Scotland accommodations advice

[Sean_A]

Venmo only works in the US.

Can use Revolut or Wise. Should be easy for Americans to transfer Sterling.

Ciao

[Lance Rieber]

Tony, Downloaded the app splitwise, really easy and should work well.  Thanks. This is all greatly appreciated, good info, just what i was looking for
Lance

[James Reader]

In our two trips to St Andrews, we did not find a can’t miss restaurant (other than drinks at the Dunvegan where the food is actually good), but last August, we ended up eating twice at Jahangir Tandoor because the food was excellent although the service a bit rushed.


Ira

Best restaurant in Fife is The Cellar, in Anstruther.  Must be on the verge of a second Michelin star.  In St Andrews, Rogue does a decent steak but I agree, nothing unmissable in the town.

I’ve just heard that The Cellar is closing unfortunately.  A real shame.

[Lance Rieber]

How is the restaurant Mara, at the Linksouse Dornoch? Also, we are staying at the Old Course Hotel, how is the Swilcan loft and the Road Hole Restaurant. Thanks 

[Bill Brightly]

Try to play Dornoch twice. You'll be sorry if you don't.

[David_Tepper]

Lance -

The food at Mara is very good. It is "fine dining" and priced accordingly.

DT

[Lance Rieber]

Bill, we are playing on Friday and Sunday. What about cash vs use of cc/debit? Read a lot about it but still  not sure what the best avenue is. And where to get the best exchange rates   Thanks

[Mark Pearce]

In our two trips to St Andrews, we did not find a can’t miss restaurant (other than drinks at the Dunvegan where the food is actually good), but last August, we ended up eating twice at Jahangir Tandoor because the food was excellent although the service a bit rushed.


Ira

Best restaurant in Fife is The Cellar, in Anstruther.  Must be on the verge of a second Michelin star.  In St Andrews, Rogue does a decent steak but I agree, nothing unmissable in the town.

I’ve just heard that The Cellar is closing unfortunately.  A real shame.

Say that's not true!  Why?

[John Mayhugh]

Bill, we are playing on Friday and Sunday. What about cash vs use of cc/debit? Read a lot about it but still  not sure what the best avenue is. And where to get the best exchange rates   Thanks

It's easy enough to use credit cards most anywhere you go. You should have some cash available, but in two trips last year I may have spent a couple hundred pounds in cash. Of course, if you're using caddies, you'll need quite a bit more cash than I did. I generally just use credit cards to pay. The typical card has a 3% foreign transaction fee, but Bank of America, Amex, and I'm sure plenty of others have cards with no foreign transaction fee.

To get cash, I just use an ATM with an actual bank name (e.g. RBS, Barclays). It's simple. Just worth making sure your bank doesn't have the card locked for foreign use - some do as a default. The currency exchange places in airports aren't typically offering good rates.
I don't think anyone has discussed mobile phone usage. Carriers like Verizon and AT&T have international plans where you pay a flat fee per day (I think $10 for Verizon) and essentially you have all of your US plan functionality while overseas. Local calls are free as are calls back to the US. There's a data cap but if you're not streaming movies, it shouldn't be an issue.


One more thing to add about doing a lot of walking - buy a stick of Body Glide or something similar. Apply to your feet and it does a great job of eliminating friction so blisters are unlikely. Lanacane gel is good as well. And wear wool socks. 

[Mark Pearce]

You should have some cash available, but in two trips last year I may have spent a couple hundred pounds in cash.

That's more than I spent in cash in the whole of '23, and I live here!  Almost anywhere now takes cards (though the debit cards we use are a different animal to credit cards) and there are an increasing number of places (coffee shops and up) which don't accept cash.  I haven't been in a cab in years that didn't take cards.


In fact, my last trip where cash was a thing was BUDA '22, and that was a function of the local economy.....

[Niall C]

Interesting. Here in Glasgow about half the taxis don't take cards and only take cash.


Niall

[Mark Pearce]

Interesting. Here in Glasgow about half the taxis don't take cards and only take cash.


Niall

A similarly alternative economy to Lincolnshire?  Or just civilisation reaching those parts slower?

[Sean_A]

Interesting. Here in Glasgow about half the taxis don't take cards and only take cash.


Niall

Quite a few cabbies in my area don’t take credit. They often claim the machine is broken . That said, you wouldn’t need to carry much cash….I like to have about £100. I usually get my cash by paying a tab for folks who give me the cash. I still hang with guys who shove cash around. A few will not use plastic when out and about.

Ciao

[JohnVDB]

Bill, we are playing on Friday and Sunday. What about cash vs use of cc/debit? Read a lot about it but still  not sure what the best avenue is. And where to get the best exchange rates   Thanks

I spent four months in Dornoch last year. I got a total of £400 of cash while I was there.  I probably could have gotten away not even getting close to that, but I often pay cash in small businesses so they don’t have to pay credit card fees. You probably will need cash to pay caddies.


Best exchange rates come from credit cards and getting cash from ATMs. Always turn down letting them do the conversion as your bank will give you a better rate.  Make sure you have cards that don’t charge fees.  I have a Schwab Bank Account and they don’t charge fees for using their card in an ATM and even refund any fees the ATM might charge.

[James Reader]

In our two trips to St Andrews, we did not find a can’t miss restaurant (other than drinks at the Dunvegan where the food is actually good), but last August, we ended up eating twice at Jahangir Tandoor because the food was excellent although the service a bit rushed.


Ira

Best restaurant in Fife is The Cellar, in Anstruther.  Must be on the verge of a second Michelin star.  In St Andrews, Rogue does a decent steak but I agree, nothing unmissable in the town.

I’ve just heard that The Cellar is closing unfortunately.  A real shame.

Say that's not true!  Why?

I’m afraid so Mark. My wife saw a social media post yesterday saying that they’ve decided to sell up. Have you been to the  Kinneuchar Inn? It’s not quite up to the Cellar’s standards but the food is really good.


Are you going to be up in Fife anytime soon? Be great to get a game in if you are.

[Mark Pearce]

Yes, I found that on Twitter.  Very sad.  Have to hope that the new owners are motivated and able to get near to the same standards - but that's very hard.


I haven't been to Kinneuchar Inn (but regularly cycle past when up there!), but my father in law recommends it, as do other Elie ites, so I should give it a try this Summer.  I also like Craigmillar in St Monans, have you been there?  And for something informal the East Pier Smokehouse in St Monans is also good.


At the moment I don't have firm plans to be up until July/August.  But I will try to make the Spring Meeting at Elie.  If I do (or make other plans to be up), I'll drop you a line.

[Lance Rieber]

Guys, what are the options for taxis, Uber, etc for getting around?for example,  If I wanted to get a ride from Brora back to Dornoch, is that even an option?
Thanks Lance.

[David_Tepper]

Lance -

Here you go:

https://www.thomsonlocal.com/search/taxis/dornoch-sutherland

https://www.dornochtaxis.co.uk/

You will definitely want to book your trips at least 24-48 hours in advance. There are no empty taxis cruising around looking for clients.

If you are a group of 8 guys traveling together, you might want to think about simply hiring a driver with a van to be on call to drive you around for the 3-5 days you plan to spend in the Dornoch area. That might be easier than booking individual rides day-by-day.

You are welcome to contact me when I am over there in late May and ask for any updated suggestions.

DT

[Mark Chaplin]

Lance - where did you end up booking to stay in St Andrews?


I’m a fan of the Steak Barn at the Balgove Larder on the outskirts of St Andrews. Dean Banks at Haar, below Dunvegan is a very fine chef.


Unless they want to do all the driving why would you take a non-drinker on a boys trip?


There is so little cash in the UK economy now even caddies have card machines. The lads took the piss when I got one 3 years ago, now it’s compulsory at my club to have one.

[Lance Rieber]

Mark, we are staying at the old course hotel. We have a full time driver for the trip, so our non~drinker won’t need to drive. Do courses take cash?

[John Mayhugh]

Unless they want to do all the driving why would you take a non-drinker on a boys trip?

Just a wild guess, but maybe because you like playing golf with him?

[mike_beene]

When you play late and all else fails, I assume the all night gas station at St Andrews still has frozen dinners and a microwave. You can play Old, New and Jubilee after an all night flight and still eat. What an idiot my younger self was.

[Lance Rieber]

Dave, any updates on the restaurant’s in Dornoch?  Anyone else have any 2024 insight for dining in St Andrews and the Gullane area? It’s about time I start getting my reservations down for dinners for our group.   Thanks

[Pierre_C]

Lance,


   I was recently in St. Andrews and Dornoch.  My favorite restaurant in St. Andrews is the Bridge - dinner and breakfast. Favorite restaurant Dornoch is Mara, Links House.


St. Andrews
The Bridge (located in Rusack) probably the best pasta dishes in St. Andrews and decent pizza. 1 week in St. Andrews and had dinner here several times.

18 - rooftop of Rusack. Expensive menu, but a good bar & location to have a cocktail overlooking 1st & 18th of TOC. Best time to go is during afternoons, basically empty. Bar gets busy early evening.



Forgans - restaurant is big, a lot of large groups night we had dinner there. Food & drinks were okay, nothing special. Menu is simple. Service is extremely slow...


Dune - good drinks. Best item on menu is cheese and leek bread. Menu is small and the mains are not great. Probably a meal I regret, everything was forgetful except for cocktails..


The Adamson - great menu with a lot of variety. Restaurant is very popular.


Seafood Ristorante - the best seafood in town, usually busy for dinner.




Dornoch


Mara (Links House) good dinner with variety for a small menu. Good selection of seafood and meats for mains. My favorite restaurant in Dornoch.


Golden Gorse (Dornoch Station Hotel) - good restaurant and service. Food is good but kitchen tends to put too much sauce on main dish. Portions are also very big, made me feel as if I was in Texas. Bar Ross was my favorite place to have a drink - cocktails and design of bar.  Annoyed TV didn't work, so we couldn't watch the PGA Championship.

Dave, any updates on the restaurant’s in Dornoch?  Anyone else have any 2024 insight for dining in St Andrews and the Gullane area? It’s about time I start getting my reservations down for dinners for our group.   Thanks

[Lance Rieber]

Thanks Pierre, any insight on the Jigger Inn, Dunvegan?   Bummer about Forgans as I booked that a couple weeks ago! Lol. Lance