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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 re ...
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 "T ...
, Scotland. It was commissioned by the Caledonian Railway 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 opposi ...
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 ...
in
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 wa ...
. Significant conferences at the hotel have included the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977 The 1977 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the fourth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in London, the United Kingdom, between 8 June 1977 and 15 June 1977, and was hosted by that country's ...
and the
31st G8 summit The 31st G8 summit was held on 6–8 July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the UK include: London (1977, 1984, 1991); an ...
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 I ...
.


History

Construction of the hotel was commenced by the Caledonian Railway (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 (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 ...
'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 ...
'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 ca ...
on 7 June 1924. After the season ended, the band moved to the Adelphi Hotel in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. Summer 1925 saw the band return to Gleneagles, although their commercial recordings were made in
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 ...
, and the winter seasons were in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, 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 and in 1963 to
British Transport Hotels British Transport Hotels (BTH) was the hotels and catering business of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. Origins of the company Britain's private railway companies pioneered the concept of the railway hotel, initially at locati ...
. In 1980 the hotel was designated as 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 I ...
. 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 ov ...
in 1985 and
Diageo Diageo plc () is a 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 Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...
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
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 ...
in
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 wa ...
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 golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...
-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 from 1920 to 1927 * Curtis Cup in 1936 * Women's British Open in 1957 * Scottish Open from 1987 to 1994 * McDonald's WPGA Championship of Europe from 1996 to 1999 *
Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles The Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles was a European Tour golf tournament which was played at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. The tournament was founded in 1999 as the Scottish PGA Championship, and despite maintaining the same sponsor, ...
from 1999 to 2013 *40th Ryder Cup Matches in
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 wa ...
* European Golf Team Championships 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 ...
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 in 2022 The British School of Falconry 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 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 coun ...
at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977 The 1977 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the fourth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in London, the United Kingdom, between 8 June 1977 and 15 June 1977, and was hosted by that country's ...
. *The 1986 meeting (25–27 April) of the Bilderberg Group. *
31st G8 summit The 31st G8 summit was held on 6–8 July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the UK include: London (1977, 1984, 1991); an ...
in July 2005. This meeting saw the foundation of the G8+5.


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)


See also

*
Golf in Scotland Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness. The Royal and Ancient Golf ...
* Gleneagles, Scotland *
List of G8 summit resorts List of G8 summit resorts includes past and prospective venues for the annual meetings of G8 heads of state, the President of the European Union and other invited guests. The choice of a site for these summit meetings is left entirely to the host n ...
*
Emergency Hospital Service During World War II, a centralised state-run Emergency Hospital Service was established in the United Kingdom.Paul Addison, "The Road to 1945", Jonathan Cape, 1975, pp. 178–81. It employed doctors and nurses to care for those injured by enemy ac ...


References


External links

* * {{Diageo plc Auchterarder Hotels in Perth and Kinross Caledonian Railway Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Curtis Cup venues Diageo Golf clubs and courses in Perth and Kinross Gleneagles Hotel buildings completed in 1924 Listed hotels in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes London, Midland and Scottish Railway Railway hotels in Scotland Ryder Cup venues Solheim Cup venues Sports venues in Perth and Kinross 1924 establishments in Scotland 2018 European Championships venues Five star hotels