We’ve visited several times over the years, but this weekend probably marks our last. James in concierge was superb, as was the overall reception team. However, the restaurant “refurb” is not good, the US style booths are out of place, and appear to have reduced capacity; they’ve certainly affected the ambiance. The dining experience was so noisy on Saturday night it was more akin to an inner city chain restaurant. Despite this obvious push for numbers Hotel guests struggled to get a reservation for dinner. We were given a booking after 9pm. I meandered to reception at 5.30pm thinking I’d have no problem for 7.45pm …oh well, rookies error! Anyway, the menu has morphed into a rather odd (&limited) selection of Italian plates, utterly incongruous to the overt Scottish fabric of the place. The rooms remain spacious & pleasant, but we struggled to understand the choice of wallpaper which has quite a claustrophobic effect!! Clearly it’s each to their own as others seem to appreciate it. The Marine is a beautiful hotel and (thankfully) the public areas remain a jewel in the crown, but bar & restaurant service was frustratingly poor. Seemed to be a combination of inexperienced staff & limited leadership. My impression is this hotel will eventually lose its loyal clientele & become a “one visit” tourist spot, which is a shame because it has all the attributes of being a trusted hotel in that part of Scotland.
We stayed here for 2 nights on a road trip around Scotland to visit the Scottish Open. The hotel is in a beautiful setting adjacent to the sea and next to Muirfield golf course and a short walk to the Renaissance Golf Club where the Scottish Open was being held. The hotel looks beautiful and the grounds around the hotel are very well kept and were looking lovely when we visited. We were in a cottage room, the hotel is old and unfortunately that meant that with overseas visitors above who were awake very early, we heard every footstep, conversation and what they were watching on TV, so this was not conducive to any type of rest or relaxation. The rooms are traditionally appointed but the pillows were very poor quality- we needed 3 each ! the bedcover was stained, there was no Sky TV , no mini bar and thick dust in the wardrobe shelves which covered our clothes. We were looking forward to breakfast as this has the Roux name but we were extremely disappointed, this hotel seems to be stuck in a 1970’s time warp- no vegetarian or gluten free option ( we were neither offered not asked), a bowl of cold thin supermarket toasted bread, stale croissants and pastries, very limited breakfast menu and incredibly slow service- polite requests for coffee three times ! Anaemic omelette and cold Scottish breakfast, to be honest we were a bit shocked as with the Roux name - synonymous with excellence, the breakfast food was appalling, Upon departure the manager didn’t even ask if we had a good time/ had a good stay, we stayed here many years ago and it was fabulous, I don’t know if it has changed hands or just has new management, but it’s incredibly overpriced, out of date and tired, the main part of the hotel looks like an old school house, we would not return, it’s not worth the money now by a long stretch.
Eight of us went on a golfing trip to Scotland. Overall, an outstanding experience (the people, golf courses, restaurants, etc). Hotel Craigielaw (near Gullane/Muirfield) was fantastic. Nice large rooms, clean bathrooms, and the staff was more than accommodating; they even did our laundry near the end of our stay. There is a golf course on the premises which makes for a good warm up round. The views are spectacular, overlooking the golf course and the bay. I highly recommend staying here