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Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa
St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom · Marine & Lawn · Accessible Luxury
The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa opened in 1968 on the site of St Andrews's former railway station, built by British Transport Hotels directly beside the Old Course. The former stationmaster's house survives today as the Jigger Inn, part of the hotel complex. The property borders the 17th fairway, the Road Hole, one of golf's most photographed and closely scrutinized stretches of turf. Herb Kohler acquired the hotel in 2004 under Destination Kohler, the hospitality arm of the Kohler Company, and a major expansion completed in 2020 added 31 rooms and the Swilcan Loft restaurant.
- 31 rooms
- Opened 1968
- Neighborhood: Old Course
About Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa
- British Transport Hotels built the property, placing a modern golf resort directly beside one of the game's most famous landscapes.
- The hotel sits close enough to the Old Course that the fairway is part of the guest experience, yet it remains unmistakably a purpose-built mid-20th-century resort.
History
The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa opened in 1968 on the site of St Andrews’s former railway station, placing a modern golf resort directly beside one of the game’s most famous landscapes. Built by British Transport Hotels, the hotel occupies the edge of the Road Hole hole of the Old Course and still carries a tangible reminder of the site’s earlier life: the former stationmaster’s house, now the Jigger Inn, remains part of the complex. According to widely available reference material, the hotel has long been defined by that rare setting—close enough to the Old Course to make the fairway part of the guest experience, yet unmistakably a purpose-built mid-20th-century hotel rather than a historic manor house.
Ownership changed in 2004 when Herb Kohler acquired the property, after which it became operated by Destination Kohler, the hospitality arm of the Kohler Company. The hotel later underwent a major expansion completed in 2020, adding 31 rooms and the Swilcan Loft restaurant. That project reinforced its position as a contemporary resort built around golf, while the property’s core story remained unchanged: a hotel inserted into the working edge of St Andrews’s golfing geography rather than adapted from an older building.
The hotel is also notable for the practical way it frames the Old Course. It borders the 17th fairway, the Road Hole, one of golf’s most photographed and scrutinized stretches of turf. In that sense, its history is less about aristocratic heritage than about location, access, and later reinvention—a late-1960s hotel that has grown into one of the most recognizable places to stay in St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.
The setting
1.3 miles from St Andrews Botanic Garden.
Restaurants and bars
- The Deck — Bar · Bar
Amenities
- golf on the Old Course / Road Hole
- spa
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Recommended (2026)
- MICHELIN One Key (2026)
- AA Five Red Stars (2025)
- Historic Hotels Worldwide member
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