If you’re the kind of golfer who has a bucket list, then experiencing the sport’s first—and probably still most thrilling—courses in Scotland and Ireland, where the game was born, is somewhere near the top. But until recently, a trip like that meant staying in accommodations that didn’t always match their spectacular settings.
The typical “cozy” inns you’d find had few, if any, memorable features and little approaching luxury amenities. Most rooms were small and either too drafty or too stuffy. Water vacillated between scalding and suitable for a cold plunge and required an engineer’s precision to dial in to the right temperature—that was if you were able to navigate the dual faucet setup. Televisions the size of a cinder block (and offering about as many channels) were tucked high into the corner of the rooms and the en suite bathroom lacked a shower. Food was an afterthought at best.