Fairmont St Andrews

This was our second time to visit Fairmont St Andrews between Christmas and New Year with family. The main areas and spa are great. We wanted to return as it's such a Christmassy place with a large tree and lovely decorations. A couple of years ago there were many nice activities for kids so it was disappointing to hear on arrival that there were none this year (previously there were cookie and pizza making etc which kids loved). There was cinema that was meant to follow a schedule but in real life it didn't have a schedule, it ended up playing on repeat the first film from morning as nobody changed it to the next one. The play room was great too when we finally found it as on the first night we asked staff who said they didn't have a play room anymore as it was now Santa's grotto. Second day we did find it in one of the meeting rooms and it was great and actually bigger than previously. Some of the negatives - the main one being the pricing in the bars and restaurants. So so very overpriced that it took the enjoyment out of having drinks and food in the hotel. A double gin and tonic was £28! And they add a service charge on everything, even when you order and pick up your drink from the bar. The Italian restaurant on site was so expensive too, the decor is very average, almost like a canteen and food was fine but definitely didn't warrant the prices. Kids pizzas were so tiny that they had to order a second one each. Just very bad value for money overall. On 28th Dec morning, the breakfast service was an absolute chaos. The queue to get in to breakfast was 20+ minutes and when you finally got a table, there was hardly any food left. They had ran out of bread, yogurt, jam, smoothie, oat milk etc - all the basics. Some of those they got someone to go out to buy that arrived 30+ minutes later and some they just said they won't have that day at all. Breakfast food ordered from table took ages and came out cold. There were so many staff but everyone looked lost. It was so badly organised. Customers definitely didn't have a 5 star breakfast or service. Because of the very high prices and experience at breakfast, we unfortunately won't come back as you don't get anymore what you pay for.

LACKS CHARM My husband, as a treat, booked a one night stay to celebrate my birthday. He booked a Deluxe King Room with a Sea View, so I was looking forward to an amazing 5* experience. Positives: • Stunning location • Reception Staff – very welcoming. Bar staff – very friendly. • Décor around Reception/Atrium area – luxurious • Our room very spacious, comfortable with a great view • I really appreciated the birthday card and cake which was waiting for me on arrival, a very nice touch. Negatives: • Pillows too soft, had to ask for a firmer pillow • Mini bar in room – prices extortionate – also chocolate, wine and nuts in cupboard, crazy prices • Only one armchair in room (booked for 2 people), plenty space in room for another armchair • We had internet issues with the TV in our room – thankfully Maintenance resolved these. • Felt more like an average 4* hotel – re maintenance/housekeeping issues in our room, looking a bit tired in places • Some areas of hotel not available to us because of the time of year and the fact that the hotel was very quiet, so that was very disappointing. Sports Bar closed. Felt restricted as to which areas we could relax in at night. Evening ambience was non-existent. • Disappointing 5* dinner experience (Kitttock’s Den). Booked a table for 7.30pm. We received our Main Courses at 9pm. We didn’t have starters, apart from some bread – a ridiculous amount of time to wait, so I did complain. My main tasted fine, but not 5*. The staff were very apologetic and took full responsibility. We were given a free drink each. I don’t drink, so I was given a lovely cake. • Breakfast ….. so disappointing. Friends had told me to expect an amazing buffet breakfast with great choices, so I was really looking forward to it. Sadly there was no buffet service, apart from pastries and bread. I ordered a ham omelette, when it arrived the waiter said that there was some cheese in the omelette. I didn’t ask for cheese, so returned omelette. Chef was apologetic and my ham omelette was lovely. Overall: I feel we will return one day – but definitely not in January, hotel just too quiet so lacked atmosphere. We didn’t use the Spa, so can’t comment, perhaps another time.

Stayed an overnight fabulous hotel but bar prices are too expensive topped up with a service charge means I only buy ONE drink not 2 or 3 .if price was reasonable ,sell it for a .fair price and you will sell more. Staff are great and breakfast is great

Just back from an overnight stay in a deluxe, sea view "double double" room. Overall a very pleasant and enjoyable stay, but quite a few niggles which are disappointing considering the considerable price paid. Pros - very friendly staff throughout (special mention to Edward in reception who was very friendly and efficient at check-in) - warm and inviting atmosphere generally with lovely Christmas decorations - room clean - dog friendly - spacious and luxurious bathroom with gorgeous Le Labo toiletries and a good shower - decent selection at breakfast buffet - nice spa facilities Cons - 4pm check in is too late - cold coffee served at breakfast - bar area too small to accommodate the number of guests - room, food and drinks are extremely overpriced for the standard of offerings (good but not 5* standard) - no arm chairs in the room, just one desk chair - disappointing for a "deluxe" room - no obvious staircase to rooms if you're not a fan of lifts.. - 2 double beds in the room are very small, and the pillows are soft and lumpy - late check out at 2 pm paid for but our room keys stopped working at 12 noon (as we arrived back in dressing gowns from the spa) and we were then called in the room by reception at 1pm, clearly chasing us to check out - ice bucket and champagne flutes requested at check-in but these only appeared 2 hours later after chasing twice.

Booked the Fairmont for a 3 night break between Christmas and New Year. Having grown up in Fife, I knew the hotel and we chose to stay here rather than in St Andrews itself, to enjoy the spa facilities and a touch of luxury. Sadly, the overall experience did not measure up to expectations. Whilst the room whilst incredibly spacious and had the usual facilities, small details let it down. In such a large room we were surprised that there was only one armchair. The pillows were far too soft and this meant neither of us managed to a good nights sleep; there was no offer of a pillow menu as I would expect in a 5* hotel. There was no milk for the Nespresso/Tea on our first night and amenities were not replenished. As other reviewers have commented, we ran out of shower gel and this was not restocked during our room being cleaned. Some mud also came off our walking boots (due to the nature of the weather on the coast paths) and this was not cleaned up during our room make-up. Very poor. The complimentary slippers provided with the bathrobes were falling apart too. The hotel itself is deceptively large, but actually has limited facilities. The main bar was very small for such a large hotel, which meant we often struggled to find a table. When we did, the service was questionable - we could often wait for 10-15 minutes before we were served and the white wine was not sufficiently chilled. We ate at La Cucina on the first night - it lacked any form of ambience, no Christmas decorations or an Italian vibe, and the food was average at best. We ate at some of the top restaurants in St Andrews the other nights and had incredible food for less than a meal at La Cucina. Again, the wine was served luke warm - at over £50 a bottle, I would have expected they would know how to serve it. One of the main attractions had been the spa. However, due to the very large number of families, this was far from relaxing. The pool was often hard to get a timeslot for, we only managed to get a lounger on our final day and whereas we wanted to swim, we could not as there were so many families and children splashing and jumping into the pool. This was far from a relaxing experience. Finally, the other attraction had been the courtesy shuttle into St Andrews. This was useful when we walked into town along the coast path, but the shuttle stopped at 6pm. Whilst that was great for getting into town for dinner, it was not helpful for the return! This felt like a somewhat deliberate ploy to keep you at the hotels restaurants. The minivan only seated 8 (in a massive hotel) and was often fully booked, despite a fleet of Mercedes Vans and BMWs being parked outside. Why they could not have put on an additional vehicle when demand dictated, I am uncertain! I would have expected this in a 5* establishment. Overall, the hotel catered for our requirements, but it was no more than an average 4* hotel. We had been planning to book more Fairmonts in Canada next summer, but will now look elsewhere based on this experience.