DESIGN FOCUS: Dundonald Links

Darwin Escapes unveiled its £25m development at Dundonald Links last month.

The investment includes a £1m upgrade to the golf course, a new two-storey clubhouse, 18 luxury lodges and 22 new hotel rooms, a restaurant called The Canny Crow, and a secluded whisky room. The new star of the show is the two-storey clubhouse, featuring panoramic views to the Ailsa Craig and to the Isle fo Arran beyond.

Constructed of natural materials and finished with local whistone and a grass roof, the building has been designed to blend with the local landscape, as part of Dundonald’s commitment to sustainability and conservation. Greg McGarry, restaurant manager told DRAM, “I think people are just impressed that there’s a venue like this in the area.”

The new restaurant has a mid-century modernism with a clean, updated aspect. It is divided into three distinct spaces: a dining room, a more casual breakfasting and lunch area, and a bar. Though all three are housed in one large room, they flow into one another. The use of colour, texture, and lighting is enough to subtly suggest each space’s primary use without anything so brutal as a door or a sign.

Entrance to the restaurant and bar area is through the golfing shop and clubhouse below. A colourful abstract painting, ‘Petrichor’ by Callum Youde is the first thing we see, setting the tone of understated luxury.

Mellow music plays from somewhere far above the few diners that are in on this Thursday lunchtime. There’s a gentle murmuration from groups enjoying just one more coffee, lulled by the setting.

Turning into the room, one is confronted by the view. It is arresting and, thanks to the three walls of floor to ceiling windows, is prominent in each direction. It is possible to pick out the peak of Goatfell, Arran’s highest hill. Though it is over the water, a ferry ride and a strenuous climb away, it feels as though you could reach out and touch it. A wrap-around balcony also ensures that diners will be able to make the most of the panorama and the clement Gulf Stream weather whenever possible. Herringbone wood flooring, green tweed upholstery, paper and glass lampshades: the thing that’s most apparent when walking into the restaurant is the attention paid to texture. There is a lot going on in this room, and it would be possible for it to feel overcrowded or busy. Instead, the whole space has an atmosphere of calm. The designer, Jim Hamilton, has utilised the same materials in novel ways across the restaurant.

Cosy booths are upholstered in a scallop shape: camel leather in the dining room, grass green tweed in the less casual corner space, and deep scarlet in the bar. Smoked glass lampshades give the bar area a moody feel, while the large paper ones over the lunching spot have a softening effect. Throughout, marble or herringboned tabletops, paper shaded lamps, and muted tones link each space to its neighbour. Burnished golden skirting boards and varying shades of wood, the central bar’s marble countertop: all come together to suggest luxury without being ostentatious. You won’t find overblown, overdesigned displays of wealth here, merely a plush quality that lets you know care, attention and money has been put to the best use possible. The decor feels both of the moment, and yet classical, timeless. Work by Scottish artists adorns the walls, while on the ceiling, concentric circles of golfing clubs give a knowing nod to the main draw for many of Dundonald Links’s guests. It is easy to imagine golfers, delighted after a long day on the course, warming up next to the open fire with a dram, watching their peers complete their own rounds below, before indulging in the Canny Crow’s imaginative menu.

Another massive draw, especially for enthusiasts of our national drink, is the whisky room. The room is right in the heart of the restaurant, much like whisky is at the heart of Scotland, and offers privacy for parties of up to 16 diners. An expert from Bunnahabhain attends to take these lucky few on a journey through Scotland’s best and rarest whiskies. The most privileged may find themselves ordering a taste of the Dundonald Links Bunnahabhain Canasta cask, which, at £120 a dram, is a lifetime experience. Absolutely key to the success of Dundonald Links’s new development is this attention to the quality of each detail. “We’re very proud of it,” remarked Greg, and he’s right to feel that way. Nothing in the Canny Crow or the whisky room has been left to chance or second-best. Each bottle on the shelves, each plant pot, even each lightbulb, has clearly been chosen carefully, with an eye to the overall ethos and experience of the clubhouse. And it pays off. Says Club Manager, Ian Ferguson, “We are confident that the investment by Darwin Escapes marks Dundonald Links as one of the UK’s finest resort offerings.” He is not wrong.

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