With each season spent at Gleneagles, you can experience a different hotel. This was my third time to the property however my first time hosting a FAM with there and I must say seeing the faces of our members experience the property for the first time certainly cemented a sense of pride in not only a network for the experiences we can bring our members but in Gleneagles it’s self for the vast changes it has undertaken over the years and for being privy to them.
Gleneagles first opened its doors in 1924, it is an institution in Scotland and was described as “Riviera in the Highlands”. It is now a member of the Leading Hotels of the world and indeed it is, it is just stunning and whether you are there for leisure, business or a bit of both (as we are) you will most certainly fall in love with this property and its unrivalled and unparalleled grounds, views, activities, people and everything in between.
Our FAM started on a Sunday with members making the short flight up from either Gatwick, Heathrow or Luton. I did the trip via Heathrow from my home to Gleneagles in 4.5 hours (door to door) which is not what you would have anticipated. A short, flight with just enough time for a coffee and 40 winks sees you land in Edinburgh within 50 minutes and just a short 45-minute drive to the property.
On arrival, our members checked into their gorgeous rooms before a short site visit of all the meeting and events spaces on offer at Gleneagles and even though I had been to the property previously AND had arrived a day earlier and thought I had seen them all it turns out that I in-fact hadn’t and there was about 20 more I had yet to see.
I will be honest, I would like to write about each and everyone but there are simply too many so I will share a link here – I will say our favourite spaces were The Glendevon which is as opulent as it is grand and has some pretty amazing views whilst dining along with The Cellars where you can fit up to 20 for a private dining experience.
After our site visit, it was a couple of hours to sample the very decadent spa where we sampled the sauna, jacuzzi, steam room, heated lounge chairs, back in the jacuzzi, a quick snooze and then it was time to get ready for pre-dinner drinks and dinner. The food and beverage at Gleneagles are as vast as they are delicious with nine separate dining experiences one of which Andrew Fairlie, the only restaurant in Scotland to hold two Michelin stars. Unfortunately, the Michelin starred restaurant was closed however we were lucky enough to eat in The Strathearn which was outstanding.
After dinner, it was off to The American Bar where we had a couple of cocktails and I may or may not have had one too many absinthes and made up my theme song?! Before we were off to bed, ready for a full day of activities.
On Monday morning we were up bright and early for a group breakfast which was a breakfast of dreams, the hotel serves the most outstanding breakfast buffet ever and I did not stop talking about the four different types of sausages, the five different types of nut butter and the children’s dedicated buffet station. Your delegates would love it, the options on offer are vast and as with the rest of the outlets at Gleneagles, the service is outstanding.
After breakfast, it was off to sample the activity options and for your delegates there really are an abundance. Of course, Gleneagles is synonymous for its three championship golf courses but there is so much more than golf. Our group were lucky enough to try our hand at clay pigeon shooting, falconry, learning about the gun dogs and visited the golf clinic. Whilst it was only a snippet of each we got to see and feel what our delegates would and it is fantastic. Such wonderful options to suit any group.
After our activities, it was more food, a quick nip back to the sap and then into cars for the short drive back to the airport.
We LOVED our Gleneagles FAM. The group has come back with some amazing ideas for their events and we can’t see how they all pan out. Huge thanks to Dan for hosting the group and arranging the snow for us (and hail at one point) you did go above and beyond to make it memorable. You can reach out to Dan here for more information or email us and we will put you in touch.
We had to first taste canapés then two separate three course meals at two separate caterers with three options for each. We had to “taste” 18 separate dishes to suit the three courses and then choose from over 18 wines to suit the dishes we were going to select.
