Recently purchased by Ennismore, Scotland’s historic Gleneagles has completed the first phase of a multi-part renovation. London-based Goddard Littlefair refurbished 30 of the property’s 232 rooms and suites; London firm David Collins Studio renovated the iconic Century Bar; and London-based Macaulay Sinclair designed Auchterarder 70, a new bar in the Dormy Clubhouse overlooking one of the onsite golf course’s 18th hole. “When Gleneagles first opened its doors in 1924, it was dubbed as the Palace in the Glens, and our aim is to surpass these glory days,” says Ennismore founder and CEO Sharan Pasricha. “With 850 acres of beautiful Scottish countryside, there is the potential to do so much more with it.”
For the guestrooms, the Goddard Littlefair team relied on the hotel’s history, the rolling landscape, and their own emotional responses to the location. They came up with five different room concepts full of details and accessories—some more feminine, some inspired by country sports with tweed and houndstooth fabrics—that look as if they have been accrued over time. “[They] are all facets of this mixture of location, building, heritage, essential Scottishness, our interpretation of luxury touchpoints, and guest expectation and experience,” explains co-director and founder Jo Littlefair.
David Collins Studio’s vision for the Century Bar was to “work with the existing interior architecture and reawaken it, create a soft and warm environment within the grand room, with pockets of intimacy surrounding the center bar,” says creative director Simon Rawlings. The space is marked by a palette of rich tones and locally produced materials such as stained glass, stone mosaics, and Scottish textiles. Special attention was given to the lighting, which allows for soft natural light during daytime hours, and cozy, intimate pockets
at night.
And though Auchterarder 70 (named for the hotel’s original phone number) is new, Macaulay Sinclair tried to evoke nostalgia for the hotel’s 1920s founding in the design concept, with reclaimed oak parquet block floors, bespoke crackle-glazed blue wall tiles, and decorative gloss-painted timber arched panels with inset mirrors.