Tucked away in a quiet corner of South Ayrshire, near the village of Ballantrae, for those who love unashamed luxury and pampering in style, this Relais and Chateaux listed castle should be a must on your list of places to stay. Owned and run by Graham & Fay Cowan of the McMillan family, entry to the grounds and Castle, is restricted to those with a prior booking for lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, or guests who are staying at Glenapp. There is also a deliberate lack of signage from the main road in pursuit of this policy of privacy, so you do need to follow the directions for the last mile, with a little bit of care, to arrive safely at the entrance gates. A visit here is an experience never to be forgotten, from the initial welcome greeting at the front door to the sumptuous luxury of the public rooms, where you receive a welcome tea or coffee to allow you to take stock of your surroundings and savour every moment. The service is impeccably efficient without being obtrusive, to the point of almost anticipating your next request, designed to instil a feeling of peace and tranquility from the outset. With 36 acres of glorious gardens and woodland to walk in, including a walled garden and 150 foot Victorian conservatory, what more could you ask for than to wander at will through these grounds, whilst enjoying the magnificent views across the firth of Clyde with Ailsa Craig in the foreground.

In an extremely poor state of disrepair, when purchased in 1994, the castle has been lovingly restored over a 6 year period to resemble its former grandeur when owned by the Earl of Inchcape and making it what it now is,a truly exclusive luxury country house hotel. With 17 bedrooms and suites, all furnished in keeping with the style and grandeur of the castle, there is something for everyone's taste, with the front facing rooms, having magnificent views across the gardens and Firth of Clyde. Dining is a gastronomic pleasure, with resident Michelin starred Chef Adam Stokes and his team, producing truly memorable food, with the flair and expertise that he has become renowned for. It would be very easy to wax lyrical for pages about the whole Glenapp experience. The sumptuous luxury of the accomodation, the gourmet food, the attention to detail in the everything that the staff do. As one member of staff explained, its not really like work, its more of a pleasure to come here and work in such a lovely environment. This kind of statement sums it all up. Our warmest thanks to Fay and her staff for giving us a truly memorable experience the "Glenapp Way" We shall most definitely return.

Late on Saturday I realised that we were able to escape away for our first wedding anniversary and the recent cascade of accolades for Glenapp Castle with its 4 rosettes from the AA and first Michelin Star insured it was high on our list. However after some digging the food awards simply arrived on top of wonderful hotel reviews and awards and we decided it was the perfect destination and set off south from Glasgow.
Whilst Ayrshire is not one of the best known areas of Scotland there still remains plenty to see and do and with a wonderful break in the weather the 2 hour drive quickly passed. arriving at the castle can be tricky as there are no signposts in order to maintain privacy and the grounds are guarded by large gates with an intercom system so insure that you have heeded the eirections given on booking rather than trying to "wing it". After creeping up the mile of winding drive you arrive at the imposing castle perched atop the hill with stunning views out over Aisla Craig. We were shown to our room, bigger than most flats with deep traditional furniture and coulours and again dominated by wonderful views both to the hillside on one side and the seaside on the other.

After a good walk of the grounds- well worth seeting siome time aside to explore the grounds with wonderful formal gardens and trails- we had a traditional afternoon tea with scones and hoemmade biscuits and cream and jam. Dinner menus are provided early in the day in order to insure that the slightly restricted menu can be adjusted to your requirments and then if necessary alternatives can be given. In truth it harks back to a bygone era and the welceom and hospitality of being a house guest in a private home. Dinner however remains the main event and we both enjoyed a wonderful meal with a great collection of combinations and flavours all worthy of their recent accolades. In particular a dish of wild Halibut with Brandade and samphire stood out .After dinner we found a quiet library to relax in and throughout the team who looked after us were a wonderful combination of attentive without being overbearing or intrusive. The next day anotehr wonderful view welcomed us and then probably the best cooked breakfast to date- the Ayshire Glenapp grill- which comes highly recommended and even includes a potato Scone.
the only regret swas the fact that we could only stay for the one night as the area demands more exploration and the Castle needs another viist- my wife keeps telling me!

Our stay was fab I wish we could have stayed forever put it on your bucket list now we will return

We had a fabulous champagne lunch yesterday to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We had never been to Glenapp before and were amazed at how beautiful the grounds and the castle were. We received a lovely warm welcome and amazing service. They have just been awarded a Michelin Star and I'm not surprised as the food was definitely on par with other Michelin starred restaurants that I've been to. The wonderful fresh produce and fantastic presentation really made for a perfect meal.