Stay and play review: Oulton Hall Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort, Leeds

Oulton Hall sits 64th in our ranking of the Top 100 Best Golf Resorts in Great Britain and Ireland.

Ideal for couples and societies, Oulton Hall delivers a cosseting retreat of affordable luxury and parkland golf, secreted in 300 acres of landscaped gardens and ancient woodlands in Yorkshire.

Ranked No.28 on our list of the Best Golf Resorts in England, Oulton Hall stands alone as the only multi-course property in West Yorkshire with a Trackman driving range on site and two Top 40 courses within a 15-mile radius. It sits just 10 minutes from the M62 and M1 motorways but lies in secluded tranquillity in the heart of the countryside.

The hotel

Once a five-star, now a four, the hotel is a converted 18th-century mansion, exuding Gilded Age glamour with a cavernous lobby of marble, grand archways, and some seriously eye-catching statues and oil paintings in the lounge and Drawing Room. There are 152 rooms in the modern West Wing, as well as seven individually designed suites of varying sizes (and prices) in the Old Hall.

Our King Suite was housed within a huge, albeit slightly tired-looking, space overlooking the gardens with a separate living and dining area, and a bounty of home comforts, including complimentary beers, wines, and artisan treats.

The only real negative was the location, directly above a large events room, which meant we were kept awake until gone midnight (on a Tuesday night) listening to bingo calls and 80s classics. It did mean I could blame my bad golf on that!

The golf

With Alwoodley and Moortown nearby, it’s not uncommon for hotel guests to forgo the ‘play’ option of a stay here in favor of experiencing two of the three best courses in Yorkshire (the other, Ganton, is less than an hour’s drive away).

Oulton Hall does have 27 holes of its own, though my experience of the front nine on the Calverley Course was about as underwhelming and samey as a Lynx gift set at Christmas. With little rough to speak of when I visited in November, almost every hole seemed to feature a dog-leg, two bunkers and little else besides, which is probably why one member referred to it as the warm-up course.

The tighter back nine offers a far better blend of variety and strategy, with greater elevation changes and a particularly good par 5 – the only one on this loop – which dog-legs down and then up to a green protected by two front bunkers.

It begins a nice but tricky middle section, strengthened by the par-3 14th which stretches to 230 yards between trees. Pretty, but not easy. The next might be even better, a par 4 of less than 300 yards that turns left to a heavily tree-lined fairway that drops down and pinches in. It leaves an awkward pitch to a small, sunken green.

Across the road, a more picturesque setting can be found on the nine-hole Hall Course, which presents a couple of gifts early on with two reachable par 5s back-to-back. Birdies gained, I give them back on the downhill par-4 6th after finding a large lake that sweeps in front of the green.

Thankfully, the same hazard isn’t really in play down the right on No.7, the first of two mid-length par-3s that invite you to go pin-seeking off the tee. They sit sandwiched between a long, straight SI1 par 4, where finding the front greenside bunker feels like the norm, rather than the exception.

It makes for an exciting finish in matchplay, not least because there are several trees overhanging the 9th tee box which feel like they are just waiting to be clipped. The story of my round.

Facilities and services

The golf is good, not great, but it’s the comfort, convenience and friendliness that will keep you coming back. We spent many hours in the magnificent two-storey clubhouse, eating, drinking, and watching live sports with like-minded golfers in the Claret Jug bar. On our second night, my fiancée was serenaded with a song and presented with a trio of mini-desserts to celebrate her birthday.

The ‘luxury’ vibe doesn’t quite extend to the balls or outfield on the driving range, but it’s hard not to be impressed by the Trackman technology, available across 16 bays for £12.50 per hour. Back in the hotel, there’s an above-average Elemis Spa, a heated indoor pool, and a decent-sized gym if you feel so inclined.

Food and drink

After passing on a limited set menu of pub classics at the Claret Jug, dinner was a noisy and slightly chaotic affair at the Calverley Grill, a mere lob wedge from the exceptionally classy Champagne Bar on the ground floor. It is a grand space of deep reds and blacks, with a menu heavily slanted towards hearty British dishes with a twist (think roasted pork belly with black pudding bon bons, followed by a rather exceptional Biscoff and miso caramel cheesecake).

The standout should have been the lamb and rosemary pie, except it was sitting on a pile of overwhipped mash which was almost as difficult to eat as it was to catch the attention of the annoyingly elusive waiters.

Breakfast was better and extensive in its selection of hot and cold buffet items, plus cooked-to-order extras. We decided against afternoon tea and champagne after overindulging but may have struggled to find a table in the beautiful Drawing Room, which wouldn’t look out of place in Downton Abbey.

Things to see and do

Explore the 14.6km ‘Switzerland of Yorkshire’ trail, visit the Royal Armouries Museum, and then head to the Shambles – York’s famous medieval street – for some of the best shops in the country. In Leeds, you can watch top-class rugby league and cricket at Headingley… or questionable football at Elland Road.

At night, the city center comes alive with an eclectic mix of bars and restaurants; Tharavadu does an incredible curry, while House of Fu offers an unusual mix of karaoke, cocktails and noodles.

Other Q-Hotel resorts

• Belton Woods Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
• Dunston Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
• Forest Pines Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
• Westerwood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
• Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
• The Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort

For more details, visit qhotels.co.uk