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Rusacks St Andrews

St Andrews, United Kingdom

Important Announcements
<b>IHG One Rewards members can earn & redeem points at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels.</b> <br> This is an exclusive IHG One Rewards collaboration, however because these are not IHG branded hotels, other member benefits will not be available. Please contact the hotel prior to arrival in order to make the most of your stay.
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PROPERTY FEATURES

The Premises 

We love a storied hotel, and Rusacks St Andrews undoubtedly has enough to fill a library. First opened by German émigre Johann Kristof Wilhelm Rusack (so it's pronounced 'Roo-sacks' rather than the temptingly Scottish 'Russ-ucks') in 1887, it became the most esteemed in all of Scotland thanks, in no small part, to its prime position in putting distance from the 18th hole of the world's best golf course. It's seen its ups and downs in the century-and-a-bit since but this latest chapter is one to bookmark. Restored with deserving decadence, it incorporates St Andrews' golfing history without tipping into theme-hotel parody. Rooms are richly furnished, there is august detailing throughout, and three top-drawer dining destinations punctuate the building, including a standout rooftop restaurant with views worth travelling for. Even if you think golf is a good walk ruined you can't fail to be charmed.

Rusacks St Andrews

Pilmour LInks St Andrews, United Kingdom

Swilcan King Room

SMITH EXTRA

Compliments of the House 

£50 to spend on food and drink

At the Hotel 

CHECK-OUT: 11am, but flexible subject to availability. Earliest check-in is 3pm
Rates include breakfast

FACILITIES

Multiple lounge areas, laundry service, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: flat screen TVs with Chromecast, air-conditioning, Nespresso machines, iron and board, fully stocked minibar, Floris bath products.

PACKING TIPS

If you're planning on teeing off while you're in town the hotel can assist with storing – and even shipping – your clubs.

CHILDREN

Bairns of all ages are most welcome – and they're sprinting distance from the beach – but the hotel is generally geared towards adults.

ECO-FRIENDLY

There's a real focus on first-class local produce – things fished, foraged, farmed, brewed and distilled in the surrounding area.

ALSO

If you're in search of a suitable soundtrack, cue up Vangelis' Oscar winning Chariots of Fire score. The movie's iconic beach-running scene was shot just outside on West Sands beach, and it'll lend a suitably dramatic air to your coastal strolls.
The hotel is wheelchair accessible throughout and several rooms with accessible bathrooms are available on request.

USEFUL INFORMATION

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Rooms 

Rooms here, of all sizes, aren't shy of high-touch details – elegant wooden headboards, bespoke wallpaper, marble-topped sinks, chandeliers depicting native Godwit birds – but the added bonus of a balcony, looking over the golf course and out to sea, makes the sizeable Swilken King rooms a real hole-in-one.

Food & Drink 

Unforgettable Features 

18, on the top floor, is the showstopper here: a panoramic parlour for eating, drinking and savouring the very best view in St Andrews. One time MasterChef victor, Le Gavroche alumni and Roux scholar, Derek Johnstone, has crafted a locally leaning menu befitting of the handsomely styled surroundings – straight-outta-the-harbour lobster, Peterhead lemon sole, wood-fired leeks with Lanark goat's cheese, aged Aberdeen Angus steak – all cooked with requisite flair on a robata grill in the open-fronted kitchen. Back on the ground floor, you'll find the Bridge, a white-walled, light-filled brasserie with lashings of Southern charm: cane chairs, marble table tops, brass fixtures, cabana-striped banquettes… Here Johnstone's team serve more relaxed but no less brilliant fare, from indulgent pancakes and grilled kippers at breakfast through to haggis pizza, artichoke risotto and a sublime pork escalope with raisins and capers. All good enough to distract any hungry golfers just beyond the double-height bay windows.

Liquid Bliss 

A bar? Pfff. Here there's an entire actual proper pub in the basement. One Under (see what they did there?) has all the cosy booths, loungeable leather armchairs and wooden bar stools required for comfort, there's classic pub-food favourites to keep you sated, and the wealth of locally brewed and distilled delights will keep you well watered. Check the schedules for live music, too. Oh, and above the bar, etched elegantly into glass, is a cryptic abbreviation – we won't ruin the mystery but if w
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Experience the Extraordinary 

This is an eminently loungeable hotel where lunch at the Bridge, an afternoon in One Under and dinner at 18 would represent a day well spent. But it would be remiss of us not to mention the world famous Old Course right outside the window; the very birthplace of golf itself. You'll need some golfing prowess to play on it (a maximum handicap of 36) but a public ballot means securing a tee time is easier than you may think. Full details are online, but there'll need to be two of you and you'll need to enter your names before 2pm two days before you want to play (although the course is closed on Sundays, so there's no Friday ballot). Results are announced at 4.30pm that same day. Failing that, the hotel will happily arrange tee times at a number of other renowned local courses. But there's more to St Andrews than 18 holes, and there's no better way to get your bearings than to follow the Fife coastal path along the length of the town. You'll pass the ruins of the castle (birthplace of a king, fought over with the English, site of some intense religious squabbles) and the cathedral (ransacked, abandoned and left to ruin in the Reformation) which give good glimpses into the town's (and indeed Scotland's) past, before finding the lobster-pot-dotted harbour. Take a detour inland and you can stroll through the picturesque university cloisters. If you're feeling a little more energetic, follow the path along the cliffs and past the Fairmont Hotel – the views are spectacular and there are a few secluded beaches along the way. Talking of beaches, you'll find East Sands beach just beyond the harbour (good for watersports) and the sweeping West Sands beach just beyond the golf course outside the hotel (good for a bracing morning stroll). For more cultural pursuits, there's the bijou 1930s-built New Picture House cinema and the brilliant Topping & Company bookshop which regularly hosts billboard names from literature and academia for enlightening talks. Further afield, Dundee's riverside V&A museum is about 25 minutes away by car and a stop-off en route for a walk through Tentsmuir Forest showcases Scottish nature at its best.

Transportation 

Rusacks is prime St Andrews real estate; its entrance on the main road into town, its views over the old course and the beach beyond

Planes 

Edinburgh (an hour's drive) and Glasgow (about two) are the major airports. Dundee Airport is a 25-minute drive away but only hosts flights from London City and Belfast City.

Trains 

Leuchars, six miles away, is the station that serves St Andrews. Trains run regularly from Edinburgh Waverley and take about an hour. From there it's about a 10-minute taxi or bus ride.

Automobiles 

This corner of coastal Scotland is good road-tripping territory, and Edinburgh is only an hour or so away if you're planning a two-centre trip. There's a couple of free street parking spots available near the hotel on The Links and Gibson Place.

Location

Pilmour LInks St Andrews, United Kingdom

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