Review: the Trump Turnberry hotel and resort in Scotland (part two)

This is part two of my review of Trump Turnberry, Starwood’s Luxury Collection Resort in Scotland.

In part one of our Trump Turnberry review, click here, I looked at the different rooms and accommodations.  Part two focuses on food, activities and the spa.  Part 1 also includes a short video of the resort.

Afternoon tea at Trump Turnberry

Our first meal at Trump Turnberry was afternoon tea and, to be honest, this was the best meal we had all weekend.

We chose the gin high tea with a gin cocktail served in a teapot with designated gin teacups.

There was a great selection of savoury and sweet snacks with fresh scones served later on.

If you’re in the area around Trump Turnberry but are not planning to stay, I would recommend booking yourself in for afternoon tea.  Non-gin versions are also available ….

Dinner

The Trump Turnberry resort has two restaurants which, to be honest, were less successful.  I tried both over my two nights.

Il Tramonto at 1906 is an Italian style restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant got its name from the year the hotel first opened and every evening the doors open at 19:06.

We were told that the menu was due to be changed in the next 6 months so you shouldn’t read too much into what we chose.  As a starter I had Scottish lobster linguini (£20) and as a main I had stuffed saddle of rabbit (£28). My boyfriend had deep fried Dumfriesshire eggs with summer truffle (£14) and a Scottish fillet of beef (£40).

The Duel in the Sun is the restaurant inside the golf clubhouse where we had dinner the second evening. The dishes are simpler and the wine prices lower.

After sitting down we were brought some bread, butter and four different spiced salts.

I had a prawn cocktail (£12) and my boyfriend a caesar salad (I didn’t note the price). We both had lobster mac ‘n’ cheese (£32).

Head for Points is not a food blog and we tend not to focus on detailed food reviews when we travel.  However, as I’ve read quite a few very negative reviews regarding the food at Turnberry, I thought I should weigh in.

In general, the food was ok but not overwhelming.  For £40 I would expect a bit more from a steak than the modest lump of meat my boyfriend received and the mac ‘n’ cheese was too much pasta and too little sauce for our tastes.  Out of all the dishes we ate, the rabbit at 1906 was my favourite although this may not survive the imminent change of menu.  I did like the selection of salts we got at the Duel In The Sun but that is a bit of a niche thing!  I now regret that we didn’t try any of the desserts as the afternoon tea was really good.

Breakfast

After the rather underwhelming dinners I was glad to see an amazing breakfast in the morning. The fruit selection was impressive, the fresh salmon divine and the a la carte menu had a good selection of hot dishes.

I ordered a Burns Breakfast from the a la carte menu. It consisted of hash potatoes, haggis and two poached eggs covered with hollondaise sauce. It was delicious but I made the mistake of asking my boyfriend what haggis was (you don’t get it much in Germany …. or indeed north London) which ended with me not finishing my dish …..

Breakfast if not included with the room rate costs £30 per person.

Private in-kitchen dining

During our tour we were aso shown the kitchen as there is an area you can book for ‘chef’s table’ private dining. It reminded me a bit of a Bavarian restaurant!

Spa

The Trump Turnberry swimming pool was gorgeous. The large pool was 1.4m deep. There was also a kids pool and a jacuzzi.

This was the relaxation room for ladies with a sauna and steam room:

The hotel kindly included a full body massage in our hotel package which was fantastic.

The gym had a large selection of machines.

Golf and other activities

As I mentioned earlier I am not a golfer. My golf career so far has consisted of crazy golf and a couple of trips to Topgolf in Watford …..

The Trump Turnberry team had organised an introductory class for us which was much more fun than I thought it was going to be – probably because I happened to be fairly ok at hitting the ball across the course.

There are also a substantial number of other activities for non-golfers and you really wouldn’t be missing out if you came here and didn’t play. (One guy I talked to at the bar said this was the first golf resort he would bring his wife to).

The hotel is working closely with Turnberry Adventures, a company that organises clay shooting, air rifle shooting, archery, water zorbing, highland games, GPS treasure hunts, off-road driving, quad safari and mini quads.  We tried archery and mini quads which were great fun.

Meeting rooms

Trump Turnberry has lots of space for corporate functions, weddings, etc if you are looking for a spot for a corporate or personal event.  There are 11 meeting rooms and one ballroom with a capacity of 500 people.

Booking Trump Turnberry

If you want to visit Trump Turnberry for cash, the official hotel website is here.

However, this is also a property where you can get additional benefits if you book via Bon Vivant, our luxury booking partner.  If you book via Bon Vivant at a flexible rate – which should be identical to the rate on spg.com – you will get the following benefits:

• upgrade if available at check in
• complimentary breakfast
• 4pm check out
• either a round of golf on the King Robert The Bruce course (formerly Kintyre, to open on 11th July) or afternoon tea for two once per stay

Until 30th September the hotel is also running a 3 for 2 promotion which is combinable with the benefits above if booked via Bon Vivant.

If you want to use your Starwood Preferred Guest points, Trump Turnberry costs just 16,000 points per night (room only rate). This is, as I mentioned in Part 1, exceptionally good value especially when the cheapest non-refundable cash price is around £430 per night on a typical September weekend.

In theory a redemption is even better than that as the points redemption is fully refundable but the cheapest cash price isn’t.  A refundable room on the same night in September costs £485 which means 1 SPG point is worth 3.3p!

Remember that Marriott Rewards points convert to Starwood Preferred Guest at 3:1, so the price is the equivalent of 48,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Conclusion

The Trump Turnberry Resort is an impressive hotel and a great value SPG redemption if you are looking for somewhere to spend your Starwood or Marriott points.

The hotel is luxurious, the rooms large and the view amazing. I do admit the food could and should be better – a local HfP reader recommended Wildings in the nearby village of Maidens as an alternative.

If you are a golfer, the Ailsa is probably on your list of golf courses anyway, but even if – like me – you don’t play Turnberry has a lot to offer for a weekend away from the stressful city.

The Trump Turnberry website is here if you want to find out more.

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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.)