I’d never been to this part of Scotland before – I’m headed to Ballantrae, tucked away on the Ayrshire coast, where the landscape is gentler than the Highlands, but no less beguiling. There’s a softness to the hills here, a sense of space and air and… well, let’s just say the pace is different. You breathe a little deeper, your shoulders drop. And, if you’re lucky enough to be headed for Glenapp Castle, you start to suspect you’re in for something special before you’ve even made it up the drive.
You may already know the castle from the BBC’s Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby series, where it was revealed in all its Gothic-turreted glory – think Scottish Baronial meets Downton Abbey, with fewer stuffed shirts and more actual joy. But even this rather wonderful TV version doesn’t come close to the real thing.
From the moment you arrive, it’s clear that this place isn’t just a hotel – it’s a labour of love. When businessman and philanthropist Paul Szkiler and his wife Poppy rescued the nearderelict castle, they didn’t just restore it, they resurrected it. And in Jill Chalmers – the GM with an encyclopaedic brain, forensic attention to detail, and the charm of someone who clearly adores what she does – they found the perfect co-pilot. Together, they’ve created something rare: a luxury hotel that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard, because the people behind it genuinely care.
This is most obvious in the staff – all of whom manage to be unfailingly professional and completely lovely. And not in that stiff, “let’s pretend we’re friends” kind of way, either. An example is Neil, our driver for the stay, whose gregariousness is matched only by his generosity – when I happened to mention that my daughter loved collecting sea glass, he turned up the following day with a bagful for her. Now that’s someone who puts heart and soul into their job…
And now for the food… because good lord, the food. Glenapp recently launched The Azalea, a game-changing summer restaurant tucked away in the castle’s glasshouse – one of the last remaining examples of MacKenzie & Moncur’s Victorian beauties (oh, the King has one at Balmoral). With produce pulled straight from the hotel’s own kitchen gardens – which also supply the main restaurant – this is as close to self-sufficient dining as you’re going to get without picking the carrots yourself. Which I did not do; I was too busy eating them.
At the helm is executive chef Peter Howarth, with both Michelin-star pedigree and an a distinct lack of ego (not a common pairing). His food is clever without being pretentious – the flavours are refined, surprising, and the portions are properly satisfying. You can see the influence of his Thai wife in the layers of spice and freshness that creep into unexpected corners of the menu, bringing just the right amount of edge to the estate-grown comfort.
Peter told me that The Azalea was born from the team’s desire to create something relaxed, fresh and full of flavour. Mission accomplished. We sat in the glasshouse, light dappling through the trees, fairy lights twinkling, the scent of jasmine and tomatoes mingling in the air, and tucked into cheese soufflé with locally grown herbs that I would (and did) dream about for days.
Of course, this being Glenapp, the experiences don’t end at the dinner table. There’s a full menu of activities on offer – from paddleboarding to croquet, via falconry, clay pigeon shooting, and my new favourite sport, archery. Turns out I have just enough Hunger Games in me to be dangerous (to hay bales). Next time – and there will be a next time – I’ve got my sights set on the Hebridean Sea Safari, Glenapp’s signature multi-day voyage that takes guests out to the remote islands of the Hebrides in style. Frankly, they had me at “private chef on board”.
But this time, my trip was built around one, very specific mission: to see a puffin. Glenapp arranged a boat trip out to Ailsa Craig, the hulking volcanic rock that sits offshore like some mythic beast, home to tens of thousands of seabirds – gannets, guillemots (a new contender for favourite sea-bird – they look like tiny flying penguins) and kittiwakes, and, finally, two puffins. Take that, bucket list. Although, as bucket lists go, there was more to come; a full dining set-up (linen tablecloth et al), with the most refined buffet ‘picnic’ you can imagine, including Champagne on ice. A pair of seals came to find out what was happening. It was perfect.
Back on land, my suite at the castle was – no surprise – out of this world. High ceilings, plush everything, and a view that made me feel like I was living inside a painting. One evening, I sat there, whisky in hand (Glenapp’s bar is dangerously well-stocked), watching the sun slip behind Ailsa Craig, the sky melting from apricot to indigo, and felt the quietest kind of joy.
There are hotels that impress you with polish, and then there are those that win your heart. Glenapp Castle is firmly in the second camp – a place built not just with money, but with soul, by people who believe in what they’re doing. It’s not flashy. It’s not trying to be “of the moment”. It’s just doing its own thing, brilliantly. And somewhere out there, bobbing about the Atlantic, is a puffin who made this world-weary traveller very, very happy.
