Built for a lord, this estate now hosts the world’s biggest stars (including Kylie)

The hotel

Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort

Check-in

Kylie, Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Ed Sheeran. Just some of the celebrities who’ve graced this dapper retreat by the River Clyde on Glasgow’s leafy outskirts. Kylie, in fact, was one of the first guests to stay after it reopened in May 2025 following a $38 million overhaul. Mar Hall was initially built as a country house for a lord, later becoming a hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I, before launching as a hotel in 2004. It’s halfway between the city centre and the port of Greenock, where cruises depart around the British Isles. The hotel is 10 minutes from Glasgow airport.

The look

Set on a wooded 97-hectare estate with an 18-hole championship golf course, Mar Hall was fashioned in the 1820s by Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum in London. Beyond the austere neo-Gothic stone exterior, the flamboyant revamp marries restored original features such as Canadian oak panelling with contemporary decor, veering from muted to kaleidoscopic. The hotel’s swoon-worthy centrepiece is The Gallery, a long room with a patterned ceiling, exotic rugs, a marble-topped champagne bar and snug fireside seating where guests enjoy wine-fuelled lunches and afternoon teas. Browse the eclectic paintings here and around the hotel, which display more than 400 pieces by Scottish artists, plus models of Clyde-built ocean liners that would have once sailed past.

The room

Timeless elegance meets modern cool in the 74 rooms and suites. Some face the river; others, like my Deluxe Suite, overlook the fountain-graced gardens by Sir Charles Barry, who designed London’s Palace of Westminster. Timber flooring, high ceilings and a comfy super-king bed are highlights of my suite, along with a coffee machine and a splendidly spacious bathroom with a walk-in shower and separate tub. You can also soak at the hotel spa, Ishga (“water” in Scottish Gaelic). It has a heated pool, saunas, steam rooms, a large gym and treatments using Hebridean seaweed.

Food + drink

Scottish ingredients, including seasonal herbs and vegetables, dominate dishes at The Dining Room, where you can tuck into, say, Orkney scallops and dry-aged Perthshire beef at dinner then return for a full Scottish breakfast, smoked Argyll salmon or pastries and yoghurts drizzled with honey from the estate’s bees. Small plates are served next door at Slainte, a groovy bar with plush fabrics, botanical wallpaper and cocktails with Scottish gins and whiskies. There are wood-fired pizzas at Il Posto, which is beside the golf course.

Out + about

Mar Hall’s cheerful staff arrange activities such as falconry, axe-throwing and clay pigeon shooting but don’t miss Glasgow itself. The 2026 Commonwealth Games host has excellent galleries, museums, parks, pubs and gigs. You could also make a side trip to Dumbarton Castle and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. If it’s lashing down, leaf through coffee-table books in the hotel’s gorgeous library and play pool in the billiards room downstairs.

The verdict

Rustic setting. Bonnie interiors. It’s a pleasant surprise to find somewhere as lovely as Mar Hall so close to Scotland’s largest city.

Essentials

Mar Hall, Earl of Mar Estate, Bishopton, Scotland. Bed and breakfast from £225 ($427) a night. See marhall.com; visitscotland.com

Our rating out of five

★★★★½

Highlight

A dead heat between The Gallery and the views towards the wooded hills across the River Clyde.

Lowlight

You’re a wee bit isolated without a hire car. A taxi to Glasgow’s city centre costs £40 ($76).

The writer travelled as a guest of Visit Scotland.