When the wealthy industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie bought Skibo Castle in 1898 for £85,000, he described the 8,000-acre Highland estate as ‘Heaven on Earth’. Being part Scottish, he may have been biased, but since the castle was transformed into an exclusive private members’ club by the late Peter de Savary 30 years ago, a select band of hedonists have come to the same conclusion.
Since 2003, The Carnegie Club has been owned by American private equity billionaire owner Ellis Short, who has sunk tens of millions turning it into a sumptuous retreat that promises golfers and lovers of country pursuits the chance to live like an epicurean Edwardian laird.
Location
The Skibo Castle estate lies on the undulating northern bank of the Dornoch Firth, across the bridge that connects Tain on the south side to the wild, gloriously unpopulated Northern Highlands beyond. It’s an hour’s drive north of Inverness airport, putting it on a similar parallel to Gothenburg and Riga.
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In summer, days are long; in winter, short. The Glenmorangie whisky distillery and the Royal Dornoch Golf Club, both world-famous, are within a 10-minute drive from the castle.
Rooms & Lodges
The first thing to say about The Carnegie Club is that it is not a hotel. About this, the owner and his 300-strong staff are clear. Instead, Skibo Castle is a residential home-from-home, to which many of the 400 members and their families return several times a year.
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Would-be members can visit once on invitation, but after that, it’s a £40,000 joining fee and £13,000 annual subs (both cover a family), and then rates vary between member rates, guest of members and prospective member rates. Such is the mood of conviviality that many members choose not to lock their rooms during their stay. There are 21 rooms in the castle and 13 lodges dotted around the estate, the largest of which has four bedrooms.
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Under 16s are not allowed to stay in the castle itself. The castle is a magnificent example of Scottish baronial architecture and Edwardian grandeur, with wood-panelled rooms, carpets you could lose a shoe in, gold-leaf framed paintings of Carnegie family members, and a wealth of period furniture, much of which is original. Each lodge has its own feel: ours had an intentionally easy country getaway feel, complete with three en-suite bedrooms and stunning views across the Dornoch Firth.
To get around the vast estate, an electric Mercedes was made available to us for the duration of our stay.
Dining
Food and drink play a big part in life at Skibo, and significantly, all meals and all but the rarest of wines and spirits are included in the room rate.
Menus have no prices on them, and we failed to establish the limit of how many paired wines we might consume before we would embarrass the sommelier. On arrival, we were presented with a wee dram and local tablet (a deliciously sweet, buttery Scottish fudge).
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Afternoon tea is served at 4pm in the drawing room, dinner can be taken in one of several rooms in the castle where a fixed (but flexible) daily multi-course menu of local produce is served. We enjoyed a private dining experience by an open fire in Andrew Carnegie’s study, surrounded by a library of leathery antique books. Lodge service is also available. A hearty breakfast is served each morning in one of the dining rooms, accompanied by tunes played on the castle’s organ by the resident organist.
A sporting lunch is offered to all guests in the golf club overlooking the 18th green. And once or twice a week, depending on member appetite, there’s a hosted dinner around a vast dining table where guests can mingle and swap stories of a day of grand self-indulgence. No one goes hungry or thirsty at Skibo.
Amenities
The Skibo estate is one big playground. Year-round, guests can horse-ride, shoot (clay pigeon out of season) and fish, head into the forest at the wheel of all-terrain vehicles (a surprise highlight for my 13-year-old daughter), on foot or by bike, and play tennis. Inside the castle, there’s a full-size snooker table and endless nooks for board games or getting lost in a book pulled from the shelves of Andrew Carnegie’s own library.
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We found tomes and tomes of letter copies sent by estate management in the early part of the 20th century, detailing estate works and payments. Admin has never held such fascination. But the biggest draws are the spa with its spectacular, recently restored, glass-pavilioned indoor pool overlooking a lake, and the club’s private golf course. Golfers talk of ‘millionaire’s golf’ to describe the rare occasions when they have their courses to themselves, but at Skibo, it’s ‘billionaire’s golf’. Across the year, on average, 10 rounds a day are played by members on Skibo’s glorious links.
My son and I saw only greenkeepers as we strode the fairways under moody winter skies. A range, an indoor golf simulator, a superbly well stocked halfway house, three pros and one of the plushest pro shops I’ve ever laid eyes on were left entirely at our disposal. A butler even appeared on the 18th green with a silver platter and another wee dram as we sank our final putts. In four decades as a golfer, I can think of no experience that gives the same impression: that you own your own championship golf course. And the best bit? Because the club is so intent on making everything as simple as possible, including pricing, bar spa treatments, ATV-ing and horse riding, everything’s included in the room rate.
Experiences
The club aims to cater to its guests’ every appetite, whether they’re inside the estate boundary or not.
Golfers are spoiled for choice in Scotland and trips to nearby Royal Dornoch are easily arranged, and from time to time the most enthusiastic players get together to go on a golf tour to Norway, all organised and delivered by the club. Whisky tastings at nearby Glenmorangie are popular, too.
But for those whose ambitions are less nomadic, every moment on the estate is an experience. Family highlights included losing ourselves in the newly opened Grand Designs-style treehouse, complete with a whisky station for those of age, and retreating to the drawing room after dinner where the pianist took on our requests, no matter how teenage.
Service
My wife noted that arriving at Skibo Castle felt like the closest thing she will ever experience to being royal. I hope she’s right. Fires had been lit, welly boots and wax jackets in our sizes had been left in our closets, and a warm retinue of polite but friendly staff – who knew our names – had been put on standby to accommodate our every wish. Itineraries were made and changed without hesitation, drivers were on standby if ever we needed them, and serving staff were smiling and efficient, and never too close. A masterclass.
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The Verdict
The Carnegie Club’s remoteness is both a blessing and a curse, particularly for long-range members, although approximately half of the membership is US based. With a maximum capacity of around 90 guests across the whole estate at any one time (events such as Christmas are balloted), it’s never, ever busy, and those who come are discreet and every bit as eager to detach from everyday life as you are – no selfie-takers by the pool. Make the journey, and you’ll never want to leave. We certainly didn’t. Getting in is the challenge though; there is a multiyear waitlist.
Andrew Carnegie said it best: heaven on earth.
Details
Address: The Carnegie Club, Skibo Castle, Dornoch, IV25 3RQ, Scotland
Telephone: 01862 894 600
Website link: www.carnegieclub.co.uk
