Seaton House

Ondine Oyster & Grill occupies the light-filled room above the entrance, all tall sash windows and a marble oyster bar where you can watch shells being cracked open a few feet from your table. The Board Room does charcuterie and all-day plates under a chandelier strung with copper thistles, while Bow Butts Bar goes dark and clubby: oak panelling, cracked leather, a log fire and a whisky list that runs to twenty pages. There's a private south-facing garden too, fire pit included.

Forty-two rooms range from cosy 215 square feet Signatures to two named flagship suites, West Sands and Tentsmuir, each with a private terrace angled straight at the Old Course's first tee. Expect oak-panelled walls, tartan throws in muted greens and antler-shaped brackets over the headboards throughout. The Suite with Garden Terrace is the largest, with bi-fold doors onto its own furnished terrace and a freestanding bathtub beside the rainfall shower. Book a sea view, you won't regret it.

The Old Course's first tee is a minute's walk, but St Andrews has nine more courses within 25 miles if you fancy variety, Kingsbarns among them. Off the fairways, climb St Rule's Tower for views over the cathedral ruins, poke around the castle's grim bottle dungeon, or head south along the Fife Coastal Path to the East Neuk's fishing villages for a decent fish supper. Fancy something odder? There's alpaca trekking or a whisky-blending session at Kingsbarns Distillery for good measure.