Accommodation near Cruden Bay

[Richard Phinney]

Can anyone recommend a place to stay somewhere in the vicinity of Cruden Bay, Fraserburgh or Peterhead?
Cheers

[John Sabino]

The Udny Arms in Newburgh and make sure you have the Sticky Toffee Pudding. Small, family owned place with great food.

[Sean_A]

I stayed at http://www.kilmarnockarms.com/ a few years back.  Rooms were quite good.  I see their prices have gone up significantly.  I stayed at http://www.udny.co.uk/ on a previous trip and liked it, but the prices were high.  I think the two places are now very similar price - if this is the case, the Udny is better, but the Kilmarnock is practically a walk away from the Cruden Bay GC.

Ciao

[Gary Daughters]

There used to the Red House, I believe it was called, right next to the course.  It changed ownership and may have gone under, but worth checking out. 

Another vote here for Udny Arms.

[Brent Hutto]

Both the Kilmarnock (in Cruden Bay) and the Udny (in Newburgh) are actually stops on the main bus line from Peterhead to Aberdeen. Not sure that it matters to most people but I'm working out an itenerary for spending a couple days in that area and the bus service may make doing it without a rental car quite practical.

[Stan Dodd]

Richard,
I stay every other year at the St. Olaf Hotel.  It is right at the second green.  It is run by  afamily that has been really great.  They have good food and a pub attached.  I highly reccomend.  Room # 3 or 4 has a great view across the course.  They reserve our room every year and did  our laundry. Couldn't be nicer.

[Ken Moum]

We stayed here http://www.lonmay.co.uk/index.html, which is up near Fraserburgh.

The folks running it were very nice, the food was excellent and it's not often you can look out the window at the ruins of the church where Elvis Presley's great great great great great great great great grandfather was married.

It's also next door to Cairness House, http://www.cairnesshouse.com/ which is an interesting place. We took a tour and were glad we did.

Ken

[Wayne_Kozun]

I stayed at the Kilmarnock Arms a decade ago when I was in Cruden Bay.  Our room was huge but rather a bit out of date.  Our room did not have a private bath but no one else was staying in our part of the hotel so that didn't matter too much. 

Perhaps it has since been updated - Sean is this what it was like when you were there?

[Bryan Izatt]

I've stayed in Aberdeen before playing at Cruden Bay.  It's not a long drive at around 20 miles.  There are lots of regular hotels in Aberdeen. Not quite the same as the small hotel/guest house experience.  Depends on your tastes.

[Sean_A]

I stayed at the Kilmarnock Arms a decade ago when I was in Cruden Bay.  Our room was huge but rather a bit out of date.  Our room did not have a private bath but no one else was staying in our part of the hotel so that didn't matter too much. 

Perhaps it has since been updated - Sean is this what it was like when you were there?

Wayne

The rooms and dining room were just renovated when we were there.  I get the feeling that the more changes have taken place on the ground floor.

Ciao

[Matthew Delahunty]

An option I'd recommend which is a slightly cheaper is the Station Hotel in Ellon which is a pretty little village about 15 minutes drive from Cruden Bay. It's just around the corner from the local golf course - a late afternoon, evening option for a warm up round.

[Brent Hutto]

I have been in contact with the Kilmarmock Arms and all of their rooms now have en-suite facilities. So I assume that means their refurbishment is more or less complete at this point. As of late 2006 all bedrooms are also non-smoking. That's the good news. The bad news is in high season they are now GBP60-65/night for a single and I believe it's GBP90/night for a double room with two people sharing.

Price notwithstanding I am booked there for a two-night stay in order to play in Cruden Bay's open event on 15 June. So later this year I will be able to give a full report. I'm planning on taking the train from Inverness to Aberdeen and the local bus from Aberdeen station to the Kilmarnock. Then take the bus to the train station and onward to Glasgow on the day I'm returning home. We're getting a great deal on lodging for our week in Dornoch so I can afford a bit of an overcharge on my last two nights in Scotland.

Sean,

I'm picturing something along the lines of the Pine Crest. Popular local watering hole with a lot of golfers about. Kind of old, cramped and a little creaky but reasonably comfortable. Restaurant probably not as good as the Pork Chop at the Pine Crest though. Do you think that's anywhere in the right ballpark of the Kilmarnock vibe?

That's the weekend of the US Open and they supposedly have satellite TV in the rooms as well as in the lounge. I'm hoping that between Cruden Bay's clubhouse and the Kilmarnock I'll find some company for watching golf, even at a yawningly dull venue like Torrey Pines.

[Sean_A]

I have been in contact with the Kilmarmock Arms and all of their rooms now have en-suite facilities. So I assume that means their refurbishment is more or less complete at this point. As of late 2006 all bedrooms are also non-smoking. That's the good news. The bad news is in high season they are now GBP60-65/night for a single and I believe it's GBP90/night for a double room with two people sharing.

Price notwithstanding I am booked there for a two-night stay in order to play in Cruden Bay's open event on 15 June. So later this year I will be able to give a full report. I'm planning on taking the train from Inverness to Aberdeen and the local bus from Aberdeen station to the Kilmarnock. Then take the bus to the train station and onward to Glasgow on the day I'm returning home. We're getting a great deal on lodging for our week in Dornoch so I can afford a bit of an overcharge on my last two nights in Scotland.

Sean,

I'm picturing something along the lines of the Pine Crest. Popular local watering hole with a lot of golfers about. Kind of old, cramped and a little creaky but reasonably comfortable. Restaurant probably not as good as the Pork Chop at the Pine Crest though. Do you think that's anywhere in the right ballpark of the Kilmarnock vibe?

That's the weekend of the US Open and they supposedly have satellite TV in the rooms as well as in the lounge. I'm hoping that between Cruden Bay's clubhouse and the Kilmarnock I'll find some company for watching golf, even at a yawningly dull venue like Torrey Pines.

Brent

When I was at the Kilmarnock the pub down stairs was very rough and ready with locals.  We were the only golfers about and it was obvious.  The food was mediocre at best and there were painfully few choices in Cruden Bay.  In fact, I did one of my very rare 36 hole deals at Cruden for two days because there wasn't a cool place to hang out.  Very late evening game at 7:00pmish after an am game and some rugby on the telly then back for a Chinese take away eaten in the solitude of the breakfast room with a few tins.  Perhaps Cruden has gone a bit more upscale - I don't know.  I suspect it may be best to play late in the am have a meal at the club and go back out for another 18 (weather permitting) and just skip the local pub scene (it kills me to say this, but the truth must be told).  Perhaps things have changed, but many golfers used to stay at the Udny - the place was full of touristas, but it still has a good feel to the place.

Ciao

[Brent Hutto]

Perhaps when I arrive on Saturday it will be best to linger down Aberdeen-way long enough to get some supper before travelling up to the Kilmarnock. The thing on Sunday is an open tournament day so unless I can get on the St. Olaf's course (which I would purely love to see while I'm there BTW) there's no second round on offer. But I'll bet there's a bar with telly in the clubhouse.

Or take-out Chinese in my room as a last resort. Definitely last resort.

[Jason McNamara]

Brent, what about playing a second 18 at Newburgh?

[Brent Hutto]

Well, there's Newburgh and Ellon and of course the St. Olaf course. It's not too far up to Peterhead for that matter. I guess it depends on how early we finish up in the open tournament. I believe we requested tee times around 10.30am which of course would leave tons of daylight afterward.

OTOH, I leave at 7.00am the next morning for a 22+ hour trip home so I probably wouldn't want to play golf all the way until dark anyway.