Edinburgh is a great city to visit on any golf trip; on offer are fantastic sights like Edinburgh Castle and excellent dining and shops to keep everyone happy!  In October of this year, the extensive refurbishment work started on Caledonian Hilton.  The hotel will go through many changes which will include the creation of a courtyard lounge, the relocation of the main hotel restaurant and a substantial investment in upgrading the hotels bedrooms.  The refurbishment is due to be complete in the summer of 2012; the 254 bedroom hotel will rebrand as The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

By Denise.  Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is a member of our admin team.

Cameron House, located on the banks of Loch Lomond, is a stunning five-star venue; ideal for a stay close to Glasgow Airport (only a 35 minute drive) and offers excellent leisure and golf facilities as well as a variety of dining options.

The hotel’s chairman Stephen Carter has recently been awarded Hotelier of the Year 2011; an accolade made even more prominent as it is selected by past winners of the award which has now been running for 29 years.

During Stephen’s 3 year period working at the Cameron House he has managed the property through a £50m refurbishment which can now boast a resort containing 128 bedrooms, 115 lodges, the spa (inclusive of 17 treatment rooms) and a PGA championship course.

Check out all the hotel has to offer by clicking here.

Celtic Manor Resort, who proudly hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010, can now boast a new Titleist National Fitting Centre. 

The centre opened on the 31^st of October 2011 and offers a sophisticated club-fitting service by appointment with the club professionals.

Celtic Manor Resort

Should you be planning a trip to South Wales in 2012, Celtic Manor offers 5 star accommodation, a wonderful spa for a weekend of relaxation, a selection of excellent dining experiences and has 3 resident golf courses. What more could you ask for on vacation?

To read more on the new Titleist National Fitting Centre at Celtic Manor, please click here.

Cameron House is a five star De Vere hotel situated on the banks of Loch Lomond, just 25 minutes from Glasgow Airport.  I recently had the pleasure of staying overnight, which was the first time I’d stayed since its £25 million refurbishment in 2007.  The end result is a fantastic traditional hotel with a great Scottish feel to it and a property fitting of a great location on the ‘Bonnie Banks’.   The bedrooms are tastefully designed with tartan rugs and deep colours, giving it a very homely feel.  Personally, my favourite part of the hotel is the Great Scots Bar; where pictures of famous Scots (Colin Montgomerie, Sean Connery, William Wallace, Billy Connolly, etc) hang on the walls.  Spend 15 minutes wandering round the bar looking at all the pictures…….it’s an education!

Whilst it’s a difficult property to include in a typical itinerary (you wouldn’t use it as a base when playing any of Scotland’s top links courses), it will often fit in perfectly at the end of a trip.  For example, if you’re in the Highlands or St. Andrews and you’re flying home from Glasgow, it’ll be much more enjoyable to stay at Cameron House on your last night, than it would be to stay at a typical airport hotel.

By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Martin Wishart

Cameron House’s restaurant, Martin Wishart, recently received a Michelin Star.  Situated on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond, it offers a fabulous view and a five-star fine dining experience.

To read about the restaurant’s achievements, click here.

Cape Grace Hotel in South Africa is a popular choice while in Cape Town; it was recently voted “Best Hotel in Africa and the Middle East” by Travel & Leisure Magazine 2011.  Click here for details of the great awards the hotel has received.  

A must do while staying at Cape Grace is taking the trip up Table Mountain in a cable car; the mountain is sculpted from sandstone and rises 1086 metres at its highest point – Maclears Beacon – above the bay.  Its flat summit measures nearly 3km and provides breathtaking views over the city and its beaches.  The panorama stretches from Table Bay to False Bay and around the mountain to the Hout Bay Valley and Kommetjie.  On a clear day, you will find a beautiful view across the Cape Flats to the Hottentots Holland Mountains.  The cable car was first opened in 1929 and today transports around 600,000 people to the summit annually.

By Denise McKee.  Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and looks after our South African programmes.

Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown is the sister property of Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers.  It opened in August 2010 and has recently appeared on the “Condé Nast Traveller Hot List 2011” (click here for details).  Matakauri is an outstanding property and a fantastic addition to Queenstown; it is a must stay while in the area as there is plenty to do and see and some of the scenery in this region of New Zealand is out of this world.  The golf is also excellent with Jacks Point which boasts a backdrop of 2300 vertical metres of the razorback Remarkables mountain range.  Need I say more!

By Denise McKee.  Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and handles our South Pacific Programmes.

Apple iPad

Turnberry Resort has become the very first hotel in Scotland to introduce iPad wine and beverage menus into their dining experience.  The growing popularity of the tablet computer in the US has also been incorporated by Gordon Ramsay into his London “Maze Restaurant”.

Turnberry has invested in ten iPads which offer guests a colourful and interactive choice of beer, wine, cocktails and whiskies in their 1906 restaurant and The Ailsa Bar & Lounge.

The news of the upgraded menus at Turnberry comes after their launch of a range of well-known golfers’ wines; including the personal selection from John Daly, Retief Goosen and Arnold Palmer.  These will be featured on the new menus.

For more details, click here.

Any developments at Gleneagles are viewed with interest, especially with them due to host the Ryder Cup on its return to Europe in 2014.  From this article, it looks like they have found a solution (for greens anyway) of maintaining great course conditions in spite of difficult environmental factors.  I wonder how long it will be before we see this technology in more widespread use.

By Alastair Niven.  Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Congratulations to The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs on being voted No.1 Lodge/Resort in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific by readers of Travel & Leisure.  This is the 16^th year the awards have been held and the rankings are based on rooms/facilities, location, service and restaurant food and value.  Kauri Cliffs came in 11^th place in the World’s Best Awards.  You can see further details on the awards by clicking here.  

Kauri Cliffs is owned by New Yorkers Julian & Josie Robertson who also run the fantastic Cape Kidnappers resort near Napier on the South Island which has one of the world’s best courses.  In addition to this, they have recently opened the new Matakauri Lodge near Queenstown.

By Alastair Niven.  Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and looks after our South Pacific Programmes.