place to go to but my rating of the hotel is NEUTRAL to what you would expect from a hotel at the top of its grade. As someone once said to me when you are tipping you tipp for service OVER AND ABOVE what you would normally expect so GE (at the minute) neutral! But I think that this will change... for the better!!!

We both believed that this stay at the Gleneagles Hotel will be once in a lifetime, but when we stayed at this outstanding Hotel and Resort for two nights, after one year we went back with my parents for another four nights stay, and we would go back there, again and again. We are wonder why years ago people used to call the Gleneagles Hotel, the Playground of the Gods! During our first visit we we had my mother with us therefor we booked two large estate rooms looking the tennis courts. The second time we brought there both my parents and we booked also two estate rooms but this time we where at the 3rd floor facing the spectacular Glendevon Valley as we got an upgrade being Leading Hotels of the World Club members. What an experience leaving in this world-famous Luxury Hotel. The rooms, public areas and restaurants are just exceptional, and the scenery of the 850-acres estate is breathdtaking. Every night we had dinner even at the elegant award winning Strathearn restaurant or at the Andrew Fairlies Michelin-starred restaurant. During the day as believe it or not do not play Golf we were spending lots of time at the Gleneagles Club & Spa. This is also the place to be. Two indoor pools and one outdoor hot pool which is just unique! The service is outstanding and the staff are there just for you. This is why the Gleneagles Hotel, the finest Golf Resort in the World, is the favour destination of Heads of State, Royals, and international celebrities. Gleneagles is only one! When you come back from there you feel that everything you seen was just a dream and you wonder, why did I wake up......!

What a truly fantastic hotel. Everything about it was superb. The location was breathtaking, the food was absolutely delicious, the staff extremely friendly and helpful, the bedroom was huge and very tastefully furnished, the activities incredible fun with top class facilities. I cannot praise the hotel enough. They made our honeymoon a truly once in a lifetime experience. For anyone considering a stay at Gleneagles I can really highly recommend the horse riding (even for complete novices the staff and horses really made this a superb experience - you begin to wonder why you waited until now to try this great activity). The falconry lesson was highly educational and much more than we bargained for. Again the instructor and the bird he chose for us made the whole experience so much more enjoyable than we had hoped for. Despite the rain which started during our lesson, I have rarely enjoyed 45 minutes/1 hour outside so much. There are too many great activities to go in to detail. However, during our 5 day stay we enjoyed fantastic spa treatments, great golf on Kings Course (1 of 3 championship courses), clay pigeon shooting, archery, croquet, snooker, saunas and the outdoor hot tub (delightful despite the light rain) This hotel should come with the proclamation that not all 5 star hotels are the same. I have had the good fortune to stay at several 5 star hotels during the last few years. I can say that none of them even came close to matching Gleneagles. There are really too many things about it which make it speacial, not least the amazing Andrew Fairlie and Strathearn restaurants. Breakfast and evening dinner will never be the same again :-) If you want to be pampered by friendly staff in amazing surroundings don't think of going anywhere else. This is a must visit for singles, couples (including honeymooners like us) and families alike. We were worried we might be surrounded by old golfers but the number of families there enjoying a super holiday was very refreshing. In short, already looking forward to our 1 year anniversary so we can return for some more of the same.

We have been visiting Gleneagles for the last 9 years. I was very disappointed by our last visit and we shall never return. The Golf Courses are superb and still run by the Scots, however the hotel is now very disappointing. We had booked 4 classic rooms. 3 had not been re-decorated in the contemporary fashion, were reasonable size but small bathrooms and overlooked a hotel roof. The 4th bedroom was so small that you could not get into the wardrobe without closing the TV doors and moving the chair, it was extremely dark as it looked out onto a wall of the hotel. All the rooms were unbearably hot and couldn't be cooled even with the windows wide open. We had one meal in the Strathearn Restaurant - the scollops were not fresh and the starters luke warm. The atmosphere in the restaurant is non-existent as it is such a large room and guests quickly realise that you would only want to eat there once. Luckily the Scottish Bell Staff were excellent and they arranged and took us to very good local pubs and restaurants. The rest of the staff in the hotel however are mostly foreign and do not give you the genuine Scottish hospitality. We also had trouble with getting the hotel to accept a Corporate cheque for payment - in fact my husband spent the whole 4 days arguing with various members of staff about it. In all you get much better value at Turnberry or the Old Course Hotel.

My daughter and I stayed recently at Gleneagles and we were more than delighted with our accommodation. It was beyond my visual interpretation of the facilities at Gleneagles. The staff were extremely friendly and accommodating, the room was more than perfect and clean. The meals were tastefully presented and excellent quality, the breakfast was the best I have had in any hotel with unlimited choices. The range of facilities is excellent with something to do for any family member and the grounds are wonderful for a stroll or just to sit and enjoy the scenery. I shall look foward to another break before the end of the year.

I always think you can tell a really good hotel by how the staff treat everybody. If it is a truly great hotel, and you arrive casually clad but receive a warm welcome you are in a truly five star hotel (no matter the grading!) Gleneagles reception team do a great job, unfortunately they were consistently let down by the bar staff who constantly looked as if it was too much effort for them to do the minimum. Fantastic facilities, especially liked the out door hot tub. The Andrew Fairley restaurant is well worth it for a special occassion; execcllent service. Food in the main restaurant varied (i enjoyed my meal, my partner didn't!) would I go back - yes to Andrew Fairley no to the bar.

We've been to stay at Gleneagles a few times with our three children (ages 12,10 &9)and have had a fantastic time. First the good things: The Atmosphere: very laid back, very happy to have children,so good they don't have to be stuffy The rooms: modernly decorated, great bathrooms. Food: Main Strathallen Restaurant is excellent . We've eaten at Andrew Fairly a few times which is nice(I wouldn't take my kids here). Breakfast is fantastic. Activities:Most things you could think of- all of us bike riding was probably the best. Service:fantastic- not being a great sleeper I was wandering the halls looking for a fire to read next to and every member of staff I saw offer coffee, newspaper etc. Service in restaurant is just right attentative but not over the top and they speak to the kids. Not a very pickey person but when we go again here are a few things I'll request before arriving: Our bed was 2 singles pushed together with 2 single duvets( whats that all about?) Request a modern room - some friends of ours were in a old room and although comfortable, large etc. looked like Laura Ashely 1980's catelog. Book bikes , pony rides etc. Pack a bag with swimming suits( we were early and our rooms were late). And a few bad points: The pizza restaurant next to the pool- the service was terrible and rude and our bill was completely wrong. The spa staff were having a bad day. Already rebooked for next year so that must be the best recommendation.

My husband and I had planned a golfing holiday to Scotland, wanting to not only play some of the famous courses there but also stay at some lovely hotels. This resort had so much to offer. It truly surprised both of us. This is a resort that caters to everybody; singles, couples, families and groups. I wish we had stayed another few days. Three beautiful and challenging championship golf courses, horseback riding on trails as well as in large arenas, falconry, skeet shooting, archery, croquet, row-boating on a lovely pond, tennis on grass courts, a maze, a 9-hole pitch and putt course, off-road vehicles including a miniature jeep for children, golf academy with excellent facilities, activities school for children as well as daycare and computer room, indoor pool created with rocks and vegetation as though it was outside, outdoor hot tub (again created naturally), big rooms with 10 foot ceilings, equally large bathrooms with heated floors, lovely dining room/conservatory/bar, excellent food selections, beautiful grounds and very attentive service. I would highly recommend this hotel.