Reimagining a landmark golf hotel in St Andrews is a brave move. That’s what Michael Davern and his team have done at Seaton House
Scotland’s most cherished towns. It is loved not only by golfers and graduates, but anyone charmed by the juxtaposition of the wind-swept West Sands, honey-coloured cathedral, precarious castle and independent shops.
Reimagining one of its landmark hotels is a brave move. That Seaton House has successfully replaced the Scores Hotel in our minds in a few short months is quite some achievement.
One of the people at the heart of delivering that transformation is Michael Davern. “I think the key here at Seaton House is intimacy and the personalisation. It is 42 rooms and we have nine suites, so there’s a very, very high degree of customer contact.”
Davern, a well-kent face in the world of luxury golf hotels, adds: “Our location is amazing, because you’re 50 yards from the R&A clubhouse on the first tee – and 18th green – of the Old Course.”
Davern is mindful that St Andrews is much more than golf. “Seaton House is a very golf-centric location in one way, but also a very luxury leisure experience. Then there are the magnificent views across the West Sands and we have our bedrooms with that view.”
There are also rooms overlooking the surprisingly spacious south-facing gardens hidden behind the hotel.
“The other thing that makes Seaton House quite special is the food and beverage element. The fact that we have Roy Brett and we’ve brought Ondine here makes an amazing culinary experience.”
I love the produce around the area – it’s quite an inspirational place as a chef
- Roy Brett
Brett has achieved something of a cult status as one of Scotland’s leading chefs and Ondine was a must-do seafood experience. The fact that Ondine had to shut at its former location in Edinburgh’s Old Town was St Andrews’ good fortune.
Behind the vision for Seaton House is Edinburgh-born Euan McGlashan, founder of Valor, an international hotel management company.
Both Brett and Davern have know him for a long time. “We worked in South Africa in the 1990s,” says Davern. “We’ve always been friends and I’ve kept an eye on his progress. So I was excited by the idea of Seaton House.”
Similarly Brett has know McGlashan for years. “He is someone I’ve always admired and we always said one day we’d work together, when the opportunity came.
“His heart is in food and beverage. He is an incredible hotelier, but a huge enthusiast for good food and fine wine, and believes you need a restaurant within a hotel, as opposed to providing a hotel restaurant.”
Seaton House gave Davern the opportunity to open a new luxury hotel again. “I was at the K Club in Kildare when we opened in 1991. In the beginning it was a 36-bedroom hotel with a golf course. Today it’s two golf courses, 140 bedrooms, a spa and a lot bigger.”
For Brett, moving on after running his own award-winning restaurant was softened by the reputation of Fife. “I’d never worked in St Andrews, but it’s somewhere I’ve always frequented. I love the East Neuk of Fife. I love the produce around the area – it’s quite an inspirational place as a chef.
“I’ve always worked with Fife producers over the years – the fantastic asparagus when it comes into season, obviously the berries and then the catch from the creels at St Monans.
“My heart is in fish cookery. I never get tired or bored of just working with the incredible produce that you get, it’s inspiring every time you touch it. So I feel very lucky that this is what I do.”
Brett’s culinary ethos has long been sustainability and that continues in Fife. “We listen closely to our suppliers, and we respect the fishermen and producers from the land as well. We work with trusted suppliers and people who have good ethics. So we carefully select who we work with and that forges long-term relationships.
“You’re looking at the stocks and what’s available and what you shouldn’t have on the menu and what you should have. So you’re always listening, you’re always making sure that you’re trying to do the right thing,” says Brett.
Davern underscores the importance of dining to Seaton House. “As you know, in any hotel, if people are here for an experience they’re probably going to dine with us at least once, but equally, they’re going to visit the area and dine in other places. It’s all part of an experience, isn’t it?
“As well as Ondine, we have a second restaurant, The Boardroom, which is a play on the charcuterie and cheese boards we do there. We also have our our Scran menu there, with a special every day.
“Then Bow Butts Bar is magnificent; technically, it’s on the ground floor but it’s got a beautiful panoramic outlook over the bandstand and down to the sea.
“It’s a gorgeous bar with a lot of wood panelling, but it also has hidden TVs as well, so when there is golf on, or major sporting events, we are able to show it.
“We have a tremendous whisky collection there, with over 100 whiskies. On Sundays, we have traditional music, so it’s constantly encouraging the local business to come here.”
One thing that looks as if it is turning Seaton House into a Sunday lunch ‘destination’ launched at Ondine in August. “We’ve had full houses for our Sunday Roasts,” says Brett. “The idea of doing an ‘ocean roast’ came from the original Ondine when we were coming out of Covid, and we wanted ideas on how to stimulate people and to lure them back into restaurants.
“The ocean roast just sounded good. We do it with whole monkfish tails and we treat it the same way as we do a roast joint of meat, served on the bone, with peppercorn sauce and all the trimmings that you would get with your traditional Sunday roast.”
There is a traditional roast as well: Aberdeen Angus beef, with those trimmings – roasties, confit carrots, grilled cabbage, Yorkshire puddings and gravy. And for Brett it is a highlight of the week: “I really enjoy that day. It’s a great day to cook. It’s relaxed and the guests are getting well fed – we make sure the portions are substantial. It’s really good value as well.”
