The last time I visited Trump Turnberry there were sniper towers overlooking the famous golf course, long steel mesh fences around the perimeter and hundreds of highly visible police officers. As a member of the fourth estate, I was not let in.
But one of Scotland’s biggest security operations is what you get when an old Edwardian railway hotel is owned by a visiting president of the USA. As Keir Starmer found out when they met in Ayrshire last summer, it’s Donald Trump’s “White House” on the Firth of Clyde.
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Two months later, all signs of Fortress Turnberry had vanished as I ascended — this time without hindrance — the long driveway that curls up in front of the striking, white-painted edifice that dominates this part of the Ayrshire coastline.
Police surround Turnberry during President Donald Trump’s first official visit to the UK in July 2018Leon Neal/Getty Images
The Norman Suite has ocean views and a generous living roomMatthew Shaw
I’d come to see what the Marmite president has done to the old girl, first opened by the Marquess of Ailsa in 1906 to tempt well-heeled tourists to take the train south from Glasgow for some pampering, the bracing sea air and a spot of golf.
The Trump-commissioned 40ft-wide Roman chariot statue in the reception courtyard aside — because nothing says Scottish golfing heritage like ancient Italian drag racing — it appears at first glance to be a normal five-star hotel. Checked in by cheerful staff resplendent in Turnberry tartan, I was directed to my room out of the main hotel in the wing above the spa.
And what a journey. Along a corridor past the Trump boardroom and the Ailsa suite is the resort shop, where among the Trump Turnberry merchandise are bright red Maga caps that will set you back £55. Presumably the owner knows his clientele.
Gold-leaf detailing, Turnberry’s own tartan and roomy mahogany beds are the stars of the bedroomsMatthew Shaw
Then it was down some steps and along a glass-roofed tunnel designed to protect guests from the inclement Scottish weather. It’s here the owner has indulged his gift for self-promotion with innumerable big-framed photographs of various Trumps and visiting dignitaries, and a display of golden scissors used to cut the ribbon to reopen the resort following its £200 million restoration in 2016.
It’s only in the spa wing that you remember what Turnberry is really about. Here, the corridors are lined with grainy photos of old-time golfers in flat caps and plus fours battling to get out of the infamous sand traps of the Ailsa links below the hotel — one of the world’s great golf courses. It was from my premium room — hand-carved walnut burl mahogany beds and bedside tables adorned with delicate gold leaf detailing, says the hotel guide — that I could take in one of Scotland’s most famous and timeless views, out across the links and the firth to the solid granite mass of Ailsa Craig and the mountainous profile of Arran.
“It’s only in the spa wing that you remember what Turnberry is really about”
Back in the ranch, the Grand Tea Room & Lounge with its chandeliers and deep-pile carpets beckons for afternoon tea, an evening cocktail or maybe a whisky. I breakfasted in 1906, the resort’s main restaurant, with its white tablecloths, pristine cutlery and “anything you want, it’s no problem” staff. I chose the splendid Burns breakfast — Arran cheddar hash potato with haggis, fried egg and hollandaise — both as homage to Scotland’s bard and to get me ready for that bracing sea air.
Enjoy an indulgent soak in a tub with a prime spot overlooking the Irish Sea in the Lighthouse SuiteKen Hayden
So out onto the links and that spot of golf. Detractors argued that Trump could not improve the Ailsa, the historic course that has hosted four Open Championships, including the famous 1977 “Duel in the Sun” between the golfing greats Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson (commemorated on the menu by the Duel in the Sun burger). They were wrong. Seafront holes have been remodelled by the golf course architect Martin Ebert to take them nearer to the beach and make the most of that remarkable outlook. The opening holes are now an exhilarating rollercoaster ride propelled by stiff southwesterly breezes.
“The opening holes are now an exhilarating rollercoaster ride propelled by stiff southwesterly breezes”kevinmurraygolfphotography.com
The wow factor is enhanced for bracing-air seekers by the new halfway house in the spruced-up old Stevenson lighthouse next to the ninth green and its outside terrace. I paused for oysters and fizz — when in Trump Turnberry! — before heading back out into that all-too-typical wind for an, ahem, challenging back nine.
The newly revamped second course, the King Robert the Bruce, now also has some world-class holes and jaw-dropping views. Out there, cursing my ball as it got swallowed yet again by the gorse, gazing out across the water to Ailsa Craig, it was possible to sense time shifting back to 1906.
Turnberry is still a truly delightful place to be, and Trump’s hotel is part of that — but you may need to keep your moral compass well out of sight, tucked away inside your golf bag.
Jeremy Watson was a guest of Trump Turnberry (B&B doubles from £339, trumphotels.com). Green fees for residents from £125