Escape Marine Troon

For some, it’s all about the golf, but there’s a lot more than that to thrill you at this venerable Ayrshire landmark 

- Catherine Coyle

There’s something I neglected to mention when I gleefully accepted an invitation to visit Marine Troon, part of the burgeoning Marine & Lawn group of upmarket boutique hotels at various UK golf destinations. Golf; it just ain’t my bag. I’ve never fully grasped the rules, I don’t get why it takes so long and, well, don’t even get me started on the apparel.

I needn’t have worried. What I lack in enthusiasm for the game, I more than make up for when it comes to good food, a comfy bed and a tranquil wellness centre. Turns out, I’m in luck. Marine Troon has all of those (as well as the golf stuff, of course, for those who are partial).

With a majestic location on the Ayrshire coast, the hotel has been welcoming guests since 1894. But a facelift and thorough refurbishment in 2020 has rejuvenated the place and given it a fresh appeal. Zhuzhed-up bedrooms, a new bar and restaurant and, more recently, a wellness centre that would make Gwyneth Paltrow break meditation, have all been completed in a style that reflects the historic hotel’s past but also firmly signposts it in the here and now.