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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Fairmont St Andrews

The Fairmont St Andrews Bay is a 5-star resort hotel situated 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the town of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and owned by Accor, a French hospitality company.

History

The resort opened in June 2001 as St Andrews Bay Golf Resort & Spa owned by US entrepreneur Don Panoz, as part of the Château Élan Hotels & Resorts consortium. In 2006 the resort was bought by Apollo Real Estate Advisors (renamed AREA Property Partners) and is now managed by FRHI Hotels & Resorts. This prompted a name change to Fairmont St Andrews Bay. In August 2014 it was announced Kennedy Wilson Real Estate PLC had purchased the property, with FRHI Hotel & Resorts continuing to manage the hotel and its operations.

In 2008-9 the resort underwent a £17 million renovation, with all 209 guest rooms and the Signature Spa refurbished. The public areas were also upgraded, including the lobby, corridors, atrium and Kittocks Bar. The Rock and Spindle bar had been opened the previous year, and the conference center had also been refurbished. At this time the two golf courses were also altered and the Devlin Course was renamed the Kittocks Course.

In 2017, Fairmont St Andrews Bay underwent another renovation. Managed by designers RPW, the redevelopment was influenced by the history and landscapes of St Andrews and involved a complete redesign of the hotel's atrium.

In March 2024, allegations of sexual harassment were reported by hotel staff. Several female staff members claimed that hotel management ignored their concerns for months, and that they were subjected to abuse from hotel guests. Hotel management stated that they took the complaints "very seriously".

Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain has publicly called on the hotel to address the allegations.

Facilities

An Executive Suite
An Executive Suite

The resort has 211 bedrooms including 17 suites and 2 external manor homes. The conference centre has twelve meeting rooms, a ballroom, and a cinema. The 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m) meeting space can cater for 12 to 600 people. The largest function room, the Robert Burns Ballroom, is 6,179 sq ft (574.0 m).

The view from the Torrance course
The view from the Torrance course

The Torrance Course is a par 72, 7,230 yard long championship course, originally designed by golfer Gene Sarazen and former European Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance. In 2009 the course was redesigned to include eight new holes, in preparation for the 2009 Scottish Seniors Open and was also the Final Qualifying Venue for the 2010 Open Golf Championship. In August 2010, the World Deaf Golf Championships and the Scottish Seniors Open 2010 were held on the Torrance. The course features classic Scottish riveted bunkering throughout and is of a Scottish style Links design. In 2021 and 2022, the course hosted the Hero Open tournament.

The Kittocks Course is 7,192 yard long and is a par 72. Its original architects were Gene Sarazen and Bruce Devlin which is why it was formerly known as the Devlin Course 2012. The name Kittocks is taken from the SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) area of land on the course which is inhabited by a family of deer.

A 9,000-square-foot (840 m) health spa is situated on the ground floor of the hotel.

The Fife Coastal Path is a long-distance footpath that runs along the coast just below the golf courses at the Fairmont St Andrews Bay.


References

  1. ^ "Fairmont St Andrews - St Andrews - VisitScotland". Guide.visitscotland.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ^ Gorrivan, Marc Horne | Zainab Haji | Charles (23 May 2024). "Female staff 'harassed and groped' at Fairmont St Andrews golf resort". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ^ Leatherman, Dale (12 December 2004). "St. Andrews Bay Resort". Scotland Golf. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. ^ "St Andrews - Latest news from the Home of Golf, news from 10 courses". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Overview - Fairmont St Andrews, Scotland". Fairmontmeetings.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  6. ^ [1] Archived 24 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Inglis, Martin (20 September 2017). "Fairmont St Andrews set to relaunch after £17m redevelopment". bunkered.
  8. ^ Henderson, Neil (19 May 2024). "Fairmont St Andrews pledges 'corrective action' after allegations of staff sexual harassment". The Courier. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Scotland Event Venues: Meeting & Conference Spaces". Fairmont. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  10. ^ Thursday, 20 February 2014 (18 October 2001). "Torrance course opens at St Andrews Bay resort « Golf Business News". Golfbusinessnews.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "FAIRMONT ST ANDREWS, Torrance course". Scotlands-golf-courses.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  12. ^ "World Deaf Golf Championships 2010". Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  13. ^ "History - Hero Open". European Tour. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Europe Golf - St. Andrews Bay Resort and Golf". Golfeurope.com. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  15. ^ "St. Andrews Golf Courses - Kittocks Course". Oldcourse-experience.com. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Scotland Hotel: Luxury Resort Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland". Fairmont. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  17. ^ "The Fife Coastal Path". The Fife Coastal Path. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2014.

56°19′13″N 2°43′51″W / 56.32028°N 2.73083°W / 56.32028; -2.73083