Five-star Cliffs east of the town, St Andrews
Fairmont St Andrews
A golf resort on 520 acres of clifftop east of St Andrews, with two courses of its own, the North Sea below and the Old Course ten minutes away.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Golf
- Two 18-hole courses, The Torrance and Kittocks
- Estate
- 520 acres on the cliffs
- Opened
- June 2001
- From the airport
- About an hour from Edinburgh
The hotel
Built for golf, above the bay.
The American developer Don Panoz opened the resort in June 2001 as St Andrews Bay Golf Resort & Spa, on the cliffs about two miles east of the town. The golfer Gene Sarazen put his name to both courses, the first with Sam Torrance and the second with Bruce Devlin. The estate covers 520 acres, and many rooms look across St Andrews Bay to the North Sea.
Fairmont took over in 2006 and spent £17 million on the hotel and courses in 2008 and 2009, when the Devlin course was renamed Kittocks. A later refurbishment reworked the clubhouse, the lobby, the central atrium and guest rooms. The Torrance course hosted the Hero Open in 2021 and 2022, and in 2010 the resort was a final qualifying venue for The Open.
- Two courses The Torrance and Kittocks, both with sea views, and Old Course tee times can be built into a stay.
- Fairmont Spa An indoor pool of sixteen metres, a gym with personal training and treatments by the Scottish brand ishga.
- Into town A hotel shuttle runs to the centre of St Andrews every hour; the drive takes about ten minutes.
Rooms & suites
Golf on one side, the bay on the other.
Rooms face the courses and the grounds, and the higher categories add views across St Andrews Bay to the North Sea.
- Rooms Fairmont and Fairmont View rooms King or two double beds, with a bath and separate shower, looking over the grounds and the golf courses.
- Sea view Deluxe Sea View rooms The same layouts facing the courses and St Andrews Bay.
- Four bedrooms Manor Homes Self-catering houses on the estate, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Dining
From the clubhouse grill to the atrium.
Venues as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- St Andrews Bay Clubhouse Grill Steaks and seafood In the golf clubhouse
- La Cucina Italian In the hotel
- The Atrium Lounge Afternoon tea In the central atrium
- Kittocks Den Bar Drinks in the hotel
- Zephyr Sports Bar Sports bar In the hotel
- Squire Breakfast In the hotel
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 4 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Suites have a sofa bed for up to two young children.
- Golf packages Some stay packages include guaranteed tee times on the Old Course and rounds at Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie Links.
Getting there
Flying to St Andrews.
Edinburgh Airport, with scheduled flights from across Europe and North America, is about an hour away by car. Private jets can also use Dundee, the closest airfield, about half an hour by road by our estimate; its airline service to London ended in October 2026.
- Dublin 45 min
- London 1 h 05
- Paris 1 h 30
- Geneva 2 h 00
- New York 7 h 15 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Does Fairmont St Andrews have its own golf courses?
- Yes, two: The Torrance and Kittocks, both 18 holes on the clifftop estate.
- How far is Fairmont St Andrews from the Old Course?
- About ten minutes by car, and a hotel shuttle runs to the town centre every hour.
- Which airport is closest to Fairmont St Andrews?
- Dundee is the closest airfield and suits private jets. For scheduled flights, Edinburgh Airport is about an hour by car.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to St Andrews?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to St Andrews, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in St Andrews
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa New to the MICHELIN Keys in 2026 with one Key, looking straight onto the 17th hole and West Sands, with the Kohler Waters Spa and its own course, The Duke's.
- The Gleneagles Hotel Scotland's only three-Key hotel, in Perthshire, with Restaurant Andrew Fairlie and its two stars.
- Rusacks St Andrews In the MICHELIN hotel selection, 123 rooms over the 18th hole of the Old Course since the late nineteenth century, with the restaurant 18 and The Bridge brasserie.
Staying at Fairmont St Andrews?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to St Andrews, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.