Gleneagles will suit kids to a Tee!
Gleneagles isn’t just for golfing legends and A-listers. Kids are welcome too, as Suzanne Baum discovered
Who would have thought Gleneagles was a place to bring the kids? Certainly not me. I mean why would the hosts of the Ryder Cup be interested in welcoming small children who are more likely to make sandcastles in those much revered bunkers. My own golf skills are more of a pitch and putt standard, but these days guests whatever their ability on the course are treated like royalty and that includes children.
Much of this is to do with modernising the hotel and adding kids’ facilities in which they host such an impressive children’s programme that we hardly saw our six-year-old son Jake, which allowed my husband and I to enjoy treatments in the ESPA spa.
Set within an 850-acre Perthshire estate about 45-minute drive from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the hotel offers everything you could possibly ask for from a family holiday. The problem was finding the time to do everything we wanted. For once, the fact Jake is scared of animals was hugely beneficial as it meant we could miss out on a visit to the hotel’s equestrian school, falconry and gun-dog school-(hugely popular with other families) and fit in everything else.
Right from check-in,younger guests are treated to first class service with Jake being given his own form to fill in on his interests and hobbies. Swimming and pasta were on it and on the subject of food, if your child is a picky eater, despite being such a smart hotel the kids menus are very reasonable and they have the option to create and bake their own pizza.
From our airport chauffer driven taxi driver to the family tennis and golf lessons we had, the staff is all impeccably mannered including the doorman clad in a kilt who let out a huge belly laugh when my son asked him why a man was wearing a skirt.
We didn’t bring our teenage sons along, but wished we had for as there is lots for them to do with X-box, computer’s galore, a juke box and table football readily available. Together we hired bikes to explore the stunning scenery, swam in the indoor and outdoor pools, played croquet and pitch and putt! The highlight of the visit was Jake’s off- road driving lesson where kids get to learn to drive around the hotel grounds in a four-wheel drive!
Our bedroom was in the modern Braid House adjoined to the main building which included a bed so big it could have slept the whole family and child-sized bathrobes, slippers and branded bathroom accessories for Jake too. Having packed smart clothes I was excited to see guests walking through the hotel in their plush dressing gowns and was soon joining them en route to the spa. That is when I would briefly see Jake racing to the kids club filled with toys and though there were more than few eight-year-olds running about the place, the hotel still retains its elegance. I’m hoping Jake might think about golfing professionally when he grows up as hopefully that will get me back to Gleneagles.
For more details, visit www.gleneagles.com Rooms start from £255 B&B
Suzanne and family flew from Stanstead to Edinburgh on Easyjet (a one hour flight) Hotel transfer time 45 minutes
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
