There’s a beautiful painting by Sir John Lavery, depicting Lady Astor playing golf at North Berwick. It dates from just after the First World War and for me it invokes the sense of a golden age of leisure and luxury – the start of the roaring 20s.
I was made to think of it as I walked into the foyer of the Marine Hotel, then onwards through the stylishly furnished lobby area to the huge windows offering an incredible view over North Berwick’s famous West Links and out to the rippling Firth of Forth.
Lady Astor playing golf at North Berwick by Sir John Lavery
(Image credit: Fergus Bisset)
I’ve always loved North Berwick and I’ve made a number of trips to the vibrant seaside town over the years, both with the family and, of course, to play golf. But I’d never stayed at the Marine.
I knew it had been one of the great golfing hotels of the 20th century, a grand establishment frequented by the great and good. But I also knew that it had lost some of its lustre in more recent times.
It was exciting then to hear that management of the hotel had been taken over by Marine & Lawn – a group I had come to know because of their incredible transformation of the Rusacks in St Andrews – A hotel that my wife and I have always loved and is now, in my humble opinion, back to being the best in the “Old Grey Toon.”
With that in mind, she and I decided to drive south from our home in Aberdeenshire and spend a night at the Marine Hotel, North Berwick.
The Marine Hotel North Berwick
(Image credit: Marine & Lawn)
We arrived in good time – I had an afternoon tee slot, and Jessie (that’s the wife) was booked in for a spa treatment at the same time.
As mentioned, as soon as you walk in, you’re transported to a bygone age of splendour and grandeur, the leather-clad reception desk, the William Morris print wallpaper, chandeliers, Persian rugs. It’s very nicely done indeed.
The lobby at The Marine Hotel
(Image credit: Marine & Lawn)
Our room was palatial, with near floor to ceiling bay windows and views of the course, the town and the iconic…
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