Although the government’s long-awaited travel green list is out, it appears that most Brits seem to want to remain closer to home*. Fortunately, the UK boasts an extraordinary collection of world-famous places to celebrate, relax and recuperate, and one of its finest is Turnberry which has just celebrated its 115th birthday.
This week, on the same day as hotel restrictions eased, Turnberry, one of the country’s most famous properties, celebrated its 115th birthday.
With the doors now open, guests, once more, headed back to Turnberry to celebrate and take advantage of Turnberry’s extensive five-star experiences.
Among the raft of improvements on display, one of the biggest draws was the new Turnberry Spa which has undergone a £4m transformation and offers ESPA’s Modern Alchemy range of harmonising treatments and spa products.
Most people’s vision of Turnberry is based upon what they’ve seen on TV via sporting events and travel programs. With it now celebrating the grand old age of 115, we thought it would be fun to rewind the clock a century or so and take a look at how things looked back then.
In 1906, Turnberry was known as the Station hotel, opening its doors to the general public on the 17th of May. Back then, the UK prime minister was Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, a member of the Liberal party, and it was also the year Rolls-Royce Limited registered itself as a car manufacturer.
Among those luxuries on offer in the early 20th century were things many of us take for granted today, including electric lighting, central heating, hot and cold running water, and saltwater plunge baths for guests to enjoy the finer things in life.
From then until now, Turnberry has continued to modernise itself, evolving into one of the leading five-star resorts in the world. Even with all this massive improvement, one aspect that has remained relatively untouched is the main building which retains much of its original charm with the classic combination of white plasterwork and red pantile roof – still very much in evidence today.
General manager, Ralph Porciani, said, “As we know all too well throughout the industry, it has been a difficult period – at times, it’s felt like we’ve had to wait 115 years to be able to reopen!
“But it was fantastic to be able to welcome back our first guests again on Turnberry’s birthday. The history and heritage of Turnberry is something we treasure and is always worth celebrating.”
Staycations seem to be top of the list
*After well over a year of restrictions, we’re now a lot closer to some semblance of normality. With the government’s recently published green list of places safe to head to, you’d expect everyone to be planning to jet off to foreign climes, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.
In January, hotel booking platform Hoo commenced a study involving more than 1100 people, asking if they planned to holiday abroad this summer and a whopping 88% said No. They posed the same question again on 13th May, and the figure had hardly changed, with 86% still stating No to overseas travel and two-thirds planning to holiday in the UK instead.
Given the apparent unwillingness for British travellers to head overseas, it does appear that the British hospitality sector will be in for a very positive summer. If you’re planning to head off somewhere in the UK for an extra-special break, Turnberry is one of those places which should be right at the top of your lists.
Turnberry – Where and how?
Trump Turnberry
Maidens Road
Ayrshire
KA26 9LT
United Kingdom
For room and package bookings, call 01655 333 991. For overseas enquiries, call +44.1655.333.991. For more information on Turnberry, its magnificent golf course and other amenities, please visit www.turnberry.co.uk.
Read more articles on UK staycations in our travel section here.
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