Review: the Trump Turnberry hotel and resort in Scotland

This is my review of the Trump Turnberry golf hotel and resort in Scotland.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Trump Turnberry – A Luxury Collection Resort, the luxury golf resort in Scotland which is part of the Starwood ‘Luxury Collection’, asking if I wanted to come up and review it.

I am not a golf player myself so I was definitely the wrong person to review the Ailsa course, but I was persuaded that Trump Turnberry offers much more than ‘just golf’.

We also realised that Trump Turnberry resort is exceptionally good value when using Starwood Preferred Guest points.  One night including breakfast at the end of September costs 16,000 points, equivalent to 48,000 Marriott Rewards points.  The cash price is £431 (more if you want a refundable rate) which means you are getting 2.7p for every Starwood point.  This is almost twice as much as we normally value SPG points.

Off I went to Scotland to find out whether SPG or Marriott Rewards members should put Trump Turnberry on their redemptions list.  HFP paid for its own flights to Glasgow and we also paid for certain items in the hotel, including most of our drinks.  Here is my review.

The history of Trump Turnberry

The golf course at Turnberry first opened in 1882 with the Turnberry Golf Club & Hotel following in 1906.  Jump forward 91 years and in 1997 the property became part of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts group.  In 2011 the branding was changed from Westin to Luxury Collection.  In 2014 the Trump Organisation purchased Turnberry and the golf course investing £200 million in upgrading the 103 guest rooms, including four suites, and the links.

The hotel remains under Starwood management and you can earn and spend Starwood Preferred Guest points (or Marriott Rewards points if you transfer them to Starwood) for a stay here.  Your status benefits will also be honoured.

The 18-holes Ailsa golf course has hosted the Open Championship in 1977, 1986, 1994 and 2009.

Where is Trump Turnberry?

Trump Turnberry is on the Ayrshire coast in western Scotland, about an hour west of Glasgow.  We (I travelled with my boyfriend) flew into Glasgow airport and were picked up by the hotel. The car ride to the hotel took about an hour.  A return airport transfer starts at £180 depending on the size of the car.

Check in

There were two reception desks in a separate room next to the concierge desk. We sat down and were offered water and home baked shortbread – which was really good.

Room

At check in we were told that we had been upgraded to one of the four suites overlooking the Ailsa golf course and the sea.

The hotel has only four suites each named after one of the four winners of the Open Championships hosted at Turnberry. We got the Nick Price suite – with, to my eyes, an awful painting on the wall (click to enlarge).  Sorry Nick.

The room had air conditioning which was slightly too cold for my liking but was easy to adjust and within a short time the room had the desired temperature.

The bedroom had a king size bed:

The desk turned out to be a hidden dressing table with hair dryer and mirror as well as a drawer full of sockets.

Wifi is free for all guests and was a good speed for Netflix etc.

The bathroom was a very good size with free standing bathtub, two sinks and shower and toilet with individual doors.

The toiletries were by Arran Aromatics with a separate selection for her and him. I found them a little too scent intensive, but they were very nourishing and my hair looked great.

Trump Turberry has no shortage of hangers and lots of space in the wardrobe. The safe had a socket inside so you can charge your laptop or phone when storing it. It also had a jewellery tray with little compartments so your necklaces won’t get tangled up.

Living Room

The living room really did look more like someones living room (not mine, admittedly) than a hotel room with two white bookshelves, a fire place, artwork and two of the most comfortable sofas I’ve ever sat on. There was also a second desk.

Inside the TV bank was the Nespresso machine and tea making facilities. The suites have a great selection of loose tea.

Instead of a mini bar, various wine bottles were on the shelves.  The books, as you can see below, were matching sets of reprinted classics.  I personally don’t have a problem with this if I just want to read a book but a more curated – but non-matching – selection would have been more interesting.

Twin room

I got a tour of the whole of Trump Turnberry including the hotel, spa, golf courses and the Turnberry Lighthouse.

I wanted to take a look at a mainstream room.  Here is a picture of one of the standard twin rooms where each bed is a queen size. The design, size and layout of all the rooms including the suites and the lighthouse suite is the same with only a couple of smaller rooms having just a shower instead of a shower and a bathtub. (‘Normal’ rooms are like the suites minus the living room)

Turnberry Lighthouse

The Turnberry Lighthouse is located by the 9th hole of the Ailsa course and has a two bedroom suite inside as well as a halfway house where golfers can pick up a sandwich.

Coming from the hotel’s main building you can either walk for 30 minutes along the golf course or get one of the hotel’s drivers to pick you up and drop you off.

A night in this suite costs £3,500 per night.

From the two balconies (one off each room) you have a great view over the sea.

The two bedrooms look the same as those in the main building, but the living room area has a slightly different design to the other suites.

To give you a better impression of what you can expect, here is a short YouTube video of Trump Turnberry. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel via this page – this is the same link to visit if the video does not automatically appear below.

This was part one of my review of Starwood’s Trump Turnberry Resort with a focus on the bedrooms.  Part two (click here) looks at the food and activities available as well as the spa.  We also look at the extra benefits available if you book via our hotel booking partner.

The Trump Turnberry Resort home page is here if you want to find out more.

---

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)