A major development programme taking place at Turnberry Hotel, Golf Courses and Spa, a Westin Resort, over the next twelve months is designed to guarantee its position as a leading international resort.
Turnberry is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Through its St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W brands Starwood is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 700 hotels in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Among the golf developments at Turnberry the new Colin Montgomerie Links Golf Academy, the first of its kind in the world, was designed by Colin Montgomerie and Donald Steel, the international golf course architect. The Academy boasts state-of-the-art facilities including 2 large indoor/outdoor teaching areas with retractable rollover doors, featuring fully integrated ASTAR computerised digital videos, simulators and swing analysers. There are 16 covered bays with spectacular views of Ailsa Craig and the famous lighthouse, an audio-visual theatre with group tuition facility, an extensive short game pitching area and the ‘Cairngorms’ putting course.
A nine-hole par 3 and 4 academy golf course will be opening in 2001. The existing Arran Golf Course and Bains Hill area are currently being transformed into a new golf course set to rival the best in Europe. The new course will open in July 2001.
In addition to the Golf Academy and course developments, substantial investment has been directed towards the Turnberry Hotel where there is to be extensive renovation of 50 existing hotel bedrooms, the creation of 3 new meeting rooms, an extension of the Turnberry suite to a capacity of 300 theatre-style and expansion of the Spa facilities.
The construction of 9 cottages and 12 lodges, all in close proximity to the hotel and overlooking the golf courses and coastline, will transform Turnberry from a 132-bedroom hotel into a 221-bedroom resort, catering for golfing groups, families and the conference and incentive market.
The new 2-bedroom cottages are designed for family use. Guests have the option to use the self-catering facilities, pre-order food from the hotel or eat in the hotel’s restaurants. There will also be 2 new lodges – 8 lodges with 6 double bedrooms, 4 lodges with 8 double bedrooms. These are not self catering; they are intended for large groups or to use as an extension to the main hotel.
The development of additional resort facilities proposed for 2001 include trout fishing, falconry, shooting, archery and off-road driving.