Gleneagles Hotel is a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

near

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

, Scotland. It was commissioned by the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

and opened in 1924. The bandleader, Henry Hall, performed at the hotel before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

during which it served as a military hospital. There are three tournament-standard golf courses in the grounds and the hotel was redeveloped for the 40th

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Significant conferences at the hotel have included the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977 and the 31st G8 summit in July 2005. It is a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Construction of the hotel was commenced by the

(CR), which also built the nearby

Gleneagles railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Gleneagles Railway Station 5600886 60a5ad29.jpg , borough = Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross , country = Scotland , coordinates ...

. However, by the time it opened in 1924, the CR had been absorbed by the

London, Midland & Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

(LMS). It was equipped with its own dedicated railway branch line. An up-and-coming dance band leader named Henry Hall was involved in buying their pianos, and organising the dance band entertainment. He decided that radio broadcasts would be an ideal way to advertise the new hotel, so was given permission to move his Trafford Band from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

's Midland Hotel to the Gleneagles and form a new band in Manchester. The hotel's opening night was celebrated with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

's first ever

outside broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera ...

on 7 June 1924. After the season ended, the band moved to the Adelphi Hotel in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Summer 1925 saw the band return to Gleneagles, although their commercial recordings were made in

, and the winter seasons were in

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as with many large country hotels, it was converted into Gleneagles Hospital under the charge of Dr Thomas Ferguson as Medical Superintendent. In 1948 ownership of the hotel passed from LMS to the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...

and in 1963 to British Transport Hotels. In 1980 the hotel was designated as a Category B

. In 1981, British Transport Hotels sold Gleneagles to a newly established private sector operator, Gleneagles Hotels plc. In 1984 it was acquired by Arthur Bell & Sons, which came into the ownership of

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

in 1985 and

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

in 1997. Between 1982 and 1986, £11 million was spent on renovation and since 1982 the hotel has been open all year round. In 1986, and every year since, the hotel has been awarded five red stars by the AA. The hotel remained owned by Diageo, until it was sold to a private investment company Ennismore in 2015. The hotel was redeveloped in preparation for hosting the 40th

played on the PGA Centenary Course.

Facilities

Gleneagles has three

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

courses: the King's Course, Queen's Course and PGA Centenary Course, previously known as the Monarch's Course. There is also a nine-hole course called the PGA National Academy Course, informally known as the Wee Course. Gleneagles Golf Academy opened in 1994 and in 2010 was re-branded to The PGA National Academy for Scotland. The

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

-designed PGA Centenary Course opened in 1993 and hosted the Ryder Cup in 2014. When asked about his work, Nicklaus said, "It's the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with." Tournaments that have taken place (or will take place) at Gleneagles include: *

Glasgow Herald Tournament The Glasgow Herald Tournament (also known as the Gleneagles Tournament) was a British golf tournament played at Gleneagles from 1920 to 1927. The 1920 event had prize money of £650, then the largest ever in a British tournament. From 1921 the pr ...

from 1920 to 1927 *

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and ...

in 1936 *

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

in 1957 * Scottish Open from 1987 to 1994 * McDonald's WPGA Championship of Europe from 1996 to 1999 * Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles from 1999 to 2013 *40th Ryder Cup Matches in

European Golf Team Championships European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

in 2018 *

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force beh ...

and

Junior Solheim Cup The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim Cup and featu ...

in 2019 *

Senior Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...

in 2022 The British School of

Falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

has been located at Gleneagles since 1992. The village of Glenmor has holiday homes set within the grounds of the hotel.

Conferences

Conferences have included: *

Gleneagles Agreement In the Gleneagles Agreement, in 1977, Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organi ...

on sporting contacts with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977. *The 1986 meeting (25–27 April) of the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defin ...

. * 31st G8 summit in July 2005. This meeting saw the foundation of the

G8+5 The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia left in 2014. The forum originated ...

Awards

Gleneagles Hotel has won/holds various awards, including: * 5 Red AA Stars (since 1986) * Conde Nast Gold List 2009 – Best Hotel in the World for Facilities * Scotland's leading resort at the World Travel Awards 2008 * Best Golf Resort in the World (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) – Ultratravel Magazine * Scotland's Best Hotel – Today's Golfer Travel Awards (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017)

References

External links