Find Out What We Thought of This New Hotel in St Andrew's
We check into The Kithmore Hotel in Scotland's home of golf
The Kithmore is on North Street, right in the middle of town, in three adjoining Georgian townhouses dating back to 1847. With two retrievers and a wayward toddler in tow, it’s a relief to park the car, check in, and unpack. Almost immediately, we feel right at home. The Kithmore has a laidback feel that suits a weekend like this (no matter how frazzled you may feel on arrival): bags upstairs, shoes off, dogs settling in, and the Home of Golf just outside the door.
That is the first thing to understand about St Andrews, and perhaps the most compelling reason to plan your next weekend away here. The Old Course, beaches, harbour, cathedral, and university are all close enough to explore on foot. The Kithmore is less a retreat from the town than a luxurious base from which to get properly acquainted with it.
Our first morning starts early. Before breakfast, we follow the scent of the sea towards the Links. At 7am, St Andrews belongs to the gulls, the golfers and those of us who have failed to resist the lure of an early-morning walk. At this hour, the town is quiet, and the light is coming in low across the fairways.
We are lucky with the weather. It is a warm, late August weekend (properly summery by Scottish standards), and the siren call of the sea pool is too tempting to ignore. There is something special about heading down to the water, swimming, drying off in the morning sun; no timetable (except for the tide), no taxi, no car. It is the kind of morning we know we will think about from a desk in the middle of January, when the light has gone by four and summer feels a very long way away. For now, though, there is salt on our skin and the promise of breakfast waiting at The Kithmore. By the time we return, it feels well deserved.
The hotel itself is relaxed without being anonymous. The original Georgian character provides the framework, but the interiors are contemporary and comfortable rather than overly heritage-led. There is no sense of having to behave like a guest in a country house, it’s a true home-from-home; somewhere you can come and go, drop your bag, shower after a swim and head back out to explore again. By the end of our first day, the receptionists are first to stroke the dogs and wave at our toddler, who appears to have settled into her “hotel life” a little too easily.
Our suite is the natural choice for a long weekend. At 37 square metres, it is the hotel's most generous room category and has enough space to settle into rather than simply sleep in.
The super-king bed is expansive, while a separate seating area gives us somewhere to regroup and read between adventures. The bathroom is a tonic, too: a freestanding bath for a long soak, alongside a walk-in rainfall shower and L'Occitane toiletries. After freshening up, it’s downstairs for dinner, where The Kithmore makes a compelling case for staying in.
Bennie’s is the social heart of the hotel. Open from breakfast through to late evening, it is pitched somewhere between restaurant, bar and neighbourhood hangout. Dining al fresco is an especially persuasive proposition in August, when St Andrews seems to exist in a permanent state of golden-hour optimism. We start with oysters – a suitably bracing opening after a day beside the sea – before settling on the Scottish Chateaubriand (with a decadent peppercorn sauce, perfectly fluffy chips, and salad laced in a punchy vinaigrette) to share.
There are plenty of other tempting options – Orkney scallops with Stornoway black pudding and pea purée, langoustine tails with charred lime, St Monans haddock with hand-cut chips and a Scottish langoustine and prawn curry – which we vow to sample before the weekend is over.
After an excellent night’s sleep – (our one-year-old miraculously getting the memo that we were strictly on hotel time) – breakfast is equally unhurried. There is a continental offering to graze from, alongside dishes cooked to order, with Scottish produce taking centre stage.
We savour our coffee slowly, before mapping out the day ahead.
The harbour is a stroll away. So is the cathedral, whose ruined arches and towers still give St Andrews its hallowed quality. The castle is nearby, as are the university buildings and the maze of streets around South Street and Market Street. The British Golf Museum is an easy walk for those who want to understand quite how deeply the game is woven into the town's identity. And then there are the beaches: West Sands, stretching dramatically beside the Links, and East Sands, tucked beyond the harbour.
One evening, we wander into town to The Adamson, housed in a historic building on South Street. We begin with cocktails, watching the room fill around us – locals, visitors, students, and golfers – before turning our attention to the menu. The king prawn linguine with lemon, dill, peas and courgette sounds made for a summer evening; the hake is harder to resist, served with coconut and lime rice, nori butter, and a rich Goan curry sauce.
After dinner, there is one final St Andrews ritual to tick off. We saunter down South Street to Jannettas for ice cream, where the family has been making gelato at the same address since 1908. Cones secured, we return to The Kithmore, revelling in the notion that the best evenings don't necessarily require a grand plan.
There are hotels you escape to, where the idea is to stay put. The Kithmore takes the opposite approach. Yes, it gives you comfort in spades – a beautifully designed bedroom, excellent dining at Bennie's and genuinely warm, attentive staff – but its greatest strength is its position as a base for the town beyond. Step outside and St Andrews is yours to explore.
On our final morning, we make one last early walk towards the Links. The town is beginning to stir. The course is already busy. Beyond it, the sea is bright in the August light. It’s a fitting end to a weekend that has been pleasingly uncomplicated: pack the car, drive north, eat well, swim in the sea, and repeat. With two dogs and a toddler, uncomplicated is the greatest luxury of all. And for a town as compact and characterful as St Andrews, it’s exactly the right way to stay.
