There are a few places that spring to mind when you mention golf in Scotland - St Andrews, East Lothian and Troon. It is these locations that you’ll also find Marine and Lawn Hotels who have refurbished and reinvigorated tired hotels to an extremely high luxurious spec. You’ll find

• Rusacks in St Andrews - a stones throw away from the Old Course

• Marine in North Berwick - overlooks North Berwick Golf Course and a short drive from some of the top golf courses in the world - Gullane and Archerfield

• Marine in Troon - overlooking the Royal Troon Golf Courses 18th hole

REVIEW OF MARINE HOTEL AND GERONIMO SAILING, TROON, SCOTLAND

I’ve dined and afternoon tea-ed at the Marine North Berwick (all occasions where wonderful) and now on this visit it was time to stay at Marine Troon and indulge in activities other than golf, for which I am thankful as I can’t play golf; I’m even pretty pants when it comes to playing Crazy Golf too!

I was invited by Marine and Lawn to try out one of their latest activities that they can now offer at Marine Troon - a Sailing Experience with Geronimo Sailing onboard a luxury Beneteau 473 sail boat, tailormade to your needs.

There is no set package because each trip can be customised to the group/guest. The day hire is £250 per charter guest including breakfast offering on board, bento box lunch, afternoon tea and drinks service (beer, wine and soft drinks). This can be flexible and adapted to each guest if they have any other requirements to suit their experience.

But first, lets check in. I arrived the night before due to the bus departing the hotel at 9am for Ardrossan, Clyde Marina (30 minutes drive away).

It was blowin a hoolie, but once inside the hotel you’d never know. Check in was smooth and friendly, and they have a concierge on hand should you require a helping hand with your bags. No doubt many golfers accept this offer; there was about 7 golf bags all lined up in the foyer when I checked in.

THE ROOMS

There are 3 room styles to choose from : Marine Rooms, Marine Suites and Classic Rooms. I was in a Marine Room, Double with Sea View and it was beautiful.

The decor throughout the hotel is busy and at first you think it should all clash but strangely it makes the spaces super cosy, comforting and quite dreamy. With a colour palate of blues, whites, greens and browns, this room sat so comfortably alongside the view stretching across the 18th hole and onto the sea.

I loved the attention to detail - thick dark curtains that pull all the way over the window, not letting in a slither of light; plugs and sockets placed conveniently either side of the bed; and a duvet that was only slightly tucked in at the foot of the bed and easily pulled out! The little things!

The bathroom is plush with two grand lights on either side of the large mirror flooding the space in a pale amber glow and reflecting and contrasting nicely off the deep hunter green tiles. Cosy bathrobes are available too just for that extra hygge. My only minor criticism in this bathroom is that there was no shelf to place your toiletries on and the two indents on either side of the basin by the taps doesn’t provide enough space for my lotions, potions, toothbrush and make up. A wee glass shelf below the mirror would have been perfect.

THE HOTEL LOBBY

The lobby/entrance to the hotel most definitely gives off the wow factor. The polished stone floor really shows off the flora and fauna and the chandelier that hangs above the table is gorgeous.

THE SEAL BAR

The Seal Bar is a charming space with a multitude of seating. Intimate booths, large couches, upright chairs, plus lush soft furnishings in cosy spots by the windows, greet you as you walk in. This is also the place where you’ll find the bar, the snooker table and the place to eat anytime of the day.

I tucked into their Cured Local Charcuterie, pickles and bread as well as their very tasty House Burger with relish, pickles and fries.

THE RABBIT RESTAURANT

In the Rabbit Restaurant the lavish decor continues and if anything I think it possibly gets better. The entrance to the Rabbit with the Sapphire blue velvet booths and the bright orange chandelier contrasting against the lime green sofas and the Wedgewood-esque wallpaper is possibly my favourite room.

This leads through to several rooms that are multi-functional and can be closed off or opened up for private parties etc.

Breakfast is served in the Rabbit restaurant - a cold buffet of pastries, cereals, cold meats etc is available as is a hot breakfast.

You would also dine here in the evenings should you want a more elevated dining experience. The menu is larger and more refined than that of the Seal, but just as tasty.

I ordered the Ayrshire Mussels with nduja, fennel, lovage and cider and the Aberdeen Angus Flat Iron Steak with shallot and herb salad and a side of creamy mash.

GERONIMO SAILING

It was 9am and myself and 7 others were collected from the hotel and driven to Ardrossan Marina to meet Craig and David from Geronimo Sailing.

As mentioned, we boarded a luxury Beneteau Yacht called To Infinity and she is comfortable carrying 9-10 guests on board. To Infinity’s home is at Ardrossan, Clyde Marina and she happily sets sail all over the West Coast of Scotland from Port Ellen on Islay to Port Bannatine on the Isle of Bute to Campbeltown.

On this day, she was sailing to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae.

In parts the weather was nice to us, flipping back and forth between bright glorious sunshine and grey skies but throughout it was warm, not much wind and all in all a decent day for sailing. We motored over to Millport but on return opened up the sails and let the wind do the hard work.

It’s a two hour sail to the Isle of Cumbrae which flies by.

On board a light breakfast is served below deck in the saloon. Warm fresh croissants with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and loads of tea and coffee.

Once we set sail we were all up on deck and as soon as we cleared the harbour, the prosecco was popped! It really is the only way to sail.

Craig was a knowledgeable and experienced Skipper dishing out a wealth of information about local landmarks, loads of Dad jokes and even lets you steer the boat. David is the best host, constantly topping up the glasses and keeping the conversation flowing.

There is an endless flow of food and drink on the boat. Tea, coffee, water, beer, wine, prosecco - they have it all. A continental breakfast is served then its snacks galore throughout the morning. After our adventure to the Isle of Cumbrae Gin Distillery, once back on board, we were given wonderful Marine Troon Rabbit & Seal wooden crates containing what would be best described as a deconstructed Afternoon Tea but with added extras.

• Egg and Cress, and Salmon Sandwiches

• Salad with dressing

• Chicken Peanut Skewer

• Truffle pasta salad

• Mozzarella cheese, basil and tomato salad

• Fruit salad with mint

• Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam

• Cheese with grapes and oatcakes

• Brownie

• Cookie

Full to bursting point but sailing does make you hungry - its definitely all that wonderful salty sea air!

For our excursion, we landed in Millport and headed off to the Isle of Cumbrae Distillery. One of only a few gin distilleries owned and run by women. We were taken through a tasting of their three gins, a gin history lesson and shown Maura, their 100l copper still.

Their gins are fabulous and I especially loved their Nostalgin with notes of lavender and bramble, then sweet orange and juniper. It’s really fresh, quite light but with a lovely tang.

Read more about the Isle of Cumbrae Gin Distillery here

To Infinity was docked in the marina and we climbed onto a Rib Inflatable which is easier to manoeuvre right up to the pier. The Rib Inflatable also allowed Craig to take us on a wee trip to see the seals; although they weren’t that impressed to ‘sea’ us. Still they looked a friendly bob with their one flipper raised as if waving hello. And we didn’t spot Kylie either. Kylie, is a solo dolphin that can usually be seen in Millport harbour.

Leaving at 930am we docked back at the Clyde Marina at 5pm. A full day of fun, laughter, bants, gin, prosecco and food. An absolutely fantastic day trip and the best part is that Geronimo Sailing can tailor make your day trip just for you - all you have to do is tell them where you’d like to go, what activities you’d like to participate in and what you like to eat and drink. You can book your Geronimo Sailing Experience directly with Marine Troon and they will arrange it all for you. Simple!

RELAXATION AT MARINE HOTEL TROON

With a full day sailing and eating and drinking, you’d be right in thinking we were all extremely tired. We were! Luckily Marine Troon has a superb range of relaxation activities available - a large swimming pool with incredible views, a sauna and beauty treatments to really pamper yourself. There is a gym too, if you still feel the need to spend that wee bit of energy you might have.

Check out is at 11am so there is plenty of time to indulge in some me time as well as having breakfast delivered to your room so you can ease into the day taking in that beautiful view from you window across the golf course to the sea.

If you are in need of some rejuvenation, a reconnection with nature; if you want to feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your back and spend the day drinking prosecco followed by a blissful sleep and pampering, then book yourself a Marine Troon x Geronimo Sailing activity.

Things to note:

• Marine Hotel Troon has disabled access and an elevator to rooms. Do check if they have any accessible rooms though for wheelchair users.

• They are dog friendly.

• Both the restaurant and the bar serves vegetarian dishes. Do notify them of any allergies or if Gluten Free in advance.

Marine Troon, 8 Crosbie Road, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6HE. www.marineandlawn.com/marinetroon

Geronimo Sailing www.geronimosailing.com

Isle of Cumbrae Distillers www.isleofcumbrae-distillers.com

My Amazon Ideas list https://amzn.eu/49hMYw7

This was a Press Trip. I was invited by Marine and Lawn to experience their new activity offer with Geronimo Sailing. Accommodation, food, drink and activities were all complimentary but the views are all my own.