Gleneagles

The Century Bar pours from over 400 whiskies beneath the original 1920s cornicing, while the American Bar, a dark, clubby cocktail den tucked into a former luggage room, has picked up World's 50 Best awards for its foraged, estate-grown ingredient lists. Afternoon tea happens in the Glendevon Room under chandeliers that have watched a G8 summit and a royal state dinner come and go. Outside, the Ochil Hills roll away behind the practice greens, and staff move with easy confidence.

232 rooms and suites are split across the Main House and the newer Braid House wing, redressed in recent years in sand, grey and faded rose rather than the tartan you might expect. Estate Rooms look out over the golf courses or hills (ask, as some interior-facing rooms don't), while the Royal Lochnagar Suite incloudes a four-poster, private dining room and its own concierge. Bathrooms are generously proportioned throughout, and the better suites come with a stocked bar that means room service is rarely required.

Mornings belong to the fairways, particularly the PGA Centenary Course, but non-golfers have just as full a diary: book a falconry lesson or head to the shooting school for clays before lunch. Off-road driving courses, gundog training and archery fill the afternoon, and children have their own adventure den to wear themselves out in. As evening draws in, the Glenturret distillery is a twenty-minute drive for anyone keen to see where the whisky in the Century Bar actually comes from.