A Solo Stay At The Kithmore, St Andrews — And The Joy Of Going It Alone

By Emma Kate Miller

The Kithmore sits in the heart of St Andrews, making it an easy base for shopping, beach walks and a little time out.

A fashion event to host, a houseful of men at home and a room at The Kithmore all to myself. What began as practical forward planning turned into 36 rather glorious hours alone in St Andrews.

There are places I visit occasionally and places where I seem to spend half my life. St Andrews is firmly in the latter camp. If I’m not at Westfield St James Quarter or The Ivy, there’s a very good chance you’ll find me somewhere between Market Street and the Scores.

Although it only opened this summer, The Kithmore wasn’t entirely new to me. Back in July, we’d celebrated my daughter’s graduation with dinner at Bennie’s, its restaurant, so I’d already had a glimpse inside. But after a recent girls’ stay at its sister hotel, The Leddie in Aberlady, proved such a tonic, I was curious to see what staying at The Kithmore was actually like.

The Perfect Excuse For A St Andrews Hotel Stay

Warm tones, tactile fabrics and thoughtful details give The Kithmore’s bedrooms a quietly luxurious feel.

As luck would have it, I soon had another reason to be in St Andrews. I was hosting a new-season fashion brunch with my dear friends at Spoiled Life and, strictly speaking, I could have driven over from home that morning. But the weekend happened to coincide with my husband’s annual university reunion and this year the boys were staying at ours.

Suddenly, spending the weekend in St Andrews seemed less like an unnecessary indulgence and more like impeccable forward planning.

There was also the small matter of what awaited me on Sunday morning: ten models, 30 new-season looks and 65 very stylish Hood readers. I had a talk to rehearse and ideally wanted to arrive looking as though I had everything completely under control. A houseful of 50-something university friends reliving the glory years didn’t feel entirely conducive to either.

So I went back to the Marram Collection and asked, again, whether they might squeeze me in. This time, though, I was going solo.

Why A Solo Hotel Stay Suddenly Sounded Like Bliss

Nic had recently spent a night by herself in a London hotel and returned describing it as bliss. I’d been more than a little envious. A whole hotel room. Nobody else’s television choices. Nobody asking what time we were leaving in the morning. Nobody to consider at all, in fact.

Anyone who knows me also knows I’m a lover of a golf resort, despite having absolutely no interest in playing golf. There is method in this apparent madness. The level of service and attention to detail demanded by golfers tends to be right up there, and I’m very happy to enjoy the standards without ever troubling the first tee.

Inside The Kithmore, St Andrews

A freestanding bath and beautifully considered interiors make The Kithmore feel made for a slow weekend away.

Like The Leddie, The Kithmore delivers on the details. Its 44 bedrooms range from Cosy rooms, particularly suited to short and solo stays, through Comfort and Deluxe rooms to suites. The interiors are warm and contemporary, with tactile fabrics, rich tones and enough character to feel right for St Andrews without disappearing down a rabbit hole of tartan and golfing paraphernalia.

More importantly, it feels properly considered. There is a difference between a hotel room that has been decorated nicely and one designed for an actual human being to spend time in. A good bed, a great shower, decent lighting, somewhere sensible for your things and the sense that somebody has thought about what you might need before you have to ask for it. It’s the same quality I’d noticed at The Leddie and, increasingly, something I associate with the Marram Collection.

Room Service, Netflix And Absolutely Nowhere To Be

I arrived on Friday and immediately barricaded myself in my room. I put on Netflix and watched Call My Agent: The Movie. Boy, how I’ve missed that show. There was a long bath, a sheet mask and, after a busy week, the considerable pleasure of being tucked up in a beautiful hotel room and absolutely nowhere else to be.

Nic was right. Bliss.

The Pleasure Of Doing St Andrews At Your Own Pace

On Saturday morning, I headed out for a walk along the beach, partly because St Andrews on foot is one of life’s great pleasures and partly to work up an appetite for the hearty breakfast waiting for me back at Bennie’s. A hotel breakfast always tastes better when you’ve actually earned it.

Then I did St Andrews exactly as I like to do St Andrews. I browsed the shops, disappeared into Topping & Company for books, called into Oliver Bonas, Sheila Fleet and, naturally, Spoiled Life. With no one asking how long I was going to be, whether I really needed to look at another rail or suggesting we move on, browsing became an entirely different activity.

Back at the hotel, I did something even more decadent.

I had a nap.

Not an accidental doze in front of the television. A deliberate, middle-of-the-day, hotel-bed nap with absolutely nowhere else I needed to be. For someone whose life generally involves an ongoing mental list of things that should be happening next, it felt wildly luxurious.

A Little Calm Before A Very Busy Sunday

Eventually, duty called. I spent the rest of the afternoon rehearsing my talk and making sure I knew exactly what I wanted to say the following morning. Then I laid out my outfit, organised everything I needed and devoted the evening to a little pre-event pampering.

No dinner to cook. No washing to put on. No one asking where anything was. No guilt about disappearing with a face mask when everyone else was still awake.

Utterly divine.

By Sunday morning, the outfit was ready, the talk was rehearsed and, more importantly, so was I. I got up, got dressed and headed out to meet our models and 65 Hood readers for the new-season brunch.

Why Going Away Alone Might Be The Ultimate Luxury

The Kithmore’s interiors balance contemporary design with rich, cosy details that feel perfectly at home in St Andrews.

I’d booked The Kithmore because it was practical. I needed somewhere to stay, somewhere to work and, if I’m being entirely truthful, an excellent excuse to escape a houseful of university reunion guests.

What I hadn’t expected was how much I would enjoy the solitude.

We talk a lot about weekends away with partners, family and friends, but perhaps there’s something to be said for occasionally leaving everybody behind. Not because you need to “reconnect with yourself” or embark on some grand voyage of self-discovery. Sometimes it’s enough to walk on the beach, browse a bookshop for as long as you like, eat a good breakfast, have a nap and spend an evening doing precisely what suits you. Indulgent, certainly, but surprisingly restorative too.

I’d go back to The Kithmore with my husband or girlfriends in a heartbeat.

But I’m not entirely sure I want to share it.