Opened in 2002 and built by the American billionaire Donald Panoz, this is a hotel that has an ostensibly jarring juxtaposition between Old World location and very much New World aesthetics. The bagpipes meets bling combo is evident in acres of plaid carpet, tartan blankets at the end of the beds and a vast glass ceiling atrium at the hotel’s fulcrum. For all this, the hotel delivers in spades in the service and culinary stakes. Cosy it isn’t, yet this is a hotel with winningly enthusiastic staff and two excellent restaurants, the better of which is the Squire which specialises in locally caught seafood. And, if you haven’t guessed already, for golf lovers this is sheer nirvana with two 18 hole courses that attract globally known names.

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