SCHLOSS Roxburghe is an exceptional five-star countryside retreat (set in just under 300 acres), featuring a championship golf course (ranked among the top 10 inland courses in Scotland) along with a range of outdoor activities (fly fishing, archery and clay pigeon shooting) including an outdoor heated infinity pool.
Award Booking SCHLOSS Roxburghe Hotel
SCHLOSS Roxburghe is a CAT 4 hotel and I used 18K Chase/Hyatt points (per night) to book 4 nights. I also used one of my suite upgrade certificates to get a “Castle Suite” (see image below for all the standard suite options).
Drive to SCHLOSS Roxburghe
SCHLOSS Roxburghe is located around 3 hours of driving distance from Manchester and 1.30 minutes from Edinburgh airport. The hotel offers both traditional rooms and self catering cottages. We landed at MAN airport around 9.30 am after a pleasant Singapore Airlines flight from Houston to Manchester and drove to the hotel. There was plenty of parking at the front of the hotel along with free EV charging capabilities for up to 4 vehicles.
SCHLOSS Roxburghe Check-in
There is no front-desk recognition of globalist status at this hotel. Our room wasn’t ready until around 2pm despite an early check-in request at the time of reservation. They simply say “3pm check-in is our policy” and accommodate you around 2.00pm. When they took us to our room, we had to ask about free bottled water for being a globalist and we were told to use the bottled water from the fridge (but none of the other beverages).
For some reason, the Sky Suite is called the “Bowmont Suite” and it is one of the best looking and largest Hyatt suites I have ever seen in my life after visiting the mega suites in Hôtel du Palais Biarritz (link) and Park Hyatt Mendoza (link).
SCHLOSS Roxburghe Lounge
There are 3 different lounge areas to sit-in and relax at this hotel. Wi-Fi is very fast (over 100mbps) and we encountered no dead spots inside the property.
Bowmont Suite
As I mentioned earlier, the suite is very big and has a separate bedroom/living room and a separate walk-in closet space leading to a large bathroom with wonderful tub, powerful waterfall shower and twin wash basins. There is a loud bathroom exhaust fan which we appreciated. We loved the large heated towel rack inside the bathroom, which dried all the bathrobes, pool towels and bath towels very fast.
The only negative thing with this suite is there is no air conditioner, but a standard pedestal fan with remote control is provided. Despite the summer months, it gets plenty cool at night in Scotland and we never felt the need for the air conditioner.
Spa
The spa area is beautifully constructed with a large seating area with plenty of lounge chairs for couples to sit together and enjoy the heated infinity pool (16 metres long & 4 metres wide), outdoor saunas and a hot tub.
The heated infinity pool seems a little small for the massive spa area and appears more crowded than it is since all the guests going to the hot tub and saunas must enter through the small double door entrance from the pool entry inside the spa (see images below). I was able to find room every day for a few laps in the pool during my stay.
Fitness Center
The fitness center is small and packed with high end equipment; it may feel congested when there are more than two people working out during the same time.
Breakfast (Charlie’s)
Breakfast (7am to 10.30am) options include 3 different types of omelettes, oatmeal and waffles along with an egg station where you can request your choice of eggs. There were counters for several fruits, breads, cereals along with sausages and bacon etc.,
Over the four days we stayed, we tried several variations of eggs and waffles, but they tasted very chewy for some reason. I could not get a good tasting cappuccino which is served with chocolate powder on the top by default. All the utensils have the “wet dog” smell suggesting a possible dirty filter in the dish washer.
Overall, we did not enjoy breakfast at this hotel with the exception of porridge/oatmeal, which was served blandly without any cinnamon sugar or raisins, nuts or seeds (they provided us with some mixed nuts upon request). We missed the fabulous breakfast experience at Park Hyatt Chicago (link). However, our bad experience should not deter other travelers to come with an open mind and enjoy the breakfast offerings from the hotel.
State Room Lounge
All-day mini-bites (sandwiches and other appetizers) are available to order from the lounge area (12.5% gratuity fee is added automatically) from 10am until 9pm.
The prices are a bit pricey (see receipt below), but they tasted very good and became part of our daily lunch experience.
The chairs in the lounge are not very comfortable (either too high or too low from the table), except for a couple of chairs in the bar 1745.
Sunlaws Restaurant
This is a fine dining restaurant that offers a traditional à la carte menu, alongside a 5-course tasting menu for a price of £95 per person (additional £55 per person for wine pairing).
Bar 1745
Bar 1745 serves as the memory of Scottish icon Bonnie Prince Charlie, who spent a night at the historic Roxburghe Estate in the year 1745. Bar 1745 offers expertly guided whiskey tastings from a certified bar tender from the Whisky Ambassador program.
Activities at SCHLOSS Roxburghe
Golfing (link for dedicated webpage): Tee times for one player is £70 and £120 for two players.
Fly Fishing (for 10 years and older): The cost per day for rod, line & reel kit is £20. The cost per day for waders is £20.
Clay Target Shooting (for 12 years and older): The cost per hour for tuition including 50 cartridges is £100.
Archery (for 12 years and older): The cost per hour is £60 for one person. £100 per hour for two archers. £150 per hour for three archers.
Conclusion
SCHLOSS Roxburghe is a must-visit CAT 4 Hyatt destination property with family and I encourage globalists to make use of their suite upgrade certificate to get their top level Sky (Bowmont) suite.