Four! Slaley Hall wins ‘best in north’ title

Courses

bruced
January 15, 2018

Slaley Hall has been voted ‘best golf hotel/resort in the north of England'…for an unprecedented fourth successive year, in the 2018 Today's Golfer Travel Awards.

The multi-award-winning venue in Hexham – managed by Redefine|BDL Hotels (RBH), the UK's leading hotel management company – topped the readers' poll in the UK's best-selling golf magazine once again, as it saw off the challenge of a number of other top northern venues.

And golfers may enjoy the facilities for themselves in 2018, from £159 for a two-night dinner, bed-and-breakfast break.

Andrew Fox, Slaley Hall's general manager, said: "What an achievement this is – four consecutive years! Any award is pleasing, but when it is voted for by golfers – the people who come day in, day out – then it becomes extra special. The award is a fabulous acknowledgement of all the hard work that's put in every day, by everybody who works here – and it's an accolade in which every member of staff should share and be proud.

"Thank you also to everybody who voted for us. We look forward to seeing you all again at Slaley Hall this year."

Slaley Hall is set in 1,000 acres of Northumberland moorland and forest. It is a magnificent four-star hotel in an elegant Edwardian mansion, with two challenging championship courses – the Hunting and the Priestman – which have played host to no fewer than 18 European Tour and European Senior Tour events.

The 7,000-yard, par-72 Hunting, designed by Dave Thomas, has lush sweeping fairways, streams, lakes, towering trees and banks of rhododendrons – but, aesthetics aside, it will catch out the unwary. Well-placed bunkers and tricky greens make this USGA standard course a real challenge. The quality of Slaley Hall's elder layout is illustrated by the fact the course is often dubbed ‘The Augusta of the North'.

The Priestman course was designed by Neil Coles and opened in 1999. Beautifully maintained, the course has matured magnificently. It sits on the west side of the estate, with panoramic views of the Tyne Valley and some daunting water features, and wind can be a factor on a course which hosts regularly European seniors' events.

As the largest golf resort operator in the UK, RBH manages 10 Championship and tournament golf courses across the UK, hosting events from the European Tour, European Seniors Tour, Ladies European Tour and the PGA.