No ifs no putts, the 20th-century Jacobean style hotel complex evokes the start to your felicitous fiesta. Think of a country house hotel where the car park is full of Maserati’s, Range Rovers and Bentleys, the price of the wine also happens to hit four figures – hopefully this isn’t the case when playing on the Castle’s 18-hole championship golf course.
Welcome to the Bovey Castle Hotel…
As you approach the complex via a mile-long private drive that sweeps through the grounds, the course is set within the beautiful parkland of the Dartmoor National Park. Originally designed by the revered J.F. Abercrombie as a sister course to the world-renowned Gleneagles and Turnberry – you will eventually discover the imposing granite gables that come into view. From arrival, you have the choice to kick it back at the Elan Spa – a sanctuary far from the rat race of the 21st century, echoing the tranquil and therapeutic flow of the River Bovey, or head out onto the idyllic landscape for 18 holes.
The hotel boasts 64 rooms and 22 tri-level lodges. The castle’s kingly collection of amenities includes two restaurants, an indoor pool, a spa facility, but the real king of the castle is its golf course: A spot whereby one can both stay and play in peace and solitude, away from the madding crowds. The heathland par 70 course heightens your overall experience at the Bovey Complex, with the front side of the course seeing you tee off at the base of the dale, meaning there are streams – so a need for clarity whilst approaching the tee. Whilst the front end of the course may be undulating as there is a gradual hill, you must remind yourself that you are in a remote picturesque valley that allows you to set the scene for pleasure that stands at the pinnacle of luxury.
You can roll into one of the many choices of food that Bovey Resort has to offer. The rosette award-winning Smith’s Mediterranean or the Great Western Grill will allow you to eat in divine serenity, with Executive Head Chef Mark Budd using locally sourced ingredients from Devon and the South-West to create delectable dishes. If you are wearing the golf apparel from the course, the ambience of being dressed to the nines whether you play the front or back lends itself well to modish tailoring – so feel free to glam up and feel special in the beat of the Baronial Bovey.
From golf tee to afternoon tea, from four-ball to the swimming pool, from scoring eagles to flying falcons to the main hall leading off into stately rooms with high ceilings and large fireplaces, Bovey Castle is where golf meets class and class meets luxury.