Old Course Hotel, July 2008

Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Suite in red and black. TV in the cupboard can only be seen over a limited angle as it is set too far back
New suite in red and black
 "restyling of the suites has been carried through with strong colour and pattern"
Unfortunately some of the newly refurbished areas are paying the penalty of the current fashion for using low energy lighting and are somewhat underlit. Combined with a colour scheme in some areas that is predominantly black and red, this leads to newer corridors looking quite gloomy, even turgid, by comparison with previous public areas.

However the touch is much surer in the new bedrooms where the use of fabrics introduces strong colour and texture, a welcome change from the previous minimalist room treatment. It is spoiled by a failure to provide proper switching, using the US mode that means every individual light has to be switched off instead of there being an additional circuit so that all can be turned off at one go. In a suite lounge, this can mean going around the room laboriously turning off seven fittings one by one... 		Junior suite uses mirror behind the bedhead as the new standard rooms do. Again switching is odd, and the sockets for the vestigial desk are hidden under the sheers on the skirting board.
Junior suite uses mirror behind the bedhead as the standard room does. Switching is on individual lamps and the sockets for the desk are again at low level thoughtfully hidden behind the sheers
Guest wadshroom in a junior suite
Cloakroom to the suite showcases Kohler products - click to see the bathroom
 The restyling of the suites has been carried through with strong colour and pattern, although the reuse of some older switch plates and cheap paint finishes have detracted from the quality overall, especially when compared with the Kohler spa baths and power showers fitted in the bathrooms.

Bathrooms are the new battle ground for hotels, as the competition for technology in the bedrooms is generally now acknowledged to be a battle too far. Basic installation of flat screen televisions and free internet are now accepted as the standard industry benchmarks for the bedroom areas (see our Reviews of the Wynn Resort and the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona for examples). Surveys of both the public and hoteliers across the globe show that the luxury bathing experience and the spa are now the areas in which hotels can demonstrate a different concept of luxury to that in the home environment. This is an area that Kohler of course is well able to provide leadership in. It is surprising therefore that there is no way of fixing the temperature setting for a subsequent return shower - despite Kohler themselves producing electronic controls under their Mira brand. Lack of joined up thinking?
Old Course Hotel
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