In the first formal hosted buyer group, Fairmont St Andrews kindly looked after eight-member agents in November with an amazing display of hospitality.
With half of the group flying from Heathrow and the others from East Midlands we rendezvoused in Edinburgh for the journey, a little over an hour or so up to the stunning setting of Fairmont St Andrews overlooking the bay.
After a quick check in and a few cocktails and canapes in the cosy and comfortable St Andrews Bar & Grill, we descended on to their fabulous in-house Italian Restaurant, Cucina, for an amazing spread of dishes and more than a little vino!
Saturday was a leisurely start for some of the group (with a little bird watching and a run that ended up crossing the golf course for others), and after a huge choice on display at breakfast, there was a site inspection of the fabulous conference facilities on offer.
Although the recent refurbishment of the hotel has not yet extended to the conference space, it won’t be long before the subtle tones of blue and grey that have been adopted throughout the rest of the hotel will be applied, as plans are already in place.
Fairmont St Andrews really does have premier conference space with over 15,000 square feet of flexible meeting space including the Robert Burns Ballroom which can support events of almost any size with external doors to allow vehicle access, the John Barbour theatre style auditorium and ten multi-purpose large and small meeting rooms all with natural daylight.
After a quick coach ride to the nearby Darnley’s Gin Distillery, the group were treated to private personalised tour and a little sampling session in one of the rooms available for private dinners or tours. We can highly recommend Dot as the tour guide as well, and we were all treated to a little
From here it was on the town of St Andrews for a brilliant lunch at Forgan’s which left us all in need of a good walk, and this started well with a challenge to find some local hot spots to post on Instagram.
However, a little drizzle and we soon all retreated to the 19th Bar near the Old Course to watch the remainder of the Rugby, the challenge abandoned although we did manage to capture the café where Wills and Kate used to meet for coffee!
Despite our groaning waistlines Saturday night was another splendid eventing of culinary delights with a table in the St Andrews Club House where we were treated to some great seafood and a superb choice for our main courses. There were a couple of incidents including a crab claw, but we’ll keep it under wraps!
Sunday saw us head up to Dundee to see the new V & A Museum which has been opened less than a month ago and after a tour of the exhibitions and event space, it was time for a coffee, cake and a catch up in their lovely new restaurant with stunning views.
On the way back to the hotel, we called in at the Kinkell Barn, which is only a stones throw away, and although they were tidying up from hosting a huge “Welly Ball” for the local student population, this vast space provides a great blank canvass for offsite dinners or events.
Just in case we could still fit into our clothes by this point, we enjoyed a lavish afternoon Savoy Tea in the Atrium Lounge which included a huge choice of teas, as well as our individual choices of cake.
With sandwiches, scones and cakes galore, we just had time to pack before heading back to the Airport for our respective homeward journeys.
In summary, this was a great weekend at a truly stunning hotel with impeccable service, with great AIEA Members. The first of many we hope and our thanks to the St Andrews team. A great hotel for your next event we promise!
