The Gleneagles Hotel

It was my first trip to the hotel and I was very impressed on arrival at the beautiful building and the attentive staff. Our room was lovely however there were a few issues. On opening the cupboard containing the fridge the ring handle fell off. I tried to get the shower to work but neither of is could make the water run hot. I resorted to having a bath but when the bath handle came off easily in my hand. When I opened the slatted blinds in the bathroom the strip at ceiling height fell off, it was only held on by velcro! I called reception to make them aware and they were very helpful and sent maintenance to the room to fix. The only other complaint is that the room, although fully equipped, did not have a full length mirror which I would definitely have expected. We did use the adult pool and onsen which was absolutely bliss, especially when it got dark and we were outside in February! We ate in the Birnam restaurant which was lovely and enjoyed a cocktail one of the beautiful bars. I would definitely return but feel that the price tag didn’t match the quality of the room we had.

I’ve been coming to Gleneagles multiple times a year for over a decade and loved it, but my recent trips (since about 2023) have been an utter disappointment. The prices just keep going up, not helped by the most ridiculous 12.5% “compulsory discretionary” service charge on everything (I mean EVERYTHING, even the room rate and spa treatments). Meanwhile, the standard is dropping significantly, with extremely long wait times for service at most of the restaurants. Even the pool often has a wait time, and there have been multiple trips when we haven’t managed to gain entry to the pool at all because it is “at capacity”. However this thing that frustrates us most as dog lovers and owners is that the hotel is probably the only place on earth that has become LESS dog friendly since Covid. While the hotelier billionaires pleasure in charging an absurd surplus for owners wishing to bring their dogs, they don’t actually allow the dogs into anywhere but the corridor. No restaurant or cafe is dog friendly. The only place you can sit with them is the corridor outside the Garden Cafe. And in terms of dog walks, you can forget about it. No dogs are allowed on the Glenmor estate nearby the hotel (which would apparently contradict the public right to roam), nor are they allowed anywhere near the falconry or the gundog area for the most part of the day. While I can understand the reasoning at times, why bother claiming to be dog friendly at all? Just say it how it is : we don’t allow dogs, and accept the reduction in profit that comes with it.

Impossible to review easily … sumptuous, caring, discreetly friendly. The people make you come back and the ambience is the icing on the cake! Added to this Scottish scenery and hospitality . Nothing is too much trouble for all the staff without exception embrace the Gleneagles experience.

Treated ourselves for our Valentine’s Day wedding anniversary. At the point of online booking, the hotel ask your reason for visiting, I thought no more about it until we found a chilled bottle of Moët on our bedroom table. Very appreciated thank you. Smooth check in. Pleased we chose a room in the main building, lovely big bedroom, very big comfortable bed and pillows, only very slight disappointment being no walk in shower, it was over the bath tub, which is never ideal but the shower itself was good, hot and easy to operate, so it was no big deal. We used room service dining one evening, prompt, hot and just what we wanted, also dined in The Birnham and The Dormy and thoroughly enjoyed them both; lovely personal service in the Birnham, great steak, nice modern vibe in the Dormy and totally different menu choices, something for everyone. We also used the Centenary Bar several evenings. The Breakfast, however, is an experience in it’s own right, once shown to your table, you are at liberty to choose whatever you like in the “Scullery” room, both hot and cold choices and plenty of it, my advice?……. walk around the Scullery twice, before choosing, every corner has something different. So much choice, make up your own breakfast. Brilliant. The hotel grounds are beautiful and we had snow during our stay, making the scenery stunning. Trips out included St Andrew’s and the Fife Coastal route, lots of fishing harbours, we also went to Pitlochry, House of Bruar etc. All in all a really lovely few days. A five star hotel that is genuinely five star, the quality of the staff from the valets, to housekeeping, to reception, to the bars and restaurants, they were all superb, the staff to customer ratio, the personal service received, the food quality and the setting, all combine to make this a very special place indeed. Memories were made.

The perfect babymoon! My husband and I were considering going abroad but landed on going to Gleneagles for a couple of nights instead for our babymoon and it was the right decision. We were spoiled by the lovely staff from the moment we arrived. Our room was spotless and so beautiful, we loved the little touches of the turndown service! At 33 weeks pregnant, I was worried I'd feel as though I was missing out on some of what they have to offer, but with their gorgeous non-alcoholic cocktails, maternity massage and even offering a pregnancy cushion on their 'pillow menu' made it all very special, definitely recommend time at the spa - it's really stunning and the treatment was amazing (made to feel safe and comfortable even this far along in my pregnancy). We had their afternoon tea and the breakfast both mornings was like a special event we could hardly wait for haha - by far the best hotel breakfast we've ever had (we spent 2.5 hours down there both mornings). So much to choose from and the most beautiful setting to relax and enjoy, they never rush you :) we went on their lovely trail walk and explored the grounds. One evening, we got room service for dinner which was fantastic, the second evening we dined in the Birnham after enjoying a drink in the beautiful American Bar. Gleneagles feels like a real treat and the ideal place to spend a babymoon!